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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1976)
THE BATTALION Page 11D WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1976 lany changes mark storied SWC’s 62 years pm0 % izedin 1914, the Southwest Conference arose out of needs of the larger colleges ction to create an organiza- ich would further the best s of intercollegiate athletics, of higher academic irds for student athletes and of al standards and practices were jnes for the representatives of llnstitutions who convened in is May 6, 1914, for the purpose unding an organization that dfenlarge and more closely re- the athletic activities of the »r institutions of the states rep lied The meeting was held at Wental Hotel, site of the Baker el today. i^as at the invitation of L. Theo pout, then athletic director of lliiiversity of Texas, that the tsentatives from seven institu- |lonvened in Dallas for the g. Present for the drafting of titution and bylaws were antt and S.R. Spencer, | University; J.C. Snipes, h|vestern University; John , Oklahoma A&M College; J. Potts, Texas A&M Col- fT.W. Atkinson and J.F. d, Louisiana State Univer- D.K. Sadler and RJ. Nelson, sity of Arkansas; Dr. W.T. and Bellmont, The Univer- of Texas. [founding fathers met for a time at the Rice Hotel in ton, December 8, 1914, and ted the organization. Repre- es from the University of ma (Ben Owen) and Rice In- ctl ill that got! ;ssion. Fit it, isspratij d. Thenii ke vase! e skin froo) ;auze paiij listers Dili eady suit* he taped! ipe wittoj lehairui ^ ergesie,iij dining USTIN — The Trans-Pecos reg- rffar West Texas continues to w o ma j or antelope habitat a- . wios. And while the overall state I ilope population is encouraging, "in the eastern portion of the tintilkBPdle have declined signific- ihandle dope herd int...soE irs cank| he coi The antiseptic ndd s. Pills of the md two vitamin, with nvei tice. Ttie X) cupsil ig tww- jounds di ^e tobei al equips j’s according to a recently ted aerial survey of antelope onducted by the Texas Parks [ildlife Department. Overall, e an estimated 10,485 adult bpe spread over the Trans- Permian Basin and Panhan- ions of the state. ■e hay.frqyn a 40, percent de antelope herds in the east- irtion of the Panhandle over |st two or three years, said is Winkler, P&WD big game director. year’s antelope herd in the die stands at an estimated down from the previous es- of 3,100. e the Panhandle has the smal- icentration of antelope, the is significant. As a result, no e permits will be issued this some portions of the eastern die. some areas of the Panhandle there had previously been w j^ c ji n® antelope, we found there the nWfl none ' n ^is year’s survey,” ine brfi( er saicl - ||1( | le attributed the Panhandle said tli!® ec line to poor fawn produc- ind ttiil!*^ ns year, low survival rates of x:ess, P ^° rn Lst year and increased >itat destruction. nanagevificant population declines jortanfr iptted in Roberts, Lipscomb, theffl^le, Hemphill and Ochiltree ng, wbi' Bies. but largest antelope herd in the help 6 (continues to be found in the gthletfi if-Pecos. According to this r y f or ll fS survey, there was no notable Ee in the size of the herd from tfear. The sample indicated a tcan’ Jf |of 6,744 adult pronghorns. Du' 11 He only other area of the state unio rS lere antelope j n an y numbers are Ivans;'f id j s i n Permian Basin, ’hris ^ ere, a 20 percent population in- eshni ell ,!ase, from 1,500 to 1,884, was n a 11 ®' d. rs: se 1116 le surveys are an important tool y Kb' 11 * by wildlife biologists in making ores, mmendations for issuance of ittmas 1 ij-g landowners. As was the on 3,1 in 1975, only buck permits will Issued this year. is year’s hunting dates are Oct. ^Plfor the Permian Basin and Ws-Pecos regions, and Oct. 2-5 in || I areas of the Panhandle where jope hunting will be allowed. ler had anticipated some in- fe in the size of the overall lion that did not occur. r e are concerned that there was J ignificant increase in the |s-Pecos and Permian Basin I though they had good fawn | uction in 1975. Apparently born last year did not have survival rates and as a result I id not have the expected over- licrease in the population,’’ he stitute (W. W. Watkin) were present for this meeting and their institu tions became charter members along with Arkansas, Baylor, Southwestern, Oklahoma A&M, Texas A&M, and Texas. Rice was accepted provisionally. Thus came into existence the Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which two years later (May, 1916) was to be shortened to Southwest Athletic Conference. The league encompassed represen tatives of only three of the five states that were included in the original planning. LSU withdrew at the or ganizational meeting, while the University of Mississippi failed to follow through on early indications of interest. Composed of eight members at the outset, the conference functioned with as few as six mem bers (1916-17), had eight members in 1920, and then had seven mem bers for 30 years (1926-55). The ad mission of Texas Tech in 1956 brought the membership to eight again and the admission of the Uni versity of Houston in May 1971 set it at the all-time high of nine. Southwestern, Oklahoma and Phillips withdrew after brief periods and Oklahoma A&M took leave after a decade of membership. SMU joined in 1918 and TCU in 1923, last additions before Texas Tech’s ad- Membership The eight charter members ag reed that a two-thirds vote would be required to increase membership, expell or suspend a member or to amend the constitution. Rice took a leave after participat ing in 1915 and Southwestern with drew voluntarily after two years. Rice rejoined in December 1917 and SMU was admitted in time for the 1918 track and field meet. Okla homa withdrew early in 1920. Phil lips University was admitted in 1919, but withdrew early in 1920, protesting a rule that would not allow freshmen in varsity competi tion at schools with enrollment of fewer than 500 male students. SMU considered withdrawing for the same reason. TCU was admitted in December, 1922, and Oklahoma A&M resigned in 1925, bringing the conference to the seven-institution membership that remained intact 31 years. Then Texas Tech Was admitted at the May, 1956, meeting in Fayetteville, to begin competition in football in 1960 and other sports in 1958. ;AS $ 1st year, some 926 buck permits issued statewide and 572 an te were harvested. P&WD is- antelope permits based on the her of bucks in the overall Also, consideration is given to production and survival rates. would like to have one buck [very four does. We feel we get mum production with that Winkler stated. 'though factors may still change, [expected that the total number irmits to be issued for this hunt- ason will be about the same as ear. ermit issuance to landowners be completed by mid- lember, according to Winkler. Houston was admitted at the May, 1971, meeting in College Sta tion, to begin competition in cross country, baseball, golf, tennis, and track in the 1973-74 school year, basketball in the 1975-76 school year and football in 1976. At the May, 1972, meeting in Fayetteville, it was decided that Houston would begin competition in all sports other than football and basketball in the 1972-73 school year. Admission dates in those two sports remained as originally set. Eligibility It is significant of SWC standards that the first eligibility rule adopted stipulated that an athlete must take at>least the minimum work pre scribed in a regular course of study and must pass at least two-thirds of work prescribed, both during and at the conclusion of a term. The three-year rule, which after one year of residence allowed a man three years of eligibility, was adopted in 1915 to become effective January 1, 1916. In December, 1916, member schools with male enrollment of less than 400 were given the privilege of using freshmen on the varsity. The three-year rule was dropped during World Wars I and II, in each instance being reinstated im mediately after peace was restored. The conference abolished the three-year rule for all sports except football and basketball starting in 1968, allowing freshmen to compete on the varsity level. In April, 1972, the conference voted freshmen eli gible in football and basketball, too, conforming to new NCAA permis sive legislation. Under these rules athletes have five years in which to get in four years of varsity competi tion, with the stipulation that the freshman year must count as one of the four competition years. Since 1962 the graduate rule also has ruled out “unearned financial aid by the athletic department’’ for those who have received degrees and those who have completed the scholastic requirements for a de gree. In 1920 it was agreed that scholas tic work during the summer should count in establishing eligibility, provided the student carried the equivalent of the normal term’s work and passed in two-thirds of it as in the regular term. Such work could be done at any institution without prejudicing his eligibility. The summer school rule was in effect until September, 1929. For the next 44 years summer school work did not count for or against a student’s eligibility, either from scholastic, time of entrance, resi dence or transfer standpoint. At its April, 1973, meeting, the confer ence voted that beginning in the summer of 1974, student-athletes could use summer-school work to make up scholastic deficiencies for eligibility purposes, under certain conditions. In 1925, the conference decreed that a student athlete must have fif teen units for college entrance in order to become eligible. That re quirement has been modified to necessitate that he be a graduate of an accredited high school. The conference, long recognized as having the nation s toughest transfer rule, has not since 1925 permitted eligibility for a transfer to an SWC school who had partici pated in the same sport on a varsity squad at an institution granting a standard degree (senior college). The rule was even stricter from 1925 until 1929, for during that period such transfer was not eligible to participate in any sport at the school to which he transferred. It was liberalized in 1931 to per mit participation by transfers from senior colleges that had discon tinued intercollegiate athletics, and the transfer rule was suspended for the duration of World War II. In 1936, the transfer rule was amended to permit participation in the same sport for a student athlete >vho participated only on a freshman team before transferring. This is the rule today. The quantitative academic re quirements for student athletes were increased in 1952 and the minimum work load set for at least 12 semester hours, or equivalent term hours. The student athlete from that time hence has been re quired to pass at least twenty semester hours during his last two semesters (three terms) of residence before participation, and not less than nine semester hours, or the equivalent number of term hours, in either semester (or term). In addition to the aforementioned requirements, a student must, in order to maintain eligibility, pass a cumulative number of hours. The cumulative minimum totals by semesters: 6, 20, 32, 44, 57, 70, 83, 96, 108. By the conclusion of what would be his junior year, a student athlete would need credit for an av erage of 12 hours per semester and would be expected to maintain that average for the remainder of his eligibility. These minimum requirements remained in effect for student athletes who enrolled in a senior college prior to January 1, 1966. For those enrolling since that date, in order to be eligible for institutional financial aid, participation in ath letics or in organized practice ses sions, they were to meet these con ditions: (1) an incoming student athlete must have a predicted minimum grade-point average of 1.600 (based on a maximum of4.00); (2) must be registered for at least twelve semester hours or equivalent term hours; and (3) must maintain a 1.600 average. In 1974, this was changed to (1) the predicted minimum grade-point average be came 2.000; and (2) students still had to be registered for 12 hours. The 1.6000 average was discon tinued. Radio and Television History was made at College Sta tion in 1919, when three cadets — W. A. “Doc” Tolson, Harry M. Saunders and B. Lewis Nelson — rigged up a crude but workable tele graph machine and “broadcast” A&M’s 7-0 victory back to Austin. History records it as the first account of any sports event via wireless, com ing the year that KDKA of Pittsburgh first “broadcast” a prize fight and baseball game, and one year before WEAF in New York originated voice broadcasts from football fields. The first actual radio broadcast of a football game in Texas was Nov. 26,1925, from College Station, when A&M defeated Texas 28-0. The play-by-play was handled by the late General Ike Asburn, former A&M commandant who was active in conference affairs. Individual members of the con ference negotiated independently on radio rights, both locally and na tionally, until 1935, when the Humble Oil and Refining Company purchased the exclusive rights for the first time. Humble has renewed the rights annually since that time and each year makes a side agreement for Ar kansas to broadcast its own games to the state of Arkansas. With the advent of television, the National Collegiate Athletic Associ ation assumed control of college television with the 1951 season. The program started with a series of na tional telecasts and since has supplemented a varying number of national telecasts with regional tele casts numbering up to four on des ignated weeks. The only telecasts aside from the national and regional games are of sellout games under varying condi tions. Such games may be telecast at the site, at the home site of the visit ing team and at the home site of each team when the game is played on a neutral field, provided there is no other college game being played within a radius of 120 miles. BUY USED BOOKS & SAVE 33Y3 to 50% LOUPOT’S Across From The Post Office. 10,000 Aggies Can’t Be Wrong! q i TH€ r PMflflmocv WHOP 3703 EAST 29th ST. 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