The Future

The Future

Stewart's Letter to UNL

Coach E.J. Stewart wrote a letter to the University of Nebraska about the need to schedule tough opponents to build national recognition. Nebraska needed to play tougher opponents even at the risk of a loss, because it would help them to build a stronger reputation. The need for tougher opponents would be across all sports, including track, wrestling, baseball, and basketball, as well as the main emphasis of Stewart's teaching, football. This proved to play a major role in Nebraska's future as a prominent program in the world of all sports.

The Cornhusker Yearbook, 1916-1917

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The Future
The adoption of the policy of playing only the big institutions in football in the future is probably the most important step undertaken by the new athletic administration. The approval of the Athletic Board, the Alumni faculty and students and other friends of the institution has been very enthusiastic; every body preferring to establish permanent athletic relations with the desirable institutions and accepting the possibility of defeats, rather than adjust schedules with the smaller institutions, even though all of the games should result in victory. It is hoped that Nebraska's basket ball, track and wrestling schedules may in the future include games with the larger institutions in the middle west and east. The addition of such teams as Syracuse, Michigan, and Missouri to the Nebraska schedule cannot but add to Nebraska prestige throughout the United States, and, after all, this is the result to be desired in all athletic relations.
A fair showing in football during the season past, in basket ball, in wrestling and prospects of good showing in track and baseball bring many inquiries as to the prospects for the coming year. This is particularly true of football, and it is only fair that the friends of the University should be advised that the prospects for a football team are much brighter than were those at the beginning of the 1916 season. At that time, the loss of such men as Abbott, Shields, Reese, Rutherford and Chamberlain, particularly the last two mentioned, left the football squad without the punch which characterized the play of the 1915 team; however, the development of half a dozen strong freshmen last fall and the retention of the majority of the strong players of the 1916 warrants the belief that the 1917 team will make a very creditable showing in this heavy schedule already spoken of.
Next in importance to the policy of playing only the large teams has been the action of the athletic board in re-establishing baseball as a major sport at Nebraska University, after seven years of baseball famine. The athletic board is to be commended for its attitude on the question of professionalism and is still further to be congratulated upon its decision to re-establish the game at Nebraska, since this institution is altogether too large and important in Missouri Valley and mid-west athletic circles to longer remain away from the national pastime. Every other Missouri Valley conference institution is pleased in the action of Nebraska of re-establishing baseball. It is true that it may be several years before Nebraska can develop baseball to the same high standard as already exists in some of the Missouri Valley schools, but there is no reason why baseball teams from this institution should not rank with or above those teams representing other Missouri Valley institutions within the course of the next four years.
- Dr. E.J. Stewart.