Athletic Council records

The first meeting of the Williams College Athletic Council convened in Hopkins Hall on March 20, 1897. From its earliest years, the Council was composed of the student presidents of the baseball, football, and track associations, three members of the faculty, and a number of alumni, three of whom also belonged to the Faculty Committee on Athletics. The group met frequently throughout the academic year. Its members were responsible for promoting campus athletics, had final jurisdiction in financial matters, and made the decisions involving athletic policy. The Council’s Constitution and bylaws were enacted in 1897. Later, with the formation of the Department of Health and Athletics in the academic year 1935-36, the Council became an advisory board. The Alumni Athletics Advisory Committee, which functioned between the years 1890 and 1895, consisted of seven members, all alumni. The first Faculty Committee members included J. H. Safford and J. Garfield.