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WAC Should Reconsider

Click to see original imageScheduling of the 1977 Fiesta Bowl football game in Tempe, Ariz. on Sunday, Christmas Day in a capitulation to the request of bowl organizers and CBS network is a questionable action that ought to be reconsidered. The plan announced by the WAC conference this week after acquiescence by the WAC Presidents’ Council eliminates Brigham Young University, a prime conference contender, from participating in view of the school’s long-standing and wellknown policy not to play on the Sabbath, The move can only be interpreted as an imderhanded slap at a university which consistently has supported the conference with strong, well-balanced athletic programs. In the WAC’s 15%-year existence, BYU has won 46 championships in the 10 sports – 17 more than its nearest competitor. The Presidents’ Council decision to support the Sunday date raises several questions, including: – Isn’t it discriminatory to eliminate a conference team in good standing by not respecting its religious beliefs? – While the advantage of national TV coverage is recognized, isn’t a network wielding undue power when it presumes to call the shots in datesetting for college games? – Might an action that eliminates any school backfire against the WAC, which provides the host team for the Fiesta Bowl? In the event the team eliminated wins the conference championship then much of the gloss would be taken from the game by having to send a second place team as the conference representative. l ith Simday athletics objectionable to other colleges in the NCAA also, the issue becomes one with national implications. The Herald believes the WAC should reconsider and set a Fiesta Bowl date that any of its member schools can accept.