institution was represented by a big-mouthed man who sat on a front seat, and made rude and insulting remarks in a loud voice just when men whom he wished to disconcert were on the point of a jump or a vault or a throw. I had no interest in any particular player, but I was intensely disgusted at that man's behavior, and I felt deeply humiliated to find myself in such company. Had I been clothed with the proper authority, I would have had that boor promptly expelled from the park. I have witnessed other exhibitions of unfairness and bad manners on the part of the spectators, and I have felt ashamed for my city and State, but nothing quite as bad as that I saw last spring. I hope no such unfairness will ever be seen on your campus or on mine. We must train our audiences 'to be as virtuous and as impartial as the Greek chorus, to the end that the game may be played by the players and not by the spectators'. We
Must set the cause above renown,
And love the game beyond the prize.
Professionalism has been the curse of intercollegiate contests in many of the younger and smaller institutions of the west. Even in the east, eligibility rules have been agreed to with difficulty, and then readily evaded or ignored. It has been rare to find a college team where every member was a bona fide student playing without compensation in some shape or form, such as remittance of fees and dues, payment of personal expenses, or excuse from lectures and examinations; while veteran players, almost gray in athletic service, are received under the ample cloak of 'post-graduates.'
I close with some practical suggestions based upon my experience as chairman of an athletic board, and upon a study of the conditions which obtain elsewhere.
The following rules and definitions are respectfully submitted:
Eligibility.
1. To be eligible to membership in a team representing the institution one must be a bona fide student, doing full work as a 'regular' or a 'special.'
2. His average scholastic standing must not be less than sixty per cent, and in no single branch or study shall his record for the last quarter be less than fifty per cent.
3. If a 'dropped' student, or a 'not-promoted' student, he shall not be eligible till after one year, either in the same department or in a different department. (For example, a student not-promoted in a school of engineering can not secure eligibility by withdrawing and entering the college of letters or the law school.)
