University of Virginia Library

Athletics, The Negro, And The University

By Jack Glenn

INTERNALLY THE BIGGEST NATIONAL problem
of the sixties, the Negroes' quest for satisfactory status,
recognition and opportunity has fired the minds of Americans
for the past few years. Fortunately the University
has escaped serious turmoil, but many students are now
questioning the University's policies concerning race relations.
The recent Student Council decisions-or perhaps
for a while, the lack thereof-has forced much student discussion
about Negro rights.

MANY PEOPLE EVEN TALKED OF boycotting entertainment
activities before the recent Peter, Paul, and Mary
concert in protest of alleged segregationist policies in the
Athletic Department's recruiting of athletes. I aim to review
these claims, even to dispute them, and hope that we can
adjust the focus of some who believe that the Department
does not try as hard as it might to grant Negro athletes
enough aid to attend Virginia.

THUS I FEEL FREE and perhaps even obligated to
say that my closest possible investigation reveals no policy
of racial discrimination in trying to recruit athletes for
the University's teams. From what I have seen, heard,
and been shown in the records and conversations and from
what I know of the men involved, it appears that no
athlete seeking scholarship aid is rejected on the basis
of color.

BUT ARE THESE MEN TRYING HARD enough?
Evidence points toward a positive answer. For example,
Coach Caruso says that he had lured one Negro wrestler
into coming to the University, but lost him because the
boy's mother had qualms about seeing her son go to a
bleached white southern school. Coach Blackburn of the
football team was kind enough to show John Marshall
and myself the scouting reports for this year's recruiting.
Many dealt with Negroes and one may yet be the icebreaker.
The fact that so much time, effort, and even
travel had been spent on reviewing these prospects seems
to demonstrate sincerity. It might also be pointed out that
last year the University offered athletic scholarships to
four Negroes, but none accepted the opportunity to come
here. None of these efforts can be labelled "token" grants,
if there are such things. Still this year there stands an even
better chance of landing at least one Negro gridder.

IN LURING A NEGRO to Virginia, however, there are
numerous obstacles to overcome. First, there are the high
requirements of the University itself in terms of admission
standards. Students' scholastic aptitude quotients hover
at a high mark, and if I were to give the athletes' averages
in this space it might quite seriously be enough to discourage
future borderline prospects from considering the
University for schooling. Both whites and Negroes have to
satisfy University admissions officers of their ability to
study.

BUT THEY ALSO HAVE TO HAVE A social life,
and does Virginia provide adequate functions of this kind for
a Negro, even for one who scores two touchdowns? Can
we tell a Negro prospect that fraternities may be closed
to him during rush (and probably even more so later)?
What is so attractive about this place for Negroes,
especially for ones that enjoy the security of having other
schools compete for their services? Likewise there is no
precedent of having successfully recruited Negro athletes.
These conditions make talent-hunting difficult for both
the pursuer and the somewhat willing prey. The latter
bears the responsibilities that burden the pioneer; the
former knows not what bait to use.

OF COURSE OFFICIALS encounter enough difficulty
in getting any good athlete here, and I do not mean
to be facetious. In all seriousness, recruiting future material
strains many a nerve. To restrict the field of possibilities
to players of one skin pigment only cuts back on the
possibilities of having successful teams. College sports
have expanded into big business status, and no businessman
would unnecessarily cut himself off from the market.

NOT JUST ANY ATHLETE will do, however. In that
sense the market does limit itself. Virginia seeks the best
and is relatively successful. Hence the school is not just
out to sign up a Negro for propaganda purposes. A
prospect is judged a prospect, not as a white or a black.
The initiative belongs to University Hall and to no one
else in its aims: it is not trying to draw in a Negro but
rather an athlete.

IT IS JUST AS on official told me. He confided that
he had played with Negroes in school (yes, of course,
some "were even his friends") and coached even more
of them later. He found them valuable and friendly in
both capacities and could not see how he could willfully
neglect them on his present team, if only for the reason
that they would help him keep his job. That seems important
enough. Some day, though, we will get a Negro
to accept an athletic grant. Such an event appears inevitable
if only because a good portion of the University's
Negro enrollment already receives financial assistance. Full
athletic scholarship seems to be the next step.

IS THERE A WAY TO HASTEN this process? Perhaps
there are many, but one point comes to the fore of my
mind. To get a Negro athlete to enter the University would
be far easier if there were more Negroes in the school.
How to lure them here greatly depends on the school's
attitude and image. I might add that the state's education
system needs improving, for I have seen too many
cases of students going through high school without basic
mathematics or experience with a foreign language-two
requirements for admission to the University. To lure
them as a means to a selfish end would, of course, be
a big mistake, but to provide an atmosphere in which
all Negroes can be comfortable would only further the
cause of stable race relations. That, after all, is what
concerns those who agitate for athletic grants to Negroes,
isn't it?

AS A FINAL NOTE, I would have to say that I
think most students already agree with me. For those
who do not, I hope my fellow sports writers and I across
the page have made the picture a little clearer. If John
Marshall and I happen to have the same views (we
know not what the other writes), then that agreement
should only strengthen the force of the convictions that
we hold in common.