"We're in a no-win situation," Maurice Frilot' '89 says. "We're made to feel that we're not smart enough, and when we're playing, people say we're not tough enough to compete."

Instructors are also guilty of perpetuating stereotypes of athletes, athletes say.

"I think that, in general, professors and section leaders kind of carry a grudge," hockey player Ed Krayer '89-'90 says. "They don't go out of their way to shaft an athlete but there is some animosity. They're not pleased when you miss their exam or their section or review."

The burden of balancing academics and athletics has occasionally taken its toll on athletes at Harvard. Richard Knight '90 was in line to become a starter on this year's soccer squad, but decided to sit out the season in order to concentrate on academics.

"In terms of looking at possibilities after college, it was high time to do well academically," Knight says. "The opportunities after college from soccer are virtually non-existent."

Other athletes have had to sit out seasons or parts of seasons because of academic problems. Like other students, athletes occasionally run afoul of the Administrative Board. Students on academic probation cannot participate in extra-curricular activities--including sports--without special permission.

Harvard athletes do not receive extensive support from the Athletic Department. According to Assistant Athletic Director Bob Malekoff, athletes are briefed at the beginning of the year about eligibility requirements. But for the most part, Malekoff says, the Athletic Department deals with athletes through coaches. The Athletic Department is primarily concerned with freshman athletes, Malekoff says.

"We have an orienation meeting with new coaches," Malekoff says. "We talk about the fact that, okay, we have a bunch of freshmen coming here and in addition to making the transition to college life they're playing a sport. That can be terrific because it provides him with an immediate group of people he can be friends with. On the other hand, it can be a negative situation depending on how much pressure that kid puts on himself."

Unlike at most major schools, athletes are not given additional academic resources. Harvard does not provide its athletes with study halls and tutors like at Holy Cross, for instance.

"The philosophy here is that athletes are like any other student," Athletic Director Jack P. Reardon '54 says. "The University resources are the ones that should be used. If someone has a problem they should go to the Bureau of Study Council like everyone else."

For their part, coaches have a dual role. They must win games while at the same time making sure their athletes stay on top of their academic work. And that is not always an easy task. "I'm sure there are guys coaching who say it should be easier to coach at Harvard than at other places," men's basketball coach Peter Roby says.

Unlike at other universities--Ohio State and Texas A&M, for instance--coaches are not always under the gun. Vince Lombardi's motto about winning being the only thing does not grace the walls of the Harvard Athletic Department.

The Athletic Department does not place enormous pressure on coaches to win, says men's soccer Coach Mike Getman. "I don't have the feeling that if I lose tomorrow I'm going to be fired," Getman says.

But coaching at Harvard, in fact, has its own peculiar difficulties. Coaches occasionally have to rearrange practice schedules to accommodate athletes with classes or tests. Or, more often, they have to prepare for games without 100 percent attendance at practice.

"I came here from Indiana [University], where I was an assistant coach," Getman says. "You simply didn't miss practices at Indiana. If you had to change a class or drop a class because it was going to be conflicting with practices, you did that."