Football and especially College Football is one of
the most popular college sports in the United States. The National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA), located in Indianapolis, is the most important
organization governing major college competition. The National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, oversees
competition for smaller four-year schools. The National Junior College Athletic
Association (NJCAA), located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, governs play for
two-year and community colleges throughout the country.
College Football Awards -
There are many awards in College Football, this site has a complete list of
what's going on in the NCAA today. Under the jurisdiction
of these national governing bodies are individual conferences and leagues based
on school size and regional location. Well-known NCAA conferences include the
Atlantic Coast, the Big Ten (northern Midwest), the Big 12 (Midwest), the
Pacific-10 (Western states), the Southeastern Conference, and the Ivy League
(Northeast). Many university stadiums hold more than 50,000 spectators; a few
hold more than 100,000.
Want to learn about the history of every college team in the NCAA? This is a
guide and resource for the type of information you could be looking for.
Some of the most accomplished players in college football history include Jim
Thorpe of the Carlisle Indian School; George Gipp of the University of Notre
Dame; Red Grange of the University of Illinois; Tom Harmon of the University of
Michigan; Doak Walker of Southern Methodist University; Glenn Davis and Doc
Blanchard, the so-called Touchdown Twins of Army (the U.S. Military Academy);
Joe Namath of the University of Alabama; Walter Payton of Jackson State
University; Tony Dorsett of the University of Pittsburgh; Joe Montana of the
University of Notre Dame; Marcus Allen of the University of Southern California;
Jerry Rice of Mississippi Valley State University; and Bo Jackson of Auburn
University.
After each college season, the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City presents
the Heisman Trophy to the top college football player in the United States. Four
players are nominated for the award, and a poll of sportswriters determines the
winner. The award is named after John William Heisman, an outstanding early
college football coach who is credited with several modern innovations, such as
the center-quarterback snap and the forward pass. The trophy was first awarded
in 1935, and although any position player can win it, the Heisman winner is
usually a quarterback, running back, or wide receiver. Winners of the Heisman
Trophy who went on to excel in professional football include Paul Hornung, Roger
Staubach, Earl Campbell, and Barry Sanders.
Several other awards are given to the nation�s best player at specific
positions. These include the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award for the best
lineman, the Butkus Award for the best linebacker, and the Thorpe Award for the
best defensive back.
College teams generally play 11 or 12 games during the fall. The best college
teams are awarded trips to so-called bowl games, which match outstanding teams
in specially arranged contests. The tradition began in 1902 at Pasadena,
California, when Stanford University invited the University of Michigan to come
to California for a New Year�s Day contest. This event soon became the
celebrated Rose Bowl game. Wow, the BCS what a disaster this year. With some
many different rankings depending on which poll you look at, this site may help
sort out some of the details.
College Football Rankings
will show you which football team finished at the top of the rankings
for the current and pass football seasons. Most of us know that
hundreds of thousands of fans travel to bowl games to watch their
favorite teams play. In addition to the Rose Bowl, notable bowl games
include the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas; the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix,
Arizona; the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida; and the Sugar Bowl in New
Orleans, Louisiana. Major corporations now sponsor many of the bowls
which means that college football rankings are as important as ever.
The top division of college football remains the only level of NCAA sport that
does not have a national championship tournament. The lucrative bowl system has
been the biggest impediment to adopting a championship tournament like those
held for lower-division NCAA football. Before the 1998 college season, the
champion college team was selected by national polls of coaches and
sportswriters. During some years, several teams posted similar win-loss records,
causing debates over which team should be crowned the national champion. In 1998
the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was instituted to determine the Division I
national champion.
During the season the BCS ranks each team using a complex system. The system
takes into account four factors: the team�s win-loss record; the strength of its
scheduled opponents; polls of coaches and sportswriters; and a ranking derived
by combining and comparing several different computerized rankings. Based on the
BCS regular-season ranking, teams are invited to play in various bowl games. The
top two teams play in the BCS championship game, which rotates each year among
the Fiesta, Sugar, Orange, and Rose Bowls. The winner of this game is crowned
the national champion.
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