Major Status Postponed for Soccer Team

The Undergraduate Athletic Council has reversed its earlier decision and recommended that soccer be denied major status until its case has been more thoroughly examined. The Council has also rejected a cross country petition seeking similar recognition.

On the grounds that a legal querum had not been present at the earlier vote and that the soccer spokesman may have misrepresented his case, the Council nullified its previous position, proposing instead that a committee be set up next year to gather more accurate information.

"Many of those who missed our first meeting knew more about soccer than the rest of us," Frank H. White '55, chairman of the Council, explained, "so we had difficulty checking what the soccer spokesman told us." When the absentees presented their views, the Council promptly reversed its earlier 5-3 vote.

"Most of the claims did not gibe with the general feeling among Council members," White said. "We are still not sure whether their representative's figures on attendance at games and the number of men who practice regularly are correct," he added.

If next year's Council sets up the proposed investigating committee. White said, it should receive the correct information in time to determine the nature of the '55 season award.

Taking action on a similar cross country request, the Council voted to reject it outright on the grounds that there is not sufficient interest in the sport. "We feel, however," White said, "that cross country is otherwise qualified for major status. Cross country men certainly train as hard as those in other sports."

Though the Council felt that cross country did not merit major recognition as an independent sport, several members proposed that cross country men might receive major track letters.