Sprint Football: One Final Defeat
Administrators cut program, citing concerns about safety and competitiveness discontinue the program
Published May 5, 2016
Last November, Princeton sprint football looked poised to end its 105-game losing streak in league contests. With a season-high 36 points on the scoreboard, the Tigers led Chestnut Hill by 16 points early in the fourth quarter, before their fortunes took a downward turn. The defense gave up two touchdowns, allowing Chestnut Hill to tie the game, and with two minutes remaining, the visiting Griffins pulled ahead, returning a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown.
It would be the final loss for the sprint football program, which dates back to the early 1930s. On April 11, the University announced that it had discontinued the sport due to concerns about player safety and the team’s competitiveness, following a review by athletics staff, University administrators, medical staff, coaches, and sprint football alumni.
“We regret having to take this action, but we do not believe we can sustain the program at a level that is safe for our students and meets the high standards we achieve in the rest of our varsity athletics program,” President Eisgruber ’83 said in a University news release.
Sprint football, formerly known as lightweight or 150-pound football, requires players to stay below a weight limit of 172 pounds, and to fill its roster, the team often recruited current students with no prior football experience.
Donations to the Friends of Princeton Sprint Football had kept the program afloat in the last two decades, and alumni often have argued that a few admission spots each year could make a notable difference in the team’s results. The best support for this idea came from the 2012 season, when the Tigers’ roster included four former players from the varsity team. That year, Princeton lost half of its eight games by a touchdown or less and came tantalizingly close to ending the losing streak in a 32–29 overtime loss to Post.
But according to the news release, the University “concluded that it was not possible to increase the overall number of recruited athletes” or transfer positions from other sports without affecting the competitiveness of those teams.
Ralph Wright ’88, a former player and coach, has been disappointed by the lack of admission support. “Princeton does everything well, and this program they starved and allowed to founder for 20 years,” he said.
P.J. Chew ’95, the president of the Friends of Princeton Sprint Football from 1999 to 2012 and a former captain, said that participants in the program believed they were “doing everything right” to move in a positive direction. Sprint football earned awards for high alumni participation in the annual Tiger Athletics Give Day fundraiser in 2014 and 2015. The team also paid close attention to player safety, Chew said, thanks to head coach Sean Morey, a former NFL player whose career was cut short by concussions.
“Talking to the current players, they feel like the rug’s been pulled out from under them,” Chew said.
The Collegiate Sprint Football League has been growing in recent years, adding five new teams from small colleges to a group that included longstanding programs at Army, Cornell, Navy, and Penn. But even against the newcomers, Princeton struggled to compete.
While the Tigers’ poor showing on the field stood out in an athletics department that annually leads the Ivy League in championships, the team’s resilience also inspired admiration, on the campus and beyond. In 2012, Phil Taylor wrote a Sports Illustrated column about the program. It was titled “Losing Isn’t Everything.”
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4 Responses
Tom Meeker ’56
8 Years AgoRe “Sprint Football: One Final Defeat” (sports, May 11): It is a sad decision that Princeton has made, though completely understandable. I hark back to my days as an undergraduate when sprint football was called 150-pound football. We had to weigh in at 155 pounds or less a couple of hours before game time. Often one or two of my teammates would have to don “rubber” suits and exercise to drop a pound or two to stay eligible.
Back in those days there was very limited substitution, so almost all of us played both offense and defense. In 1953 our team had 24 members and lost only one game, to Navy, which had not lost a game, to the best of my recollection. That team was captained by Don Rumsfeld ’54, center and linebacker. The next year, with 23 players, we went undefeated, completing the season by beating Navy 34–21. My stint at wingback (single wing in those days) and defensive back ended abruptly in the third quarter, when my tibia was broken as I made a “spectacular” tackle for a 10-yard loss on the Navy runner.
Ah, the memories will last. We all received a miniature silver football with the orange and black “P,” and were able to have our letter sweater adorned with the large varsity “P.” The sweater still fits, and the “P” hangs on.
Fritz G. Nagel ’44
8 Years AgoI lament Princeton’s decision to discontinue its sprint football program. This deprives “little guys” of the opportunity to play the game they love.
(Fritz G. Nagel ’44, was a member of Princeton’s 150-pound football team that was undefeated, untied, and unscored upon in 1942.)
Ned Moffat ’13
8 Years AgoPublished online May 11, 2016
In regard to sprint football’s recent disbanding (Sports, May 11), I am appalled by the lack of transparency from President Eisgruber ’83, the administration, and Mollie Marcoux ’91. It is blatantly disrespectful to the alumni.
Read President Eisgruber’s quote: “I see no reason to ask our coaches to compete with one hand tied behind their back … .” Was the sprint football program shut down for lack of success? The program has struggled for years, but the administration has not offered any admission support in the past two decades. Yet, 0 recruits and 0 wins in a league with recruited players at Penn, Cornell, Army, and Navy leads to our Tiger program’s cancellation. What was it Mr. Eisgruber said about not asking coaches to compete with a hand tied behind their back? Hypocrisy.
How about the argument on safety? The University arrogantly brags about being a medical leader; however, it sets a dangerous precedent for player safety for other programs, both varsity and club alike, in creating a culture of silence. Hide your concussions, rugby, wrestling, and football, or Mr. Eisgruber will shut you down.
To shut down an 80-plus-year-old program that the University has failed to support in the recent two administrations is a disgrace, and it teaches our students that it is better to give up than find a solution.
Joe Salerno ’84
8 Years AgoRe the decision to discontinue sprint football (story, page 27): Princeton ought to give the team what it needs to succeed. What a fantastic opportunity for the University to reverse course and to demonstrate that young persons who fight on through extraordinary adversity deserve our support.