Evening star., 1941-02-17
Lean Gates, High Cost
Puts Ban on Football
In Small Schools
South Is Widely Affected,
But All Sports Are Huving
Boom in Other Sections
BY the Associated Press.

! BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Feb. 1.-THE idea
of accomplishing college ath-
letics, which turns up every few
years, like flu epidemic, Is making
some headway this winter, but 1t
hardly has gone far enough to be-
come a full-fledged trend.
Recent reports from the South,
including Stetson University's deci-
sion to abandon intercollegiate
sports and a definite de-emphasis
program at some other small schools,
seemed to indicate that the idea
might be spreading. A general
roundup of recent moves put the
whole business in a different light.
Where Sports-especially football
have been abandoned, it is mostly
a case of too much expense for the
gate receipts. And for every col
lege de-emphaSizing football there's
another heading for the big time"
Stetson's Case Typical.
Stetson's trouble was that a S25,-
900 annual expense was too much
for a school of 675 enrolment, espe-
cially when the 1910 football team
won only two games. Within the
past year or two St. Joseph's of
Philadelphia, st. Edwards of Aus
tin. Tex; Sui Ross Teachers of
Alpine Tex; Bacone Indian Col
lege of MuSkogee, Okla, and most
recently Oklahoma Baptist of Shaw
nee, Okla. have given up football
because of the cost. St. Edwards
abandoned its entire intercollegiate
sports program. while Oklahoma
Baptist quit when it discovered a
deficit after winning its State COL
legiate conference championship.
Two Oklahoma State colleges,
Southwestern of Weatherford and
Central of Edmond dropped wres-
ting, one of their most important
sports. Lack of competition and
coaching facilities was the cause.
The biggest case against football
was presented by the University of
Chicago. which quit trying TO keep
up with the rest Of the Big Ten after
the 1889 season. About the same
time st, Johns College of Annap-
oils, Nd, gave up all intercollegiate
sports so that its small student body
could concentrate upon 100 class
les"
Little Olivet College of Michigan
also turned away from gridiron,
President Joseph Brewer explaining
football had ceased to be the whole
some, amateur. sportSmanlike ac-
tivity it once was" Other inter-
collegiate sports were continued.
Heading toward lesser emphasis
is Mercer of Macon, Ga. which re-
Gently dismissed its coach, Cancelled
most of its games with bigger schools
for 1941 and joined with Wofford,
Presbyterian. Oglethorpe. Rollins,
NeWberry and Erskine in forming
the South Atlantic Amateur Ath-
letic Association, which intends to
be as amateur as its name.
Washburn College is stepping out
of the Missouri Valley Conference
June /. intending to play only
schools of its own size. 1t probably
will trade places with Wichita Uni
versity. which has big-time aspira-
tions and resigned from the Central
Kansas Conference in hope of being
received into the Missouri Valley
loop.
New England Boom On.
But sports of all kinds, especially
rowing and basket ball. are boom
ing in New England; West Virginia
has adopted an aggressive campaign
to build up football under Bill Kern:
Penn State is coming back strongly
on the gridiron; Cincinnati and
Dayton in Ohio are constructing
stronger teams and schedules and
talking about reviving the Buckeye
Conference. and Grand Rapids Uni
versity, neighbor of Olivet, hired
Potsy Clark, tie former pro team
coach, to help the sports program
keep pace with the growth Of the
institution.
Even the Chicago students played
a few games of siX-man football last
fall.
Then, of course. there's Yale. De-
emphasis talk circulated there after
the dismal 1910 gridiron season, but
now there's a new coach and the
conversation concerns victories to
come.