Coach Gore, a ruthless and cynical big-time football coach, neglects his wife in his unrelenting drive to make Calvert College a football power.

A ruthless coach (Pat O'Brien) creates turmoil at a college by hiring players (Lyle Talbot) and alienating students (Dick Powell). Along the way, the coach loses his wife (Ann Dvorak) to a grandstanding player. Inside look at college football of the 1930s replete with fake grades, non-student players, and the importance of football to a college's reputation.—Ed Lorusso