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► Notre Dame Prexy Questions NCAA Power to Prohibit TV Doubts Constitutionality Of 60 Per Cent Cut Plan From Experimental Video SOUTH BEND, Ind., June 15.— UP— The Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame, questioned the constitutional power of the National Collegiate Association today to prohibit live television of college football. He said that though the January NCAA convention in Dallas approved a "moratorium" against live television for one year, he doubted that the convention would have approved the plan now advanced by the television committee to control experimental live television and for an NCAA cut of 60 per cent of the receipts from video. y Father Cavanaugh questioned whether the "economic importance" of college football "is something that must be perpetuated" and said that the importance placed upon football "has spawned many . . . unhealthy conditions." "We do not think that the Constitution gives the NCAA or any conceivable committee of the NCAA the power to levy a tax of 60 per cent that would create a fund of several hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Assessing the membership for legitimate expenses is one thing, but such an arbitrary levy of 60 per cent as proposed by the television committee is simply beyond the powers set forth in the Constitution and granted by the member institutions," he said. Penn to Televise Home Games Notre Dame was the second NCAA member to question the right .of the organization to ban live video of football. Last week Pennsylvania announced it would refuse to cooperate with the ban and would televise all eight home games alive. However, five schools indicated they would not carry out their contract to play Penn next fall, should the school permit live* television. Father Cavanaughs statement, obviously resulted from a meeting of Notre Dames, board in control of athletics last Friday, after Penns announcement and its classification "in bad standing" by the NCAA. The board, it was known, discussed the television problem, but there was no announcement of its action. Father Cavanaugh noted "certain discrepancies" in the NCAA plan, citing that the plan approved by the convention "was a moratorium on live television and some special control for live telecasts without any particular detailed plan being mentioned." This statement was in rebuttal to the NCAA position that live television cuts football gates, thereby cutting the financial support of all intercollegiate athletics. Father Cavanaughs statement did not disclose whether Notre Dame would permit live video of its games this fall. He said the school wanted to cooperate with the NCAA, however. j "In the present dilemma, we would prefer to abstain altogether from televising, or to televise for nothing, rather than be forced to cooperate in policies and procedures which in our minds have very dangerous implications" j
