In 1927 at the fictional Tait College, football fever dominates the campus, with the era’s mood reflected in catchy numbers like the Tait Song and Good News. Tommy Marlowe, the team’s shining star, becomes the object of every flirtation, and he openly declares that the trick to attracting girls is to act uninterested. At a lively sorority party, the snobbish new student Pat McClellan puts him in his place, while Pat’s sights quickly shift toward wealthier company, namely Peter Van Dyne III. The social stakes feel high as loyalties and ambitions collide, setting the stage for romance, rivalry, and campus-wide bets on who will win the attention they crave.
Tommy’s charm experiment leads him to enlist Connie Lane Connie Lane, a practical and capable part-time librarian who comes from a poorer background. She isn’t impressed by superficial showmanship, yet her warmth and resilience gradually draw Tommy closer. As Connie discovers a genuine connection with him, she remains wary of the social games that seem to govern his world. Meanwhile, Connie’s roommate Babe Doolittle Babe Doolittle contemplates leaving her rocky relationship with the jealous football player Beef Beef to pursue Bobby Turner, a sentiment that adds complexity to the dormitory dynamics and the freshman-year romance catalog.
The plot thickens as social and athletic pressures collide just before the big game. Tommy’s renewed flirtation with Pat is helped along by a tangle of assumptions and promises, while Pat enjoys the attention as part of a larger scheme to secure a wealthy match with Peter Van Dyne III. The soda shop scene becomes a turning point: Tommy’s halting French lessons fail to impress Pat, who remains tuned to the lure of affluence, and Connie’s heart starts to fracture under the weight of being valued for her background rather than her character. When Tommy asks Connie to the big dance, she is thrilled, but he wavers at the last moment after Pat reenters the picture, entangled by notions of fortune. Connie’s disappointment is palpable, and the ache of unreciprocated affection lingers as she wonders if she’ll ever be chosen for who she truly is, not for where she comes from.
As the season reaches its crescendo, Tommy redoubles his resolve to prove himself, with Professor Kennyon quietly deciding to let him pass his French exam so he can still take the field. Connie, torn between pride and fear, fears Pat’s hold could still steal him away, but she also recognizes the sincerity of his growing feelings. When the curtain falls on the big game, Tait’s victory confirms the promise of new beginnings, and the social equation begins to settle: [Tommy Marlowe] with Connie Lane, Beef with Pat McClellan, Babe Doolittle with Bobby Turner. The campus celebration erupts in song as everyone finds a pairing that fits their heart, and the finale production number, Varsity Drag, brings the story to a bright and musical close.
