A Nine-point Program To Save The Game

La Roche, a former football star at Yale, speaks from experience and from a deep devotion to the game. "In recent years," he said, "the problems facing football have been aggravated. On the one hand, the influence of professional football is making itself felt. In greatly increasing numbers boys find it possible to get to college whereas before they were expected to stay home and help support the family. These boys need varying degrees of help. Many are first generation boys with no traditional set of values behind them. They soon find there is competition for their services and that there is an auction block on which they stand. College and college football are pointed out as a step toward pro football, with an income of $8,000 or $10,000 a year the first year after graduation. Where are they going to get the other side of the story?

"The high school boy and his parents need facts and understanding of values if they are to help provide a good background of enlightened public opinion and, in turn, make wise decisions. It is one of our ambitions to see they get the facts."

That too is necessary to bring foot ball back to its rightful place. It's a big proposition to find a way of making all the facts about the educational and athletic opportunities of our colleges and universities readily available to our youth. But football's problems demand big propositions if they are to be solved. It's a big game.

NINE POINTS FOR SURVIVAL

In concluding their survey on the college football crisis, the editors of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and Herman Hickman carefully weighed all the facts and opinions which came in as a result of their interviews and
questionnaires. Beyond that, we have tried, as we promised at the beginning of this series, to consider football's problems in the context of the game. We believe that these are changes which are necessary and can be practically accomplished; changes that will serve the cause of college football as it is played in America today and help to preserve it in the name of the sportsmanship which should always be associated with it.

1 Each prospective football player in order to obtain an athletic scholarship must be qualified for admission the same as any other student.

Some suggestions have been made that a national test should be given, such as the college board examinations, in order to standardize admissions. We feel that this is completely impracticable because of the varying degree of secondary school standards in different sections of the country and also the wide range of requirements for admissions at different institutions. Admission standards must be left to the individual institution, and in any case be no lower than the conference level.

2 The applicant must show economic need.

It should be the duty of each institution to check thoroughly the financial status of the athlete's family and their ability to pay his college expenses. In no case should he be given more aid than needed.

3 Each player should receive through regular institutional channels, and only through these channels, sufficient financial aid to take care of his normal college expenses such as board, room, tuition and fees, books, laundry and dry cleaning.