Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 January 1919 — WAR BROUGHT ABOUT ATHLETIC REFORMS [ARTICLE]

WAR BROUGHT ABOUT ATHLETIC REFORMS

Decided Change for Better in Fight on Proselyting. Some Sort of Intercollegiate Association With Authority to Enforce Rules Is Advocated—Meet* . — Although some of the Eastern uni* verbifies are slow getting Into athletic action, the sentiment in favor of some means to consolidate athletic reforms brought about by the war is getting stronger every week. There are a good many reforms now In effect on account of-war conditions. They may be enumerated as follows: No training table, abolition of long period of preliminary training Tor football, reduction of coaching expenses, Teducttcnl of fees for foothall officials? holding regattas within term-time. There has also been a decided change for the better in the fight against proselyting, The problem which now confronts the college is to find some effective means to make these reforms permanent. There is only one way to do it, and that is by some sort of an association such as the Western colleges have. There will probably be a meeting soon of the National Collegiate Athletic association. This is a body composed of about 200 colleges and univers*tties-, the most i mp< >rtant' ones In the country. It is responsible for some desirable reforms which have been wrought in college sports within recent years, but they have beer wrought rather by suggestion than any other means. —The trouble with the N. C. A. A. is that it has no mandatory powers. 11 can agree upon uniform eligibility codes without number, but it has ab solutely no power to enforce them. It has always seemed that in addi Alon to the N. C. A A. 4here should be a number of smaller associations di vided into groups in which the mem bers would be of the same size or ap proximately so, and in which the con ditions of competition would be even It would be easy -enough to organize one such group of some half dozen or more of the big Eastern universities another of a group of slightly smallei universities,, with the minor college! similarly grouped. There are certaii athletic reforms on which all coulc agree, while the different associations could still make such changes as would fit the particular needs of the- differ ent associations.. ' .