Another factor in the formation and development of college traditions and college spirit is the influence of the men who shape the athletic policy.

When one of the graduates returns to direct the athletic affairs of his Alma Mater, or those of another college he naturally becomes a potent influence in the life of the students.  Great is his opportunity for character making.  The men all look up to him and the spirit of hero worship is present everywhere.  Such athletic directors are chosen largely because of their success on the athletic field.  And when one can combine athletic directorship with scholastic knowledge, the combination is doubly effective.

By association they know the real spirit and patriotic sentiment of the college men.  They appreciate the fact that success in athletics, like success in life, depends not merely upon training the head, but upon training the will.  Huxley said that: 

“The true object of all education, was to develop ability to do the thing that ought to be done when it ought to be done, whether one felt like doing it or not.”

Prompt obedience to rules and regulations develop character and the athletic director becomes, therefore, one of the most important of college instructors.  A boy may be a welcher in his classroom work, but when he gets out on the athletic field and meets the eye of a man who is bound to get the most out of every player for the sake of his own reputation, as well as the reputation of the school or college, that boy finds himself in a new school.  It is the school of discipline that resembles more nearly than anything else the competitive struggle in the business life of the outside world that he is soon to enter.

Another exceedingly valuable trait that athletic life develops in a student is the spirit of honorable victory.  The player is taught to win, to be sure, but he is also taught that victory must never overshadow honor.

    Who misses or who wins the prize,
    Go lose, or conquer, as you can
    But if you fail, or if you rise,
    Be each, Pray God, a gentleman.

This tradition and atmosphere cannot be retained in institutions merely by the efforts of the students.  The co-operation of the alumni is necessary.  On this account it is unfortunate that the point of view of too many college men regarding their Alma Mater is limited to the years of their own school and college days.

Our universities especially are beginning to learn that this has been a great mistake and that the continued interest and loyalty of the alumni are absolutely essential to insure progress and maintain the high standard of an institution.  There is, in other words, a real sense in which the college belongs to the alumni.  The faculty is engaged for a specific purpose and their great work is made much more profitable by the hearty co-operation of the old and young graduates who keep in close touch with the happenings and the spirit of their different alma maters.