Bowl Gamer 360 | Articles
What is Special About College Football?
NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association. College Football. NCAA College Football is the biggest sport in the United States
Bigger than the National Football League. Bigger than the National Basketball League. Bigger than Major League Baseball. NCAA College Football is the biggest and most important sport in America, period.
College football in America is a part of college in America. Football players of all talents, shapes, sizes, gifts, and potential professions participate in collegiate football. No matter what race, class, country of origin, or size of college, the NCAA College Football system exemplify the best in student-athletes; just as the American college system exemplifies the best in colleges and universities in the world.
America is unique; and college football, which culminates in the collegiate bowl system around New Year's every year for the past 100 plus year, is uniquely American. No other sport has impacted the American sports culture like NCAA football and the collegiate bowl system. A quick look at some figures will prove the point:
- Baseball is called the "All-American game", but NCAA football is four times the size of Major League Baseball.
- Most professional sports leagues have about 30 teams each. There are about 120 teams in just the Division I NCAA group; located in every state in the United States
- Many college stadiums hold 100,000 fans, whereas stadiums for the National Football league average only about 80,000 seats. .
- Although with modern technology which allows for most college and universities to know about the best available high school talent in their own backyard and nation wide; And with the ease of travel colleges and universities recruit from all over the USA and even sometimes outside the USA for the best available high school talent - Still when a school can attract and retain local geographical or regional talent - that is a big consideration.
- Although the system is designed to have the best talent on the field regardless of the origin of the "student-athlete" - Home-town and local regional “in-state” talent goes a long way and is valued
- Most college players do not go on to play for the NFL, so the reason they play for their college team is for traditional and collegiate pride; not money
Although the NFL does identify a lot of talent from the Tier 1 programs - One can always find NFL players that come from Tier II and Tier II programs -
However, the vast majorities of college football players do not play at the professional level. However, because of having participated as a “student-athlete” at a college or university as a “student-athlete” are able to achieve a college education because of the American college football system. And many who do not play at the professional level are able to become contributing members to society, and others are also able to matriculate on to outstanding graduate school programs and became highly productive American citizens.
In addition to providing student-athletes with unprecedented opportunities to mix scholarship with athleticism, NCAA college football and the collegiate bowl system provides many other tangible and intangible benefits for both the colleges and the communities in which those colleges are located. There is a level of emotional and intensity that accompany college football games that is not present at NFL games. The college football system has no playoffs, so it is almost impossible for a team to become the champions if it has had more than one or two losses.
On the other hand, in the collegiate system, size doesn't matter. Big schools and small schools alike can make it to the various collegiate bowls where, since the Bowl Championship rule changes of 1998, the #1 and #2 ranked teams play each other. In the college football system, every game is important.
The first goal of each college at the beginning of the season is to receive an invitation to its preferred bowl game. There are approximately 120 teams; there are 38 recognized bowls. To win an invitation to a bowl, each and every game counts. Regular season NFL games just don't compare in importance and potential recognition.
The forerunner of the Rose Bowl Game, the Tournament of Roses East-West game between Michigan and Stanford in 1902, was scheduled and played in order to increase tourism and business in Pasadena California. Over 100 years later, college bowl games still bring tourism revenue and increased business to the town or city of the college which hosts them game. The excitement of fan loyalty and the business sales are achieved both at the actual game and outside the stadium--often hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Unlike the owners of NFL teams, which will move a team to another city for financial reasons, college football teams are an integral part of the college or university. Colleges and universities don't move from one city or state to another. The colleges and college towns are rewarded with high loyalty from both current students and alumni, and local friends and fans of the colleges and universities. Those fans feel as if the team really is their team, and the passion they bring to college football and the collegiate bowl system is unmatched anywhere else in America.
For more information on the College Bowl System in America, and for a fun and exciting way for the whole family to experience college football in America right in the living room, log onto www.bowlgamer.com, the Knowledge of Champions®
