Free Essay

College Football

In:

Submitted By sheaf3
Words 1408
Pages 6
College Football

Kyle Sheaffer

Throughout the last century, football has emerged as the most popular sport in the United States. The sport has become the favorite of 38.8% of Americans. The super bowl and the BCS National Championship combined for a total of 66.38 million viewers last year. That’s not to mention the other bowl games, playoffs, and regular season games at each level. The following paragraphs will provide in-depth explanations of college football’s history, awards and achievements, and how the NCAA spends its money with information gathered from a variety of sources. The first intercollegiate football game was played between Princeton and Rutgers on November 6, 1869 on College Field, New Brunswick, New Jersey. The ground on which the game was played is now covered by Rutgers’ current basketball arena the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Rutgers won the game with a final score of 6-4. The second game was played on November 13th, Princeton won the rematch 8-0. This game concluded the first official college football season. After this season however, the game took on more of a rugby like rules system. It stayed that way until 1880, the year that Walter Camp proposed new rules such as the play from scrimmage, the first down, and the 11 man team. Camp has been called the “Father of American Football”. Throughout the remainder of the 19th century, football became increasingly popular yet violent at the same time. Between 1890 and 1905 , 330 college athletes died from injuries caused on the field of play. The deaths have been contributed to the mass formations and gang tackling that was common throughout the early years of the sport. In 1906, 13 school leaders met at the White House upon President Theodore Roosevelt’s request. The meeting was organized in an effort to make the game safer for athletes. Because the college officials could not agree on a rule change, it was decided that an external governing body should be used. This was the birth of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS). The game changed again on September 5, 1906 when Bradbury Robinson of Saint Louis University threw the first legal forward pass in a game against Carroll College. The legality of a forward pass was made possible the previous spring IAAUS in another attempt to make the game safer. The IAAUS changed its name to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), which is the name which it still operates under today.
Even after the emergence of the National Football League (NFL) in 1920, College football continued to be extremely popular across the United States. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_football) One thing that College football offers is multiple championships or bowl games. The first bowl game ever played was played between the Michigan Wolverines and the Stanford Cardinals alongside the Tournament of Roses Parade and was called the Rose Bowl. The game was played in Pasadena, CA which is still the venue for the game today. There are now 35 bowl games played annually, these games are played in 15 different states. California, Texas, and Florida are the only states that host four or more bowl games. The newest addition to the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is the four team playoff system that will be implemented during the 2014-2015 college football season. After all the bowl games are completed, the top four teams in the country will play a semifinal game followed by a championship game that will take place on the following Monday. Cities will auction for the privilege of hosting the game, the 2015 championship will be held at AT&T stadium in Dallas, Texas. This will be the first time that the NCAA D-1A champion will be decided by a playoff system, while the D-1AA champion has been decided tournament style since 1981, their playoffs have since expanded from four teams to 24 teams. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Football_Playoff)
Many trophies and awards are handed out to teams and players every season. The most prestigious being the Heisman Memorial Trophy, this award is given to the most outstanding player in college football. The winner must exhibit the pursuit of excellence with integrity, epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work. The award is handed out in December before the bowl games begin. The winner is selected by former Heisman winners, sports journalists, and fans (total fan votes only count as one vote). Archie Griffin is the only player to ever win two heisman trophies, the first in 1974 and then the second in 1975. Charles Woodson is the only defensive player to win the award in 1997. The first sophomore to ever win was Tim Tebow in 2007, five years later Johnny Manziel became the first redshirt freshman to take the trophy home. All but two players that have won the Heisman were drafted into the NFL. In all, 47 different trophies and awards are presented to players across the country. These trophies cover a broad range of topics, from the Heisman Memorial trophy to the Academic All-American of the Year Award. The best player for each position is award a trophy, usually with the name of former college football great that played the same position, at the College Football Awards Show that is held annually at the Boardwalk in Orlando, FL. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN_College_Football#Home_Depot_College_Football_Awards)
Another type of award that is distributed every year is game trophies. Many different game trophies are handed out every year. Whether it’s a long time rivalry game or the BCS National Championship, the stakes are always higher when a trophy is on the line. The oldest rivalry game that is still played is between Michigan and Notre Dame, the two teams have played 41 times since 1887, there is no official trophy for this game, but the anticipation for this game runs deep at both universities. Out of the large number of rivalries that have been formed, only 19 have ever been discontinued. Whether it had to do with conference change or money issues, the rivalries involved will never be seen again. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_college_football_rivalry_games) While college players make no money, the NCAA itself collects its fair share of income from football. Through TV, marketing rights, championship revenue, and other services the Indiana-based group made $757 million during the 2013 - 2014 season. The NCAA distributes its entire budget to seven major allocations. $30.6 million go towards administrative expensive and NCAA salaries. Academic enhancement for Division-1 athletes gains $22.4 million every year, $66,000 is sent to each school at the beginning of June. Some conferences however get some extra spending money, the Big East received an extra $1 million and SEC schools received $770,000 for academic support personal and athletic facilities. Teams that make the NCAA basketball tournament receive part of $180.5 million based on their performance in the tournament over a six year period. Conference grants are another area that the NCAA hands out money to. $8 million is distributed through conference grants, which are to be used to enhance officiating programs, compliance and enforcement, diversity, and drug and gambling education. Each conference received a payment of $251,097 last year. Schools receive $111 million for scholarships to offer to student-athletes who are either incoming freshman or to players that are not under scholarship already. Universities are also granted a share of $55 million based on the number of sports teams that they have. The last $40 million is spent on students who have been injured while playing a sport at the college level. (http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6756472/following-ncaa-money) To sum it all up, college football is a very popular sport across America. From its humble beginnings to the games prestigious championships we see today, the game is always changing and always engrossing the minds of millions of fans across the country. There are many honors that can be awarded to coaches, athletes, and teams. There is also millions of dollars in circulation throughout the entire college football world. College football has been around since 1869, and will be around long past our time.

(http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6756472/following-ncaa-money)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_college_football_rivalry_games)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN_College_Football#Home_Depot_College_Football_Awards)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Football_Playoff)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_football)

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Television's Impacet on College Football

...Frank Perri College Reading and Writing 16 February 2010 Television’s Influence on College Football Due to the growing and changing landscape of college sports there have been questions raised about the integrity of academics above athletics. This is a very large issue within college football programs. College football coaches and athletic directors are getting paid more then college presidents and chancellors (“Television’s Impact on College Sports”), football revenues for individual schools have peaked at over $87 million (Fish), and networks are requesting that big time college football games be played on Thursday nights for prime-time viewing. College professors and the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics are strongly opposed to the control that television networks have over college football. The belief that academic integrity is a higher priority is an argument that has been fighting a losing battle to network dollars. Big football market universities make a lot of money from major contracts with television networks. In a recent episode of ESPN’s Outside the Lines it stated that the Big Ten football conference makes $242 million average annual income from television revenue (“Television’s Impact on College Sports”). That’s not pocket change. A $242 million dollar payday to split between the eleven schools in the Big Ten for merely letting CBS, FOX, ESPN, etc., come in and record their schools football games? That can’t be right. Unfortunately, it’s not right, there...

Words: 1545 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

College Football Players

...Should College Football Players Get Paid? Many have questioned whether college football players should be getting paid or not. Micheal Gonchar’s blog, “Should College Players Get Paid?” questions if it’s fair that the only ones not getting paid are the players. College Athletes are put in the position to work hard on the field and to also keep their academics up to par. It’s not easy balancing in being a full time student and an athlete, their commitment has to be to the sport and school. While college staffs and universities make millions and college football players only get $550 worth if they even happen to make it to the AT&T Cotton Bowl. I believe that college football players getting paid is not a good idea. Getting paid would be a plus, but I believe that if the football player has a passion for football and enjoys playing football then money shouldn’t matter. Getting paid may cause these players not to give it their all. Today football players put their hopes up to make it to the NFL and the big check that comes along with it. By them getting paid in college would just defeat the purpose of working hard to strive for that goal. Getting paid in college defeats the purpose of what college really is, people go to college for their education and to prepare themselves for jobs in the future. Paying college football players will ruin college athletics because if college football players are getting paid they will no longer dedicate their time to the sport and it would defeat...

Words: 723 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Article Rebuttal for College Football Playoffs

...Article Rebuttal Colton Fitch BCOM/275 July 18, 2012 Peter Quinn Article Rebuttal In an article titled “No college football playoff, please” the author Chuck Klosterman argues that a playoff system for college football would be bad for the sport. In a short rebuttal to the article I will analyze the reliability, credibility, and validity of the data used by the author as well as identifying any fallacies in the argument. In the article the author takes a position against a playoff system for college football and ends it by stating, “I realize no one else feels this way. I do not care” (Klosterman, 2007). That statement itself is a common fallacy of rationalizing. The author is stating their opinion on the issue at the same time rejecting any other feedback on the topic. So basically saying this is what I think and what you think does not matter. The author’s argument itself is not reliable for he only states his side of the issue; this leaves a lot of controversial issues left untouched. As far as the credibility of this argument the author’s only source used is that of his own opinions. This makes it hard for the audience to take the authors side regarding the argument. Without any outside sources one can only relate to the authors opinions. The argument itself can be considered as valid only because the author sticks to the premise against a playoff system and also concludes with that same train of though regarding the subject. Therefore...

Words: 465 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Comparison Essay: Football Vs. College Football

...I think many people across the world enjoy sports. I think that there are a lot of sports fans across the world, who all enjoy different sports. I know that there are many sports fans across the United States, and I am one of them. My favorite sports are, football, baseball, NASCAR and drag racing. Football is my favorite sport. I like college football and NFL football. My favorite college team is Penn State, as does my whole family for college football. Although I like both I think that college football is better for a few reasons. One being there are a lot more teams which is better because there is more football to watch. Another being that college football is a lot simpler because players aren’t worried about their contract and not every play has to go...

Words: 999 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Why Is College Football so Popular

...Why is College Football so popular? Football is the most popular game in the US and Canada, as is the case with soccer in UK and South America. There are many different reasons of engaging in any sport, be it for pure pleasure and love of the game, the attainment of a scholarship or as a platform for playing professionally. For soccer players, playing in high school and in college gives them the opportunity to nurture the talent and attain the prestigious chance of playing for a professional club, which is every young soccer player’s dream. However, in the USA it has become certain that college football is more popular than professional playing for both the players and the fans. The following are some of the reasons why this is the case. First, to many people college football is deemed to be ‘pure’. To the fans and the players, college football gives them a chance to enjoy the game with no corruption. Professional teams tend to commercialise everything in the team leading to corruption. In college the players on the field need not worry of their worth but enjoy the game and the competitive spirit for the love of the sport. Besides, games played by college teams are fresh and fans enjoy the spirit of the sport displayed by the players. Secondly, many people find themselves attached to a particular institution after several years of attending that particular school. College football thus provides a chance for them to show their loyalty and they rally behind their college’s...

Words: 353 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Targeting Rule In College Football

...Did you know that a hit by a college football player these days can cause a serious injury or maybe even death? The targeting rule in college football makes an attempt to prevent these kind of hits. The targeting rule's only intent is to make the game safer for the players and the players' future. One hit above the neck on someone who cannot defend themselves could and a player's future. The targeting rule in college football should be kept due to player safety and player health. College officials and the rule itself have proven that the targeting rule makes the game safer. Johnson states, "the rule, passed by the Football Rules Committee in February and approved by Playing Rules Oversight Panel in March, addresses the committee's concern...

Words: 1358 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Compare And Contrast College Football Vs Nfl Football

...Connor Wilson Harris ENG101 March 15, 2015 Is NFL better than the rest? Both college and NFL football share many similarities. Simultaneously, the two leagues also have a different set of rules, expectations and requirements from one another. Although the two opinions will never come to an agreement on which league is better, pointing out the flaws in each may help level the playing field. The NFL have bigger, faster and more experienced players compared to the best college teams in the nation. While college fans might say their league has the most love for the game. Attending a college football game is an experience you’ll never forget. The life of the game is in this big stadium, the alumni sitting next to you in the same seat that’s been...

Words: 1039 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Why Is College Football Better Than Pro Football

...since the NFL was created in 1920, many people have debated whether college football is better than pro football, or vice versa ("Birth"). The two great games have been played for so long and have brought a lot of entertainment to people all around the world. Many people would say that football is the best and most American sport. Although, there are two different types of football lovers, those who love college, and those who favor pro. After research was done, multiple sources had good reasons to make one believe that college football overrules pro football. The two games have a lot of history. The first official "football" game was in 1869, between two colleges, Princeton University played Rutgers University in a classic...

Words: 1483 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Summary: Should College Football Players Be Paid

...Crimson tide from 2011 to 2013, college football players should be paid because “In some way they’re (The NCAA) taking advantage of college athletes that sign their name to a certain school.” A few other reasons college football players should be paid is that they could get hurt and might not have enough money to get a good start on life after college, colleges have extra money for equipment, coaches, and fields, and college football players spend a lot of time playing their sport and don’t have time to get a full-time job. One reason that college football players should be paid is that they could get hurt and might not have enough money to get a good start on life after college. Health. US News says Former college football players were more than twice as likely to have physical problems that limited their daily activities and exercise. Sixty-seven percent of these former athletes said they had suffered a major injury. (“For Many College Athletes, the Payoff Is Lifelong Disabilities: Study”). These players focus all of their time on football, sometimes forty hours a week, and they blow out a knee, or roll an ankle, ruining their chance in the NFL. Shouldn’t they at least have a little money to cushion them out of college and get them on their feet? That’s the first reason college...

Words: 728 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Should College Football Players Get Paid

...Should College Football Players Get Paid? Why arnt college football players getting paid?Colleges are making millions of dollars off college football players every game they play. In return they get their tuition paid for supposedly, and get to intend college for free supposedly. We all thinks every athlete is getting free tuition, That's the thing though, most college football athletes are still paying for the tuition out of pocket.Only a select few have full ride scholarships. So if you're not going to provide the athlete with a full ride then at least provide the athlete with a stipend. Stipends! There not much but there better nothing. Any little form of payment can help college football players pay for tuition or help pay...

Words: 392 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

College Football Shouldn T Be Paid Essay

...Football is a team game played in North America with an ova ball on a field marked out as a gridiron. College football has been around since 1869. There’s about 54% of U.S. residents or mainly americans who are college football fans; so basically college football plays a big part in America. People have made college football become as huge as the NFL. College football or the NCAA is nearly a 1 billion dollar industry and yet still college football players have issues with not getting paid. Students who are athletes usually have scholarships so they don’t have to worry about money and saying that “they need to paid” shouldn’t be said. These athletes shouldn’t be paid because of their scholarships, the NCAA is a non-profit organization, and...

Words: 549 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Hurry Up Offense In College Football

...up offense should not be used in college football. Well should it be used and does it benefit the offense? Many coaches believe it helps the offense but some coaches disagree. Coaches use different formations and different strategies to win and succeed. In college football the hurry up offense should not be banned. The hurry up offense is affective and slows the defense down. "The lack of huddle allows the offense to threaten to snap the ball quickly, denying the defending team time to substitute players and communicate effectively between coaches and...

Words: 726 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

National Junior College Football Research Paper

...Football didn’t really begin to take on any consistency of rules and boundaries until it was picked up as a sport in the seven major public schools of England in the early 1800’s. Six of the seven schools were largely playing the same game (including Eton, Harrow and Winchester) while the seventh, Rugby School (founded in 1567) was playing a markedly different version of football. The birth date of football in the United States is generally regarded by football historians as November 6, 1869, when teams from Rutgers and Princeton Universities met for the first intercollegiate football game. In those early games, there were 20 players to a team and he University of Memphis' official school colors of Blue and Gray were selected in the early 1900s. The colors were chosen in an...

Words: 608 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Why Should College Football Players Get Paid

...Should college football players get paid? They put their bodies on the line every game. They can't get a full time job. Also, they can get ready for financial issues later in life. I think College athletes should be paid because they work their butt off while in football and don't get any money. Horace Mitchell says “It is clear that, in addition to their academic course loads, student-athletes' physical conditioning, practice and competition schedules make it difficult for many of them to take on part-time employment to supplement their institutional aid.” They should get paid because they do not have time for a full time job. During the off-season the players have to do an off season workout. They have to practice during the regular season....

Words: 426 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay: Should College Football Players Be Paid

...College Football Players Should Be Paid Imagine getting up for work at 6am going to work till 7:30pm, day in and day out, seven days a week, then after two weeks when the paycheck arrives , it reads $0.00. This is the life of a college football player. College football players put in countless hours of hard work everyday for their universities and receive very minimal benefits. These kids can severely mess up the rest of their lives with one hit and nothing is guaranteed in this business. If something happens to a player where he cannot play football anymore, that school can pull the scholarship right out from under his feet, leaving him with nothing, most unable to pay tuition on their own. In 2010 the Southeastern Conference (SEC) made over a billion...

Words: 2174 - Pages: 9