Princeton Drops Penn From 51 Grid Schedule: Expect Four More Top Schools To Do Likewise in TV Dispute, Daily Racing Form, 1951-06-13

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Princeton Drops Penn From 51 Grid Schedule Expect Four More Top Schools To Do Likewise in TV Dispute PRINCETON, N. J., June 12 UP .—The University of Princeton announced today that it will not go through with its scheduled football game with the University of Pennsylvania October 13 because of Perms decision to televise its home games in defiance of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Several other schools on Penns 1951 schedule, including Cornell, Columbia, and Dartmouth are expected to follow Princetons action. The University of California is expected to decide shortly whether to go through with its game scheduled with Penn at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, on September 29. Thus far, only Army, Navy and William and Mary of Penns 1951 opponents have announced definitely they will go through with their games despite Penns television stand. R. Kenneth Fairman, director of athletics at Princeton, sent an 800-word letter to Francis T. Murray, director of athletics at Penn, explaining Princetons stand and expressing the hope that Penn would change its mind on television so the game "may be played as scheduled." "It was unanimously resolved hy the council on athletics that Princeton will abide by its obligations as a member of the NCAA and the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Council to co-operate with these associations in regard to Princetons television policy for the 1951 season," Princeton announcements of its action said. "The council will not approve any football game contract which does not contain the clause recommended by the ECAC. This television is- a one-year experiment of controlled television and not a ban. "Princeton stands among the strongest advocates of future institutional conferences and procedure in athletics and it is our conviction that only through co-operation of member institutions may we expect to see establishment and maintenance of the highest standards of integrity in the administration of amateur athletics activity in college. "For instance, Princeton has supported the NCAA despite the disappointing failure of the majority of the members to uphold the so-called sanity code." The NCAA asked its member, institutions not to televise their football games on an individual basis this fall, in order to experiment with a new policy which called for the televising of only one game, either nationally or sectionally, each Saturday. Colleges which did not televise complained that the televising in the past of big games each Saturday cut deeply into their attendance and threatened their athletic financial structure.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1951061301/drf1951061301_2_2
Local Identifier: drf1951061301_2_2
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800