19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

FOOTBALL: H. H. ON THE SPOT
Sirs:
We at Penn would like to know why Herman Hickman includes the University of Pennsylvania in his HUNCHES only when they are such heavy underdogs. A true expert will pick any game no matter how evenly the teams are matched.

I imagine you will pick the Yale game, since Yale will be a heavy favorite over Penn. But I am sure we would all like to see your choice in the Columbia vs. Penn and Cornell vs. Penn games.
LEWIS LORIN
Philadelphia

?Hunching off the top of his head, Herman Hickman picks Pennsylvania over both Columbia (Nov. 17) and Cornell (Nov. 22) but reserves the right to change his hunches on further study.—ED.

FOOTBALL: RECRUIT OR PERISH
Sirs:
I believe that both the NCAA and the NAIA should include a regulation which totally prohibits contact in his home, in person or by letter, of any high school athlete by the coach or by any member of the coaching staff.

Athletes might be contacted, as other prospective students are, by a member of the college's regular extension staff, but these visits should be limited to one only. Scholarship applications should be made by mail on forms furnished by the university's regular scholarship committee and their award handled through this office. Make the scholarship request come from the student, as it must in every other field.

My husband is a college coach, and he (and surely the others) thoroughly hates this business of going out and trying to outsell the other fellow. But under the present rules he must do it to survive. Nobody likes it except the athlete and his proud parents.
HELEN FRANCIS
Hays, Kans.

FOOTBALL: REAPPRAISAL AT FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL
Sirs:
We here at Franklin and Marshall College thought you might be interested in learning about an institution adopting a new policy in this era of subsidization and recruiting.

We have been playing intercollegiate football since 1887 and are participants with Gettysburg College in one of the longest series of small college football in the country. This year we will be playing the 59th game in this series.

Big-time football teams vanished from Franklin and Marshall several years ago, but we have been subsidizing some of our athletes. The enclosed memorandum, explaining our new policy, may be of interest to your readers.
J. SHOBER BARR
Dean of Athletics
Lancaster, Pa.

?Dean Barr's memorandum states in part. "In recent years Franklin and Marshall has subsidized athletes to the extent of $20,000 a year. It had been obvious to the Roard of Trustees for some years that our policy was ambiguous.... We could either invest more money in athletics and schedule colleges with a comparable policy, or we could withdraw all aid specifically designated for athletes and schedule colleges with a similar policy. The decision ultimately had to be based on the purposes for which the college exists.... Our decision to withdraw $20,000 a year from the subsidization of athletes does not mean...that we plan to deny students all financial assistance. It is our intention to continue with our scholarship programs and to augment the $80,000 set aside for the purpose by the $20,000 removed from the athletic budget."—ED.