| The Ivy League may have been both the impetus and failure of Stassen's
plan to begin with. Here it is important to look at the implications of the "Ivy
Group Agreement" of 1945. First it is necessary to recognize the time period
of this meeting: 1945 was the end of World War II. World War II, while terrible
in terms of casualties and destruction overseas was excellent business for Penn
and the other "Ivy League" institutions. The research dollars supplied by the
government were immensely more substantial than anything that football had ever
accumulated. Before 1942, government funding at Penn was virtually nil. But after
the United States entered into the war, Penn was to face some good and bad news.
The bad news could be anticipated, which was that Penn was to lose money from
tuition deficits from 1942-1945. The good and unexpected news was that Penn and
other respected universities that could attract eminent scholars, were offered
financial endowments in exchange for research projects designed by the US government.
In 1942, Penn was generating 5.3% of its annual earnings from intercollegiate
athletics, while in the same year, Penn also accumulated 5.1% of their income
from government funding and research grants. The year 1945 is, what might be called
by a historian, the turning point in Penn's academic career. In 1942, University
still made one-third of its revenue through tuition, but figure had decreased
considerably since the middle thirties. In 1943, with more of America's young
men fighting in the ongoing war, tuition dropped to 30% of the annual revenue,
athletics declined to 4.7%, but governmental funding doubled, becoming 11% of
the total revenue of Penn. If Penn's financial advisors were slow to acknowledge
the obvious trends in their markets from the data of the previous two years, 1944
was the year of the awakening for the University. In 1944, Penn produced 32.8%
of their annual earnings through governmental research funds, while athletics
made only 3.3%. The next year saw almost identical numbers and in the same year
the "Ivy Group Agreement" of 1945 was formed by the presidents. Although
the Ivy Group was an assemblage centered on the common thread of football, it
was uncanny that the "Ivy League" after the meeting, were referring to themselves
as such and creating an almost official union. Since the "Ivy Group," as they
called themselves by 1945 were made up of 8 academically prestigious schools it
would be easy to almost monopolize the research dollars that were rolling into
these institutions. Penn may have realized for the first time that in terms of
finance academics were more practical than athletics. Membership to the Ivy Group
(which it was unofficially a part of before the forties) would be invaluable for
generating significant and rewarding funds; but there were more than a few problems
standing in the way of such a dream. The first obstacle was Penn's image
at the time of the war: a highly social and athletically geared, professional
but not a true research institution. This image impeded Penn's attempts at becoming
a strong academic force. Penn was considered an "Ivy League" institution, but
it was still rebuked by its fellow Ivy League representatives for its "recruiting"
and neglect of academia. Penn's pledge to the football rules of the 1945 Agreement
could be seen as an assurance that the University would refrain from hypocritical
practices. In other words, Penn could not have national football glory (with its
continual and questionable enticement of less than academically sound young men)
and still retain the "Ivy League" academic reputation and attendant research dollars. The
regulations of the "1945 Agreement" made it impossible
for Penn to adhere to its current football reputation, which included recruiting
and scholarships. The University would have to seek revenue and acclaim in some
other areas of distinction: The most logical was to join in a scramble for academic
prestige with the other "Ivy League" schools. The "Victory With Honor" plan would
have been impossible after Penn signed the "Ivy Group Agreement" because it exalted
athletic competition. In order to discard the university's current football image,
President Stassen would have to make clear that scholarships, recruiting, and
big-time practice policies were to be banned. There was never outright or official
ban of these practices, but the University's win-loss records reveal an effort
to scale back the Penn football team. Examining the win-loss records of
this era, in correlation to the number of men on scholarship, provides insight
into Penn's priorities. Penn had twice as many men on scholarship in 1950, than
in 1949. In fact, 80 scholarships for football were approved in 1950 by university
coach George Munger. In 1950, considering the schedule faced by Penn in the next
half-decade, they fared well: from 1950-1953 Penn had season records of 6-3, 5-4,
4-3-2, 3-5-1. Not bad for a team that competed against teams such as Army, Notre
Dame, Navy, and California. But, in 1954 after the formal and official "1954
Ivy Group Agreement," Penn's record fell to an atrocious 0-9 with what became
known as the "Suicide Schedule" in subsequent years. Why would Penn's record
fall so low? The answer lies in the unofficial but nevertheless, prevalent prohibition
of athletic scholarships. It is probably no coincidence that Penn was athletically
humbled in the same year in which they signed the official "Ivy Group Agreement"
of 1954. Stassen and Munger may have planned to get as much winning football for
as long as possible before they would inevitably lose the program and dedicate
the institution to its primary calling-- learning and research. What the two pro-athletic
men did not plan on was the dishonor of their subsequent "retirements" (Stassen
was appointed on U.S. President Eisenhower's staff and Munger resigned) along
with the Athletic Director Franny Murray (Murray was fired) all in 1953. Penn
had just encountered a kind of academic coup d'etat in terms of Uuniversity structure,
and now it was time for an authoritarian figure to intervene in order to stimulate
Penn's "great leap forward." |