The Case for Commercialism

The recent suggestion that Virginia football teams be allowed to play one game or more each year with a worthy opponent in one of the larger cities appears entirely worthwhile to us. At this time, there is a University ruling which prohibits such action on the part of our teams and recent efforts to repeal it, through the Board of Visitors, have failed to produce any effect.

An objection has been raised to the effect that, in playing such a game. Virginia would be lowering herself, to the level of commercialism in athletics, to a certain extent, and thus to a resultant over-doing of the game. In one breath, the statement frequently is made that we want athletics for all--intramural athletics--and in the next breath, we hear that the University should keep away from Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond because to have teams play in such places would not be exactly in keeping with our purely amateur outlook and our love of the game for the game's sake. But we seldom realize that football pays for practically all other sports and that one big game before a large audience would do more towards assisting "athletics for all" than any other single factor.

Personally, we feel that the name of Virginia would appear to far better advantage in a Washington, Baltimore, or Richmond setting than in some of our customary Virginia towns whose identity would still be unknown if it were not for Rand-McNally and an efficient census bureau. College Topics, U. of Va.