19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

Sir:
Thanks to E. M. Swift, I can see that the St. Louis Blues could be doing worse.
CHRIS OCHOA
Venice, Ill.

Sir:
It should be noted that E. M. Swift played two more seasons for Princeton's dauntless hockey team, during which Princeton lost 36 more games and allowed the most goals in Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I play. In one game against Cornell, Swift surrendered 12—and made 60 saves.

As a sportswriter for the Daily Princetonian, I interviewed Swift on the eve of his final game. During that interview he made known his interest in writing. His senior the sis, he told me, was the first draft of a novel.

"Is it autobiographical?" I asked him "Does it draw upon your experience as a Princeton goalie?"

"In a way," he said. "It's about the Johns town flood."
JOHN JAY WILHEIM
Princeton '75
Battle Creek, Mich.

BIG-TIME FOOTBALL
Sir:
According to the new NCAA criteria (The NCAA Splits Its Decision, Jan. 23), a school that participates in eight varsity sports qualifies to play Division I-A football if it play 60% of its games against other I-A teams and has had an average home attendance of 17,000 during one of the last four years and also plays its home games in a stadium seating 30,000 or more spectators, or has had an average attendance of 17,000 over the last four years A school that participates in 12 varsity sport: may also qualify, without meeting the attendance and/or seating requirements (a con cession that came only after much debate).

Perhaps it is naive not to make the connection between athletic success and stadium capacity, or not to perceive a relation ship between scholastics and average home attendance, but don't these criteria raise serious questions about the NCAA's commitment to the scholar-athlete ideal?
MALCOLM B. O'HARA
Pennington, N.J.

Sir:
In this day of overinflated salaries and egos, why doesn't the NCAA show some restrain and hold its ground instead of trying to emulate the pros? Professional football has already become too automated, computerized and predictable, not to mention overexposed.

Now the cream has risen to the top in college football (Division I-A), undoubtedly perpetuating the "professionalism" in the college ranks. It seems inevitable that more scholarships, more spending and more extensive recruiting will result, thus creating more distance between I-AA and I-A, and at the same time moving the latter one step closer to the "run on first down" football we are accustomed to seeing on Sunday afternoon.

Professional sports are beginning to create their own downfall, and owners are going to have to wake up soon. Why then doesn't the NCAA recognize this and proceed in a different direction? The next thing you know, juniors in high school will be declaring themselves hardship cases. I would hate to see the bubble burst.
ROBERT H. BAXTER
Atlanta