The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-01-14
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
s POR rs
By DICK CULLUM
Sports Editor OF
THE MINNEAPOLIS JOURNAL


Minneapolis, Jan. 14-College foot.
ball has become year-round sport
The playing season extends from mid
September to New Years Day and tht
season for dope and discussion cover.
the rest of the year Even spring prac.
tice, formerly unnoticed, now has heavy
news value.
Minnesota football will, of course, bt
prominent wherever the game is dis
cuSSed during the "off" season, but ever
more prominent in the endless debates
will be President Lotus D. Coffman's
program for reform. That, in fact, will
be the chief item of speculation until
another playing season comes along.
President Coffman has definitely
joined the issue. On the one side are
supporters of the policy of open pro-
fessionalism in college football. On the
other side, led now by President Coff-
man, are the supporters of pure anna
teurism. Now that sides have been
taken we may be sure college athletic
policies will get off the fence.
There is possibility of definite split
with such Universities as Pittsburgh
Fordham, Duke, St. Mary's of Cali
fornia, Detroit, Marquette going openly
to professionalism and other Univer-
sites, probably large majority going
to amateurism. In this event there
would be no games between the two
groups. We should have two distinctly
different kinds of college football. In
the long run, am sure, the professional
kind would die for want of competition
and the amateur kind would survive.
All Right With GOphers
The main point to bear in mind is
that complete publication of college
football would not hurt Minnesota
standing. Minnesota does not go far
afield for its players. On the other
hand, other universities come into Min
nesota and hire boys who, left to their
own choice, would attend their state uni
versity. Any reform which would pre-
vent recruiting and would tend to send
each boy to the university nearest at
hand would strengthen the Gophers,
because Minnesota will always have the
best material in the country so long as
it draws from its own natural terri
tory. Already Minnesota has shown
that il can have winning football with
out professionalism.
When high grade football players
join the Gophers squad every effort is
made to find them jobs, if they need
them. This is perfectly legal. After
the players have been placed in jobs
the University is constantly watching
to see that they work at them honestly.
Occasionally an over enthusiastic old
grad who has hired a player will let
the boy off easy, tell him he needn't
work at his job; but this is a practice
which the University does not approve.
Whenever it hears of such a case it
transfers the boy to another job at
which he will be required to give full
service
This is not professionalism Any boy
who wants to work his way through
college is entitled to the chance and
the University employment service is as
active in placing non-athletic students
as it is in placing athletes.
Jobs Available
1t is Minnesota's good fortune that
the Twin Cities offer many oppor-
tunities for employment. 1t is COM
paratively easy to place a football
player in position which will earn
him college expenses when augmented
by his savings from work during the
summer vacation. That fact plus the
fact that there are plenty of good foot
ball players in this territory makes it
certain that there will always be good
football at Minnesota no matter how
many purifying rules are adopted 1t is
or1lv necessary that the Sanoa ,,,Ioc on