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The Question: Would you take a coaching job at a college that had de-emphasized athletics as the once-mighty University of Pennsylvania has done?
PAUL BRYANT
Head coach
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas
"I would love the job under the following conditions: That my employers, the alumni and players understand that competitive athletics were de-emphasized; that the school had that kind of schedule. This setup would eliminate the one thing that isn't fun about coaching now."
ART LEWIS
Head coach
West Virginia University
"Coaching has been a great pleasure in my life. I really have fun—working with boys. I'm in football because I love what I am doing. Sure, I'd coach at a college which had de-emphasized if there were no pressure, win or lose. No one hounds you and your job is not in jeopardy if you lose."
RIP ENGLE
Head Coach
Penn State
"Yes, providing other conditions were agreeable. De-emphasis or emphasis is a matter of degree. If teams have the same degree of de-emphasis, then they can compete on an equal basis. Coaches want an even chance of success, something Steve Sebo hasn't had this year or last. But his day will come."
JESS HILL
Head coach
University of Southern California
"Yes, if the schedule included only teams with a similar attitude. In all fairness to the players and the coach, a de-emphasized team cannot be expected to compete against a larger squad of more talented players who have the benefit of a longer period of training by a larger staff of coaches."
ANDY PILNEY
Head coach
Tulane University
"I'm not familiar with Penn's policies. I do know that every coach wants to compete on a fairly even basis with opposing teams. If this is possible, de-emphasis has only relative meaning. But if it isn't possible, the coaches and players hardly can enjoy or benefit from losing every Saturday."
EDDIE ERDELATZ
Head coach
U.S. Naval Academy
"Yes. It's important to win because competitive spirit makes football the game it is. The primary job is to develop character. As Grantland Rice wrote: 'For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes—not that you won or lost—but how you played the game.' "
RAY ELIOT
Head coach
University of Illinois
"That is difficult to answer. De-emphasis has so many shades of meaning and implies much. Is the college to give professorial rank to the coach? Is the college going to schedule schools of like caliber with equal emphasis on athletics? These and other questions would first have to be answered."
WEEB EUBANK
Head coach
Baltimore Colts
"Certainly. I coached a de-emphasized team at Washington University. We won 14, lost 4. I was backfield coach with Al Kelley's de-emphasized Brown University team. I took the Colts faced with a rebuilding job. Steve Sebo of Penn will win his share of games in the Ivy League."
RALPH JORDAN
Head coach
Auburn University
"Yes, because of the happy hours a coach spends with his players. I'd still have the chance to work with men who would still give competition. But it would be wise to have an understanding with the alumni. The schedule should also be de-emphasized, and teams of equal caliber scheduled."
JOHN MICHELOSEN
Head coach
University of Pittsburgh
"I would not hesitate if the scheduled teams were of comparable strength. It's unfair to all concerned, and especially to the players, to play a major schedule with inadequate material. I wouldn't send out a team, week after week, to play opponents against whom they didn't have a chance."
WOODY WOODARD
Head coach
Southern Methodist University
"It was my good fortune to coach in a high school, a college with a de-emphasized program, and a university with a top intersectional schedule. In each instance, I have seen boys develop into outstanding citizens because of football. I'd be happy coaching, regardless of the size of the program."
ILLUSTRATION
ELEVEN PHOTOS
NEXT WEEK:
Are bowl games good or bad for football?
