Conclusion

Kicking a Field Goal during a Football Game, 1938

The 1936-1937 football controversy at North Carolina State represented the growing questions over the role of college football.  After the pain of the Great Depression, Americans found delight in following college sports, particularly football.  The resulting wider news coverage of these games, the players, and the coaches promoted the commercialization of intercollegiate athletics.  President Graham attempted to block this change by encouraging amateurism with the Graham Plan.  Ultimately, however, Graham failed to receive the support of all of the Southern Conference teams and their alumni.  Alumni, like David Clark, particularly, promoted this move towards commercialization.  Clark’s hatred of the Graham Plan highlights the transition of the program to resemble more of a big-time corporation rather than some good ole local boys playing for fun on the football field.  Dollar signs from ticket sales and the opportunity to recruit big-time players decreased the attraction to Graham’s amateurism. 

Ticket sales, gifts, recruiting, sponsorship, scholarship money, and leadership of college football programs are still hotly debated today.  In 1952, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) passed a law to approve the giving of financial aid to athletes based solely on athletic skills.  With this law, “any institution could recruit and subsidize athletes from any area of the country, if they had money for these purposes.” From this point on, the amount of money a college’s athletic department could garner legally decided the success of the school’s program and ability to compete with big-time college football programs throughout America.  The 1936-1937 controversy highlights the emergence of these issues and the questions and concerns that it caused because of the fear of college football becoming a money-centered business.