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t— „ University of Pennsylvania Plans Cut in Athletes Aid Move Seen as Swinging Once Mighty Grid Power Into All Ivy Loop Slate By RUSS GREEN United Press Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA, Pa., June 26. — The University of Pennsylvania will slash its financial aid to athletes in a move interpreted as swinging a once mighty football power into an all-Ivy League grid program. A university official admitted "there-was a "change in the program" of scholarship awards and said that aid to a fewer number of athletes "would be a safe statement." Alumni said that the change, believed adopted last March, "was the real reason why coach George Munger quit as football coach." Munger -resigned as coach last May 23, one week after Francis T. Murray was fired as athletic director: Munger will coach the football team next fall in his last season, and then, will become director of physical education at the university. The firing of Murray after he declined to retire climaxed a stormy spring during which Perm players protested next seasons football schedule, claiming it was too tough without the benefit of spring training. Can Not Train in Spring Penn is bound by its Ivy League membership, and could not train in the spring. Its being snubbed by Ivy League opponents in schedule making during the past decade had resulted in the power schedule of name teams. The proposed slash in scholarship aid will reduce to 15 the number of athletes aided. Ten of the grants will go to football players under terms of the will of James Skinner, former Penn trustee, who, with his wife, left an endowment of 00,000 for scholar aid. The remaining five will be distributed among the 13 other sports of the university. In the past, an average of 25 athletes received aid each year. "Well have tolerably good football for the next three years from the boys admitted as freshmen last year," one former player said. "After that— what?" "After that" could forecast the Ivy schedule. Penns schedule for 1954 and 1955 has not been announced. An alumni poll conducted recently showed a desire to play Ivy teams. But non-Ivy teams, such as Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt and Wisconsin drew bigger crowds than the Ivy teams, with only Princeton and Cornell challenging consistently in crowd allure. "You can lose half a million dollars a year on a weak schedule," one said. "How long can that be kept up?v The only known opponents for 1955, and these have not been acknowledged officially by the university, are California and Notre Dame.
