dollars "in the hole." The only change from one season to the
next has been that the debt has been slightly decreased or consid •
erably increased. The cause of this condition is one worthy of in
vestigation. In the early history of State's athletic relations with
other institutions, when, on account of her meagre reputation,
our teams could command but very small guarantees, and when,
on account of the small number of students, the attendance at
home events was correspondingly small, there was indeed some
excuse for the existing financial conditions, but these arguments
are no longer adequate to explain present conditions. With
teams commanding guarantees which even a few years ago
seemed unheard of amounts, and with twice the number of stu
dents of a few years back, the financial status of the Association
has, if anything, assumed a lower plane.
The principal cause has for some time been only too. obvious,
yet the very persons who are loudest in the expression of dissatis
faction at tbe outcome each year, are the ones who are individ
ually responsible for it. In just as great a measure as an em
ployer is responsible for the acts of an employee, are the indi
vidual members of the Athletic Association responsible for the
acts of the managers whom they elect ? Unquestionably the root
of the trouble lies in the selection of managers.
Before discussing the method of selection, let us glance for a
moment at the results. During the four years spent by the
writer at State, twelve managers were elected by the Athletic As
sociation, one each year in each of the three departMents—foot
ball, base ball and general athletics. Now of these twelve man
agers, nine increased the indebtedness of the Association by sums
reaching as high as $3OO, while only three held their own. The
foot ball department came out ahead once, the general athletic
department twice, and the base ball departmefit not even once in
the four years in question. The results are simple, undeniable
facts which an examination of the Association records will cor
roborate,
.and they can, almost without exception, be traced back
to one fundamental cause, namely, the election of incompetent
men to an office which requires persons of the keenest business
as well as general athletic instincts. That the success of the
team itself has but little to do with the financial outcome of the
season as compared with the abilities of the manager, was more
than conclusively proved when the manager of the poorest foot