The Murphy Controversy (1979)

The Murphy Controversy, also known as the Murphy Scandal, was the defining event of the 1979 interhall football season. The Off-Campus team, which had earned a 4-0-1 record in the central quad division and a trip to the playoffs, was forced to forfeit each of their games due to player ineligibility.

The culprit? Quarterback Dave Murphy. In 1977, Murphy had attended John Carroll College, a small Jesuit university in Ohio. While there, he played QB on their Division III football team. This detail was discovered by Holy Cross Hall in the aftermath of a 28-0 shellacking by the O-C squad. They subsequently filed an official protest to the Department of Non-Varsity Athletics (NVA). Wanting to distance themselves from the situation, the NVA appointed an interhall athletic commission composed of five members to deliberate and rule on the problem. The difficult question was, does the varsity-letter ban apply to transfer students? For the first time in decades, a clarification of the eligibility rules would have to be made. While the game was played in week 1 of the interhall season, the commissioners would not come to a decision until the conclusion of the regular season in November. Finally, the committee ruled 3-2 in favor of Holy Cross' complaint. Off-Campus would have to forfeit their 4 wins and a tie, and were also barred from participating in the playoffs.

An appeal by Murphy inevitably brought the decision to NVA directors John Kelly and Rich O'Leary. A proposal was also sent to the 16 men's residence halls to ask for their support of a rule change allowing varsity transfers to participate in interhall athletics. 14 halls concurred with the proposal. The two that dissented, Dillon and Stanford, were the other two quad champions in 1979 and would have faced Off-Campus in the playoffs. Despite the backing of most of the halls, the NVA decided to uphold the original decision.

40 years later, and this remains the greatest eligibility crisis in interhall history. Off-Campus teams would reach the playoffs in each of the following two seasons, including a trip to the stadium in 1981. However, you could not fault any player from wondering what could might have been had Holy Cross not disregarded the principal rule of intramural athletics: don't be a sore loser.