School Sport

It started with a broken nose.Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.’s broken nose, to be exact. When the president’s son got his snout in a snafu in a college football game, the elder Teddy called together the presidents of five different institutions to deal with the growing issue of safety in school sports. The leaders of those institutionsincluding the military schools of Annapolis and West Point and the now-Ivy-League schools Harvard, Princeton, and Yaleagreed that something must be done, and decided to form a governing body for collegiate sports in 1908. Originally known as the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, the organization was renamed to the more-manageable National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1910. Read the rest of this entry »

Fans say there’s nothing like itthe days spent in the stands as the weather turns from unbearably hot to bitingly brisk; the mascots at war on the sidelines; the electric crackling between the opposing teams as each one steps up to battle for the role of “champion.” Yes, it’s college football season again, and we couldn’t be happier.The first two weeks of the 2010 NCAA season have already seen some good teams go down. Last weekend, the Virginia Tech Hokies, under the coaching of Frank Beamer, were defeated on their home turf by the James Madison Dukes. The rivalry which emerges between college teams is a large source of the drama of the games, and Dukes coach Mickey Matthews and his team know that well. Before the game, Matthews promised his team that they’d be in high demand by VT in just a few hours. After a punishing 21-16 victory, though, the team looks to be a rising star no matter whom you ask. Read the rest of this entry »