Walla Walla Secures First Northwest Intercollegiate Field Meet
Whitman College professor lands a massive athletic event, bringing ten major institutions from across the region to compete in Walla Walla.
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The first great intercollegiate field meet of the Northwest Intercollegiate Athletic Association will take place in Walla Walla next year. Professor Allen of Whitman College secured the event, which he says will be the greatest athletic event ever held west of the Rockies. Ten colleges and universities will compete, including the University of Washington, University of Oregon, University of Idaho, and Whitman College. Professor Allen was made chairman of the committee and says it is planned to send out a schedule in the spring, allowing only the best athletes to compete, ensuring a speedy and competitive event. A rule change was also passed allowing students carrying heavy academic loads to participate in athletics.
“This will be the greatest athletic event which has ever been held west of the Rockies.”
This event marked a significant moment in the development of regional college sports culture in the Pacific Northwest. The tension between student-athlete academic requirements and the pressures of amateur athletic competition identified in this 1903 meeting remains a central debate in higher education today.
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