FOOTBALL TAKES OFF How football began depends on who you ask Some believe the sport goes all the way back to the game of Harpastum which was played by the ancient Greeks and Romans Points were awarded when a player kicked passed or ran a ball past a goal line Since the players did not have equipment injuries were common Football is also closely linked to rugby which was invented at Rugby School in England in 1830 Walter Camp the Father of American Football If you're looking for one person to thank for football Walter Camp is your man Camp invented the line of scrimmage the spot where the ball is snapped and the system of downs He also is credited with inventing the offensive backfield which consists of a quarterback two halfbacks and a fullback Every time a center snaps the ball to a quarterback they are executing an idea Walter Camp championed Walter Camp studied medicine and worked in the watchmaking business but his passion was football He played coached and wrote many of the rules He was inducted into the College Hall of Fame as a
President Teddy Gets Involved While football s popularity skyrocketed in the late 1800s so did injuries In 1905 18 players were killed in games played in the United States That Players had no helmets and little same year President protective gear in early football Theodore Teddy Roosevelt arranged a meeting of officials from Harvard Yale and Princeton A few months later 62 schools met in New York City to adopt rules in order to reduce injuries They formed an association later named the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA Theodore Roosevelt 26th president of the United States had a son who played football at Harvard Making the Game Safer Since protective equipment was still quite new the only way to make the game safer was to minimize the number of collisions Rules were introduced that cut down on contact The most important measure the creation of the forward pass would become a spectacular part of the game Roughing the passer was brought into Many football players began the rulebook in 1914 as the sport s wearing helmets made of leather in the 1920s popularity continued to grow tII
Division Grows Game College College football became very popular in the late 1800s and the number of teams in the United States grew quickly For easier scheduling of games teams were grouped into conferences Two of the first conferences formed were the Big Ten and the Pacific 12 The Big Ten Conference was formed in 1896 and included teams from the Midwest The Pacific 12 Conference still boasts four of the original members from its first season in 1915 the University of California the University of Oregon Oregon State University and Washington State University Divisions Today there are over 70 college football conferences The NCAA groups teams into divisions based on their skill and strength level There are even subdivisions within the divisions to make sure teams with the same level of talent play each other The Division I Football Bowl Subdivision FBS is the highest level of college football and has the most scholarships to offer players There are 11 conferences and over 120 teams in this
Bowls Aplenty Bowl games are postseason games played mostly by Division 1 FBS college teams The first bowl game took place in 1902 as part of a sports festival called the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena California When the Rose Bowl stadium opened in 1923 the Tournament of Roses became known as the Rose Bowl By 1935 other cities had Marcus Mariota quarterback for the begun hosting college bowls 2015 Rose Bowl trophy and the number kept growing In 2015 the NCAA had 41 bowl games on its schedule Some of the most famous ones are the Rose Bowl the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens Florida the Cotton Bowl in Arlington Texas the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe Arizona and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta Georgia Oregon Ducks shows off his team's е о
