League Votes to Cut Coaches

The Ivy League Presidents' Council voted Tuesday in a meeting in New York to reduce football staffs to seven full-time coaches, limit assistant football coaches and allow freshmen to compete in three varsity sports--baseball, lacrosse and soccer.

The cuts in full-time coaching staffs should not affect Harvard, according to Athletic Director Robert Watson, as there are now only seven coaches, including freshman coach Chet O'Neil, now hired full-time by the University.

In addition, the presidents ruled that no more than $4000 may be paid to part-time assistants such as graduate assistants. The money may be paid to one assistant or split up among no more than four.

"This decision may affect us," Watson said yesterday, "since we have such a large program. We need more assistants to keep all the participants interested and at the same time teach them."

Freshman Sports

The league voted down a proposal to allow freshmen to play varsity football, but will allow each school to decide whether or not it wishes to allow freshmen to compete with the varsity baseball, soccer and lacrosse programs.

"I would like to continue with freshman sports," Watson said, "But our decision will depend on how the Dean [Rosovsky] feels about the athletic budget and problems we might have with scheduling."

Watson hopes that the New England Ivy schools--Dartmouth, Brown and Yale--will also decide to continue with freshman programs to make scheduling easier.

"I met with President Bok, Dean Rosovsky and Professor Ford last Tuesday," Watson said, "and we all felt that freshman sports are very valuable to Harvard. We don't want to change it unless we have to."

The presidents' council also considered voting to allow freshmen to play varsity basketball and hockey, but the vote was "suffiently split," according to chairman John Kemeny of Dartmouth, to warrant reconsideration at another meeting in February.