My friend's uncle played football for one of the current ACC schools
in the 1950's. In that era, eligibility rules were either non-existent or ignored. The team would travel by train to away games, and "ringers" would get onto the train in route. When the team arrived at their destination, they had several more players than they had when they left their campus. I cannot imagine integrating non-practicing players into an offense, so I can only guess that the ringers were primarily defensive players. Nevertheless, the team was essentially comprised of anyone willing to wear that schools' jersey. The system worked in that the games were played with (fewer than now) fans in attendance and few, if any, games on television. I think we are heading for a model that will more resemble the 1950's model than it resembles the model to which we have grown accustomed.
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In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
Posted: 06/21/2021 at 1:30PM