v BE 5 1963 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wells Moved To Bolster Right Halfback Slot The Thin Man by Dave Good The Game' s the Thing Nothing ever happens in the Big Ten business meetings; they've been a standing joke for years among veteran Midwest sports writers, who regard the press conferences as a dull but necessary sidelight to the conference track meets in March and May. In the three years I've helped cover the meetings, the only im- portant policy decisions which the athletic directors and faculty rep- resentatives have endorsed have been 1) replacing the "need prin- ciple" of financial aid to athletes with the requirement of predicted scholastic success on the basis of high school rank and aptitude tests, and 2) the inter-conference letter of intent, regarding mutual cour- tesies in recruiting high school athletes. Anyway, in spite of their recent record of inactivity, the con- ference planners have given definite indications that they may try to pioneer a nationwide recruiting policy this year. It began with the inter-conference letter of intent, approved at the meeting last spring, and operative among the Big Ten, Big Eight, Atlantic Coast, Missouri Valley, Southeastern and Southwest Conferences, as well as four independents-Penn State, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The idea is simply to prevent one league from "stealing" an ath- lete already signed with a school in another league, just as has been the policy with many leagues, including the Big Ten. , An Air of Respectability... The repercussions from the letter of intent could be widespread in helping make recruiting, especially of high school football and basketball players, more respectable. This is the opinion of Michigan's long-time athletic director, H. O. (Fritz) Crisler, one of the most in- fluential college leaders in the nation. He foresees an expansion of the letter of intent among many of the other conferences in the country-if it proves workable the way it is set up now. "Several other conferences have shown sympathy to the move even though they haven't joined," Crisler points out. 0 And there is an even more important plan brewing in the minds of Crisler and other Big Ten leaders-one which Crisler thinks could eventually lead toward inter-conference cooperation in reducing financial aid to athletes all over the country. This would be the most significant step taken in many years toward eliminating the air of professionalism in college athletics. It works this way: Crisler for some time has been backing a move to cut down on financial aid to Big Ten athletes, and although most of the other Big Ten leaders don't hold very closely with Crisler's purist notions, they do tend to go along with him for their own reasons. "I stand pretty much alone on this, but I'd just as soon see col- lege athletics conducted on the proposition that competitors be eligible only for general aid given to other students--on the basis of scholar- ship and need," Crisler explains. "My idea is to have prospective ath- letes-without recruiting pressure-choose the school where they would like to get a degree, and then have these people play each other. "But this idea is outmoded today and doesn't have a chance of acceptance. Recruiting has become part of our way of life. It's become consistent with our whole attitude." Right Where it Hurts... The reason why other Big Ten leaders may be willing to enact a policy which fits .in with what Crisler feels is a practical compromise with his position is that rising costs are making member schools start to feel the pinch. The immediate result is that the October meeting of the Big Ten athletic directors and faculty representatives may see action taken to reduce each school's number of full athletic tenders reduced from 80 to 55, while the number of partial scholarships would be increased. An educated guess is that only football and basketball may be left with full tenders, leaving all the other sports covering only tuition, or tuition and books. Crisler, incidentally, thinks that this will not place the Big Ten at a recruiting disadvantage in these so-called minor sports, since most other athletic conferences don't compete very energetically in them. The upshoot of it all is that someday, maybe not in the foresee- able future, this plan of cutbacks in athletic financial aid may spread across the country. Crisler says that a committee under the National Collegiate Athletic Association is exploring this very thing. But like Crisler, I'm a bit of an idealist. I'd like to see it happen because that's the way the game should be played, not just because these educational farm systems of professional sports are running out of money. By GARY WINER Coach Bump Elliott ran sopho- more Dick Wells at the right half- back slot yesterday afternoon in a move designated to find a replace- ment for injured Rick Sygar. Wells, a product of Grand Rap- ids' Ottawa Hills High School, was running from'the left side of the backfield on the freshman team last year, but was switched to right halfback during the spring drills. He was all-city in 1961 and also received honorable mention on the all-state squad. Elliott had tentatively leaned toward sophomore Bob Quist for the vacated halfback position, but Quist played with the gold team during practice. Quist is also a native of Grand Rapids where he attended Cath- alic Central. He was picked for the all-state squad twice and was se- lected as a high school All-Ameri- can. On the freshman team last year he played both the halfback and fullback positions. Nothing Definite During most of the afternoon, the first team's backfield consist- ed of Bob Timberlake, quarter- back; Wells and sophomore Jack Clancy, halfbacks; and Mel Anth- ony, fullback. Backfield coach Hank Fonde commented, "Nothing is definite yet. Wells most likely will be run- ning at right halfback again today. The other halfback position is clouded by the fact that John Rowser and Dick Rindfuss have slight injuries." Team Captain Joe O'Donnell, Rowser, and Rindfuss were suited up yesterday but none took part in contact drills. Team physician Dr. A. W. Coxonstated that X- rays of O'Donnell and Rowser proved negative. Both had com- plained of shoulder trouble. Prichard Back Tom Prichard, who once was moved by Elliott from quarterback to halfback, is back again this year as a signal caller. Prichard ran the second team during a light contact workout. If anyone plans to watch a practice session, one should be sure to watch the play by sopho- more Bill Yearby. He's been run- ning from the left tackle spot on the first team for the past week. Yearby is wearing a huge white "horse collar" around his neck. -Daily-Mark Diem CLANCY DRIVES-Ball-carrier Jack Clancy is barely visible in this scene of yesterday's football drills at Ferry Field. Clancy, switched from quarterback to halfback this past week, is a prom- ising sophomore from Detroit Redford St. Mary's and is one of the Wolverine's standout defensive players. FOOTBALL GEOGRAPHY: Recruting; Moving Man's Job By BILL BULLARD Although this season's Big Ten football rosters include players from 31 states plus the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone, each school depends on recruiting players from a relatively few areas. Ohio State is at one extreme with 57 of its 65 squad members being from the Buckeye state. In- diana is at the other end of the spectrum, having players from 13 states and no more than 15 re- cruits from any one state on its 76-man squad. The 1963 Wolverine varsity is composed mainly of players from Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. No other state is represented on the team by more than three players. Michigan Good Source Don Dufek, freshman coach for the past four seasons and the new defensive backfield coach, outlined the areas in which the Michigan staff searches for future varsity material. First, of course, is the state of Michigan itself where half the present varsity comes from. Certain parts of Ohio, like To- ledo and Dayton, are a second source of good players. Illinois, especially Chicago and its suburbs, is another fertile area, as is West- ern Pennsylvania. These are the areas that the Michigan coaches concentrate on. However, this does not mean that Michigan doesn't get players from other sections of the country. If this were not so, then Michigan For Farm Fresh DAIRY PRODUCTS Prompt Home Delivery Phone H U 3-0496 BELLA VISTA FARMS, Inc. would never have had a star like Bennie McRae, a Newport News, Va., product, on its varsity from 1959 to 1961. Dufek explained that the Mich- igan coaches don't ordinarily try to recruit players from far-away states unless there is some indica- tion of an interest in attending Michigan. High school football in Texas, Dufek said as an example, is of a very high quality but the distance from Michigan is so re- mote that usually Michigan can't hope to attract Texas players. Scholastic Requirements The Michigan stafftdoes inten- sively review and attempt to re- cruit all outstanding players who meet the academic requirements in the midwestern areas already mentioned. Extensive c o n t a c t s make it possible to rely on these areas for future varsity talent. All six varsity coaches spend from 70 per cent to 90 per cent of their time in recruiting activities once the fall football season is over, Dufek said. Each coach has assumed a general responsibility for a certain area that he is fa- miliar with. Coaches Bob Hollway and Hank Fonde concentrate on Michigan. Both have Michigan backgrounds. Hollway was an outstanding ath- lete for Ann Arbor High before playing on three conference cham- pionship teams here in 1947, 1948 and 1949. Fonde was a senior on the 1947 Rose Bowl championship team. He started coaching at Ann Arbor High in 1949 and in the next decade compiled a 69-6-4 rec- ord. Offensive Line Coach Jack Fouts was born in Ohio and coached football for 10 years at Dayton Fairmont High School where he posted a 38-13-3 record. Former Wolverine Dave Raimey and end John Henderson are recruits from Dayton. Two Chicago Players Dufek, former star back for St. George's High School in Evanston, Ill., handles the Chicago area. Sen- ior Tom Keating and sophomore end Steve Smith are two excep- tional Chicago-area players cur- rently on the varsity. End Coach Jocko Nelson, an as- sistant for five years at Michigan, is in charge of recruiting in West- ern Pennsylvania. Starting end Jim Conley is one of three Penn- sylvanians now on the varsity. Dufek gave the opinion that the caliber of high school football all over the Midwest was generally the same. However, it is interest- ing to note that Illinois has more players on Big Ten teams than any other state. I WANTED! FRESHMAN CLIPPINGS I-DEN /&zr6eI' 7271/2 N. UNIVERSITY Basement of Michigan Pharmacy DON'T SAY you can't find it Till you've tried ULRICH'S Ann Arbor's busy and friendly bookstore I I. I Today's most interesting students read The New York Times Why don't you? You'll find it a rewarding daily addition to your college days and -studies. It keeps you on top of today's exciting events .. helps you in a variety of courses...gives you vital back- ground for discussions in and out of the classroom. Why not sign up for a subscrip- tion today? You'll like the conven- ience of campus delivery of The New York Times ... to read and enjoy before classes begin and at your leisure throughout the day. Your New York Times campus representative will be glad to f I I t I e. I i I 1 ;/ l I I I I A I