FOOTBALL; Villanova terminates program

Faced with the financial realities of big-time college football, which involves tremendous expenditures in athletic grants, equipment, and travel, Villanova has decided to drop the sport.

The program had actually been on the ropes for years, with a loss of $315,000 reported as far back as 1971. Since then the program has come under periodic review.

In announcing the end of varsity football, the Rev. John M. Driscoll, Villanova's president, said the university's board could not ". . . in good conscience do other than reevaluate its priorities when a third of the buildings on campus require renovation, when up-to-date laboratory equipment and facilities need to be acquired, and additional scholarship aid provided, to name a few unmet priorities."

Though Villanova was never noted as a football power, it had played the game for 87 years and compiled a .530 winning percentage. Last fall's 6-5 squad recorded the school's first non-losing season since 1976.