Alumnus' Letter Attacks Policies on Recruiting In Ivy League Colleges

A letter pointing out the disparity between Harvard's stand on recruiting by coaches and the policies of other Ivy League schools has been published in the Nov. 26 issue of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin, on the newsstands Monday.

With this letter, Bayley F. Mason '51, a member of the Schools and Scholarships Committee of the Harvard Club of Boston, has brought a long-smoldering debate about recruiting practices into the open.

The letter maintains, "The primary purpose of Ivy League coaches is to teach scholar-athletes..., not to serve as high-pressure recruiters."

"Harvard's policy on recruiting by coaches," it says, "is essentially that this is not their normal function."

The College's rule does not permit coaches to contact a prospective or actual candidate at his home or school or to initiate any correspondence. Coaches may talk with candidates in Cambridge, at the home of an alumnus, at Harvard Clubs, or at Schools Committee functions, and may answer letters pertaining to the athletic program. Copies of both incoming and outgoing letters must go through the Dean's office.

"Unfortunately," the Bulletin letter charges, "there is no consistency within the Ivy League on recruiting by coaches. Some colleges have policies similar to Harvard's; most have liberal policies" Most of the Ivies permit coaches to contact candidates at their homes and schools, "by invitation and in consultation with the college admissions officers," the letter says, and at least one Ivy college allows its coaches "virtually a free rein" in recruiting.

Follows Spirit of Agreement

Furthermore, the letter claims that the Harvard policy is the one that follows "the spirit as well as the letter" of the Ivy Group Agreement. "Most Ivy League colleges seem to enjoy being viewed as 'prestige' colleges," it asserts, "but with prestige goes responsibility."

"I do believe," the writer says, "that our coaches are handicapped by this policy and that the College should make every effort to achieve uniformity within the League on this matter."

The writer told the CRIMSON last night, "What I write is my opinion, but I am reasonably sure that my stand is in accord with the College's position on this matter." "Several Ivy League presidents and deans, including Harvard's Dean Watson, have sought unsuccessfully to have the League adopt a common rule similar to Harvard's," he said.

Yale and Penn Resemble

He cited Pennsylvania and Yale as the Ivy schools with rules on recruiting by coaches similar to the College's. "At the other end of the spectrum, where coaches have varying degrees of freedom to recruit--within basic Ivy Group and NCAA rules--are Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Princeton," he said.

Some undergraduates now playing on Crimson varsity squads have reported that the use of coaches by League rivals has often backfired in Harvard's favor, the writer said. He quoted one athlete as saying, "I began to wonder whether other schools' coaches wanted me to skate or study. Sure, Harvard is interested in my athletic ability, but it never dominated the issue of my coming here."