Freshmen Now Eligible For Most Varsity Teams

As of next year, freshman males in Ivy League colleges will be eligible for all varsity teams except football and crew, Robert E. Kaufmann '62, associate dean for finance and administration, said yesterday.

John P. Reardon Jr. '60, director of Athletics, said yesterday, "I'm not thrilled we've gone in that direction."

"From the standpoint of participation and of getting a freshman adjusted to life at college, it's an unfortunate decision," he said.

The Ivy Policy Committee, a group of "high level" administrators formed last summer to deal with problems of athletic eligibility, reached the decision last November. The policy will be reviewed after four years.

The crew team is not affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is not affected by the policy.

Kaufmann said the November decision was the latest in a series of reforms of freshman eligibility rules which began approximately five years ago.

When large sports-oriented schools in the NCAA cut their budget by phasing out freshman teams in some sports during the early '70s, the Ivy League voted to retain freshman teams, Kaufmann added.

During the past five years, certain Ivy League schools also decided they could not afford the expense of maintaining freshman teams. Spring sports and some "individual" sports were the first programs to re-accept freshmen.

Kaufmann said he had consistently voted against freshman eligibility because he thinks the amount of time needed for varsity practice would make the adjustment to college life more difficult for freshmen.

He added that freshmen eligibility will encourage the recruitment of top-quality athletes, some of whom "would not otherwise have been admitted to Ivy League schools." Kaufmann said that the new rule will exclude students of subvarsity caliber from competition.

Jeffrey A. Horowitz '81, a freshman squash player, said yesterday that he approves of the new Ivy policy.

"I don't think all the choices in life, including athletic ones, should be hidden from us during freshman year," he said. "We should start learning how to make those choices."

Horowitz added that freshman athletes deserve the opportunity to compete with players of their own ability.

Robert A. Horne '81, a freshman who plays varsity tennis, also supports the new policy.

Horne disagreed with Kaufmannabout the effect of varsity practice on the athlete's freshman year. "A serious athlete is going to practice as much as he can no matter which team he's on," Horne said.

Both freshman athletes thought that freshman teams should be retained in order to give as many people as possible a chance to play intercollegiate sports