December, 1940 9
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE OFFICIATING

The Missouri Valley Conference, consisting of Creighton, Drake, Oklahoma
A&M, St. Louis Univ., Tulsa Univ,, Washburn College and Washington Univ., will
again continue the unique plan adopted last year for the selection and training of
all officials working in Conference zames,

This play requires the selection of 12 regular officials and five alter-
nate officials to work all Conference games, The group selection was made at the
time of the National Convention, in Kansas City, It consists of a proportion nun-
ber of officials from each school area throughout the Conference, The specific as-
signments are made by Artie Eilers, Conference Executive Secretary, and each school
is notified of the assignments in advance of each game, The officials are required
to work throughout the entire Conference area, This feature, alone, was credited
last year as having been the greatest step forward in producing harmonious consis-
tency and unvaried interpretation of the playing code in all sections of the Con-
ference, The assignments were made in such manner as to equalize the additional
travelling expense over the period of a season's play for all the Conference teams,

The unique feature of this plan requires every official to attend a two-
day joint meeting with the coaches in advance of the season's first games, the meet-
ing this year will be held at Kansas City, on December 7th and 8th, Both the
coaches and officials make a thorough study of the rules, mechanics of officiating
and game problems, The session closes with a mtual understanding of the various
officiating problems and has tended to a mutual confidence between the coaches and
the officials,

The officials are pro-rated additional expenses throughout the season
games to cover the additional cost of their attendance at this joint session, The
plan seems to meet with the avproval of every member of the Conference and is un-
doubtedly the greatest single factor in bringing about a more uniform interpreta-
tion throushout the area of the Missouri Valley Conference,

With Oklahoma A & M, Drake and Creighton making extensive intersectional
tours in pre-Conference games, the Missouri Valley Conference will again have teams
in action in every section of the country,

Mid-western teams were more than mildly successful in intersect ional play
last winter, Indiana won the national collegiate title, during the course of which,
it tripped some of the best teams in the East; Kansas turned back Southern Califor
nia from the West; and Rice, from the South,

The popularity of basketball in the mid-west has become such that two in-
stitutions---Iowa State and Kansas State----are clamoring for new field houses, In-
creased attendance has been noted in both high school and college ranks in these 2
states,

Does this issue of the Bulletin feature sundry items on basketball in your
territory? If not, it's because we have been unable to secure notes that we are
especially eager to print, How about contributing items that would have popular in
terest both locally and nationally? Send them to the Editor, Thanks,

The New England basketball coaches voted not to use the same officials in
more than three home games in one season, This is a grand move in the right direc-
tion, and it will be nice if this were maintained everywhere,