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Monday, August 28,1989 The Battalion Page 3B
David Crow credits Bear Bryant as role model
‘Louisiana Skyrocket’ reflects on past
By Jeff Osborne
Of The Battalion Staff
. Athletic Director John David Crow says
that while winning is important, he also
Battalion file photo
wants to follow the rules and make a strong
impact on the lives of student athletes.
John David Crow, called the
“Louisiana Skyrocket” during the
mid-1950s when he played halfback
for the Texas A&M football team, is
one of the legendary heroes of all
time for Aggie athletics.
Crow’s gridiron heroics earned
him a Heisman Trophy during his
senior year at A&M in 1957. This
achievement put him in a unique sta
tus among all Aggie football players.
His athletic ability earned him a
special place in the hearts of Aggies,
and today he represents Texas A&M
off the field as athletic director.
Athletics have played an impor
tant role in Crow’s life. He was suc
cessful in football as a player at the
college and professional levels. He
played under Coach Paul “Bear”
Bryant, one of the most successful
and respected men ever to coach the
game.
Following a pro football career,
Crow served as an assistant coach at
Alabama under Bryant. Neverthe
less, he hasn’t lost sight of his simple
beginning: “I grew up as a country
boy in a small town in northern
Louisiana. I still want to be the same
person. I want people to know my
door is always open/’
Born in 1935, in Marion, La.,
Crow developed into a highly re
cruited athlete. Early in his child
hood, he and his family moved to
Spring Hill, La.
It was there that Crow grew up
and attracted the attention of ath
letic recruiters. Crow helped lead
the Spring Hill High School football
and basketball teams to state cham
pionships (which the school has not
won since). He graduated from
Spring Hill in 1954 as a high school
All-America halfback.
Crow never would have come to
Texas A&M if not for Elmer Smith,
who coached his brother at a small
university in Arkansas.
“My brother Raymond played
football at Southern State (now
Southern Arkansas University) and
I’d go up there and sit on the
bench,” Crow said. “Then, during
my senior year, Elmer asked me to
come up to Magnolia and when I got
there, he said some people were
pressuring him to recruit me.
“He said he’d be doing me an in
justice, though, if he did. He said he
felt I should go to a larger school.”
Later that year, Coach Bryant be
came head coach at Texas A&M and
hired Smith as an assistant coach.
Smith recruited Crow for the Ag
gies. Crow said it was Smith’s hon
esty and personality that attracted
him to A&M: “Elmer Smith re
cruited me and Elmer Smith is the
reason I came to Texas A&M.”
Before he committed to A&M,
Crow said he considered going to
Louisiana State University or Okla
homa.
“Oklahoma had a winning tradi
tion even back then with Bud Wil
kinson as the coach,” Crow said.
“They had a running back who won
the Heisman a couple years after I
did.
“LSU was questionable because a
couple of players from our area of
the state weren’t given much playing
time by the coach. Without Elmer at
A&M, I probably would have gone
to Oklahoma, or maybe LSU.”
He said everything worked out
for the best because he was named
athletic director of his alma mater at
age 53.
“I also got to play for Coach Bry
ant, and that’s something that will
live with me forever,” Crow said.
Bryant had the greatest impact on
Crow’s life except for his own father.
“My Dad taught me a lot and I’ve
been influenced the most by him
and Coach Bryant.
“I hope I learned from Coach
Bryant that it took an awful lot of
hard work, sacrifices and dedication
to achieve anything worth having,”
he said. “I learned from him because
that’s what he stressed.”
One of the most prominent items
displayed in Crow’s office, on the
ninth floor of Rudder Tower, is a
framed poster featuring Bryant.
On July 2, 1954, before he en
rolled at A&M, Crow married his
high school sweetheart, Carolyn Gil
liam. Crow describes his marriage to
Carolyn as “the best thing that ever
happened to me.”
Crow said his family, including his
wife, son John David Jr., and daugh
ters Anna Lisa and Jeannie, rank far
above his athletic achievements. His
grandchildren also play an impor
tant role in his life.
One of the most notable qualities
about Crow is his straightforward
ness.
This quality was mentioned of
Crow by Alan Cannon, director of
Sports Information at A&M. Crow’s
honesty is another of his most en
dearing features. He was asked seve
ral questions involving sensitive
areas of Aggie athletics, but never
did he refuse to comment. Crow is
the kind of man who will confide in
you, and people hate to disappoint.
His honesty inspires a trust in oth
ers.
Another quality of Crow is his
dedication to winning. Crow’s defi
nition of winning includes following
See Crow/Page 7
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Life on campus for scholarship athletes not all fun and games
By Robert Marraro
^Special to The Battalion
More than 250 student athletes at
"exas A&M receive partial or full
ithletic scholarships, and there is
tnormous pressure to perform in
the classroom and on the field, but
Ifor athletes, campus life is not all fun
ind games.
Athletic scholarships provide a
ay for athletes to get an education
’while allowing them to perform to
[their own potentials as they rep-
[resent the University.
Dr. Donald R. Hunt, academic
[counselor for men’s sports, said ath
letes cannot be compared to regular
students because they do not fit in
[with the mainstream of student life.
;He said most of them have been ath
letes before coming here, and have
igrown used to the lifestyle, not
'knowing anything different.
Life among athletes is very differ-
jent. Athletes make a sacrifice by be
ing on a scholarship. Hunt said,
ilhere is much pressure from the
jathlete’s parents, their peers, the
news media, the coaches and the ath-
[lete’s own personal drive to win.
%
r*
don't
let
, your
business
bomb.
coll 845-2611
to advertise
The Battalion
Sports are part of American cul
ture and have become a tradition,
Hunt said. Hunt added that for ath
letes, there is a rewarding experi
ence in having accomplished some
thing that few people can do. He
said that often, athletes are elevated
above the rest of the students as a
type of hero, and regular students
envy athletes because of their abili
ties.
Teddy Zalesky, women’s academic
counselor, said that athletes have
little free time. When they travel to
meets and tournaments, they work.
They do not play around or act like a
tourist.
She said people think athletes live
better than everyone else, but they
do not.
“It’s not all glory,” Zalesky said.
“They do receive money, but they
earn it — every bit of it.”
The National Collegiate Athletic
Association allocates the maximum
number of scholarships for each
sport, and requires that the schol
arship pay the student’s tuition,
room and board and all fees.
The Athletic Business Office
bases its average scholarship on a 14-
hour semester. Regardless of what
sport the athlete plays, the in-state
value is $4,555 plus books. Out of
state is $7,467 plus books.
Wally Groff, associate athletic di
rector, said 18 percent of the Ath
letic Department’s budget is allo
cated to athletic scholarships.
“By state law, all athletic depart
ments and programs must be sup-
provide full and partial scholarships,
and include the remaining sports.
Once scholarship amounts are al
located, the coaches decide who will
receive the scholarships. Groff said
that partial scholarships can be split
in half or up to four ways.
Assistant track coach Ted Nelson
said track is allowed a maximum of
a
Fhe only place you know you’re going after you get
out of class is to the field, so that you can beat up on
somebody or somebody can beat up on you.”
— Dennis Ransom,
student athlete
ported by their own funds if it’s a
state agency,” Groff said. “We’re for
tunate that we’re able to provide
most of our scholarships through
the 12th Man Club.”
Sports are either head count
sports or equivalency sports. Head
count sports provide full schol
arships and include football, men’s
and women’s basketball and wom
en’s volleyball. Equivalency sports
14 scholarships. He said the Athletic
Department is able to provide eight
full and six partial.
Each athlete is evaluated to see
how much of an asset each is to the
team, Nelson said. He added that
coaches base their decisions on
NCAA level or Southwest Confer
ence level tournaments where points
are earned. Nelson said that the ath
letes who perform better and are
perceived by their coaches to be
worth more to the team receive
more money.
All coaches face this type of deci
sion when deciding who receives a
scholarship, regardless of the sport.
“Scholarships are given to the ath
lete who demonstrates the best talent
based on how much they can help
the team,” Nelson said.
High school athletes are recruited
based on their athletic abilities. An
athlete must meet the entrance re
quirements set by the University,
and the NCAA requirements of a
minimum 700 SAT score or mini
mum 15 ACT score as well as a cu
mulative grade-point-ratio of 2.0
upon graduation from high school.
Once the athletes have been se
lected, the coaches meet with review
councils and advisory committees. It.
is then up to the head coach to de
cide who will play and get the schol
arships.
Choices are then recommended to
the Athletic Department, and appro
vals are sent to the University Schol
arship Committee. Scholarships are
then awarded to those athletes.
“There are numerous checks and
balances in the system to make sure
all bases are covered before anything
is awarded,” Groff said.
Scholarships are awarded on a se
mester or an academic year basis. As
long as an athlete continues to per
form well, they will continue to re
ceive their scholarship.
All athletes are expected to prac
tice and play to the best of their abili
ties, Nelson said. The degreeof work
is left to the students.
“Some students-work as hard as
they can, but cannot compete on a
college level — they just do not pos
sess what it takes,” Groff said. He
said that if athletes do poorly in
school they will either be transferred
or will have to leave the University.
If they are able to keep good grades,
but perform poorly i their sport,
they will continue to receive a schol
arship as long as they satisfy their
coaches.
Groff said there is a four-year
playership with a five-.year eligibility
for the scholarship, six-year maxi
mum. The athletes who wait longer
to attend college lose more money.
Graduate student-athletes are
rare, and those who do stay lose
their eligibilitv bv that time. The last
See Scholarships/Page 7
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