Egg in Your Beer

Well, they repealed the noble experiment of Prohibition, too.

At a well-attended meeting in Dallas, Texas last week the members of the N.C.A.A. decided to give up something known as the Sanity Clause. The move was made, its opponents claim, to save the group. Others argue that it was long overdue; that it was an inevitable step to overcome hypocrisy.

Whatever the reasons may be, there is now no official ruling against colleges going out and buying football players. In the light of this situation it is well to cite the case of one Southern school, a member of the group, and a representative of the anti-Sanity movement.

The University of Miami lost the 1951 Orange Bowl game to Clemson, 15 to 14. Otherwise, its season was extremely good. A local observer at first glance may be somewhat mystified. Why, he may ask himself, should a comparatively new school like Miami have such a fine record, while Harvard flounders through a comparatively easy schedule. It is a problem, and with it in mind this reporter visited the famous Coral Gables institution during the holidays.

Miami U. is supposedly inhabited by 10,000 men and women, but after picking up certain other information I shall disregard this fact. What Miami had done could have been accomplished with an enrollment of approximately 100, provided that a majority were men.

All the information that follows was gleaned from interviews with various members of the Miami newspaper, "The Hurricane." I do not vouch for the authenticity of the facts, except to say that they were given in all seriousness and seemed to be common knowledge "around the campus."

Approximately fifty members of the football squad are on full scholarships. These scholarships--as well as covering board, lodging, and tuition--include spending money ranging upwards from ten dollars a week. This is tempered somewhat by the knowledge that these "service" scholarships are not limited to athletes. The top seven executives of the newspaper also receive similar scholarships, but without spending money.

They tell a story around Miami about the football player who once tried to escape from the area. He was, the reports say, stopped before he could reach the border. This is probably a fiction, but it illustrates by ridiculous example the workings of the school's active supporters. Alumni activities were not covered by the Sanity Code.

The Outstretched Palms

After Miami defeated Purdue, every member of the squad received a $100 suit from a grateful merchant. Strangely enough, most of the people who contribute to the support of the team are not alumni, merely interested townspeople. Students, of course, sat in the end zone for the Orange Bowl game.

After another game (the Hurricanes won nine and tied one) both the coach, Andy Gustafson, and the director of athletics received new Chevrolets.

When the team received the Orange Bowl bid shortly after beating Iowa, the directors of athletic policy and the officers of overall administration met to consider the fact that the squad members would be deprived of the holiday trip to their respective homes. This exploitation was remedied when the University volunteered to pay airplane expenses to and from the homes of varsity and freshman players.

The football squads live together in one of the modern dorms on the new campus. They eat together and, if they desire, may receive summer jobs together. If Coach Gustafson feels they are needed around the college for the summer months, University maintenance jobs are available.

In other respects, according to my informants, football players are treated like normal students. They must go to classes, and some even get good marks. As far as flunking football players goes, one reporter commented, "Well, that's up to the individual professors."

There is a certain amount of football hysteria around the U. during the season. In one case, after the Purdue upset a three-day holiday was declared. Drinking is not permitted on campus, but an air of celebration pervaded nonetheless.

Miami's reasons are similar to those of many other schools who voted for the repeal: "We're just doing what everyone else does, only more openly. Miami is a new school. We're trying to attract people to the school and we feel this is the shortest method. Didn't you look at your school's athletic record before you decided to enroll?"

I was, to put it mildly, naive. And then I remembered an editorial which had appeared in the Miami newspaper. It was in reply to another editorial accusing Miami of dealings with the well-known S & G gambling syndicate which had been working out of Miami Beach for some time. I quote the last two sentences:

"The (accusing) editorial claims that winning football teams that are 'bought' don't mean very much. Just now in the devil does he think games are won? With students?"

Beats me.