College Football Part I:The New “King” on Campus

• Ivy-League campuses start the Football Trend

• Academic vs. Athletic Worlds Collide

• Changes to the game and clear rules must be established

College Football

• In the last decade of the 19th century, football asserted itself as the king on college campuses throughout the US.

• Football evolved from an informal, student-controlled pastime into a multimillion-dollar national spectacle.

• Schools including: Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.

College Football

• With the absence of a professional league (not created until 1920) football spread like wildfire across the country, forging regional styles of play and establishing important football traditions.

• Critics condemned the game's growing violence and brutality, and questioned its place in institutions of academic learning.

College Football

• These 2 institutions led the way and by the 1890’s college football looked remarkably different from the rugby-style game that first emerged in the 1870’s on these prestigious campuses.

• Harvard• Yale

College Football’s Rules

• With the exception of the forward pass, which had still not been introduced, radical new rule changes established football as a distinctly American pastime.

• Divided into 2 halves as opposed to four quarters, football lasted two hours and 20 minutes as measured by a continuous play clock.

• Teams consisted of 11 players on a side who often played both defense and offense.

College Football’s Rules

• Substitutions limited to such an extent that if a player left the game he could not return.

• Teams were to achieve five yards in three downs.

• The field was 110 yards long and end zones did not yet exist.

College Football’s Rules

• Touchdowns counted for only four points instead of six, the kick after counted for two rather than one, and successful field goals earned a team five points.

College Football’sNational Explosion

• Attracting huge crowds, often as big as 40,000 for games between the big-time eastern colleges, schools were forced into enclosing their playing fields, erecting permanent seating and selling entrance tickets.

• The reason for this enormous growth can be explained in part by the development of the sports media.

College Football’sNational Explosion

• Newspaper editors throughout the country viewed college football as a perfect way in which to fill the sports pages in the fall when horse racing and baseball were out of season.

• With the absence of a professional league, college football became national-headline news.

• Successful coaches were celebrated, star players were worshipped, and exciting plays were sensationalized.

College FootballTraditions

• Attracting higher public visibility and widespread acceptance, college football was transformed overnight into an important part of the American sporting landscape.

• As a result of extreme popularity, universities began establishing many important football traditions.

• Organized cheering sections and pep bands were formed, fight songs were composed, and school colors and mascots were chosen.

• The tradition of homecoming, which included parades, banquets, and dances, was established.

• The annual Thanksgiving Day football game rose to prominence in the 1890s.

• Viewed as the most important date on the social calendar, the event quickly became a grand spectacle for students, alumni, and the local communities.

College FootballTraditions

Violence and Brutality in Football

• On the field, a radical new rule change heightened the violence and brutality of the college game.

• In 1888 Yale University's football czar, Walter Camp (1859–1925), introduced a new rule that made it permissible to tackle the ball carrier below the waist.

• As a result, colleges abandoned the more open running game in favor of a system of closed formations often referred to as “mass momentum plays.”

Violence and Brutality in Football

• The heavy concentration of players attempting to move the ball the required five yards in three attempts often brought knees in contact with heads and heightened the prevalence of serious injuries.

Violence and Brutality in Football

• In 1892 Harvard University devised the most renowned mass-momentum play of the late 19th century, the “flying wedge,” an offensive V-shaped formation that would protect the ball carrier and simultaneously deliver a severe blow to the players on the first line of defense.

Violence and Brutality in Football

• Even with abolition of the “flying wedge” and similar mass-momentum plays in 1894 following widespread public criticism, the game remained extremely dangerous.

• Concussions, broken limbs, bruised faces, and sprains became routine occurrences as players collided at full speed without the benefit of a helmet or padding.

• In some instances, the brutality of college football left some students severely maimed or dead.

Violence and Brutality in Football

• Early American hooliganism: The violence and brutality on the field often transferred to the stands as students from opposing schools often clashed in bloody riots. In some instances, fistfights and the brandishing of weapons left fans severely injured or dead.

Violence and Brutality in Football

• Alongside the growing violence, another major abuse in college football at the end of 19th century was the prevalence of the “tramp” athlete. As universities sought to enhance their prestige through success on the football field, they relaxed their matriculation requirements to the extent that talented players were able to enroll, star for the college team, and then depart either after a big game or at the end of a semester.

Violence and Brutality in Football

• Examples included, the University of Michigan fielded seven (out of the eleven starters) who had neither enrolled in school nor attended any classes. Lured by the financial incentives offered by boosters and alumni eager to see their alma mater succeed, tramp athletes emerged throughout the country.

• The 30 for 30 episode, ‘The Pony Express’ - based on Southern Methodist University, depicts a modern day version of this.