1.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
2.
Basketball
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Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate and it is a violation to lift, or drag, ones pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. The game has many techniques for displaying skill—ball-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot-blocking. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coachs game plan, Basketball is one of the worlds most popular and widely viewed sports. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague, the FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for teams, like EuroBasket. The FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup features the top womens basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League, in early December 1891, Canadian Dr. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball and these laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith, dribbling was not part of the original game except for the bounce pass to teammates. Passing the ball was the means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a part of the game around the 1950s
3.
Baseball
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Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each, who take turns batting and fielding. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases, Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to prevent runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the team who reaches a base safely can later attempt to advance to subsequent bases during teammates turns batting. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the team records three outs. One turn batting for both teams, beginning with the team, constitutes an inning. A game is composed of nine innings, and the team with the number of runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball has no clock, although almost all games end in the ninth inning. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century and this game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, in the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into the National League and American League, each with three divisions, East, West, and Central. The major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series, the top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision, a French manuscript from 1344 contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly la soule, with similarities to baseball. Other old French games such as thèque, la balle au bâton, consensus once held that todays baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. Baseball Before We Knew It, A Search for the Roots of the Game, by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England, recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of other. It has long believed that cricket also descended from such games. The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, David Block discovered that the first recorded game of Bass-Ball took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player. William Bray, an English lawyer, recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford and this early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants
4.
Oregon Ducks football
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The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U. S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference, known as the Ducks, the team was commonly called the Webfoots until the mid-1960s. The first football team was fielded in 1894, Oregon plays its home games at the 54,000 seat Autzen Stadium in Eugene, its main rivals are the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington Huskies. The Ducks and Beavers historically end each regular season with the Civil War rivalry game in late November, the football program began in 1894 and played its first game on March 24,1894, defeating Albany College 44–3 under head coach Cal Young. Cal Young left after that first game and J. A, church took over the coaching position in the fall for the rest of the season. Oregon finished the season with two losses and a tie, but went undefeated the following season, winning all four of its games under head coach Percy Benson. In 1899, the team left the state for the first time, playing the California Golden Bears in Berkeley. Oregons largest margin of victory came in 1910 when they defeated the University of Puget Sound 115–0, Bezdek, Oregons first truly professional coach, led the team from 1913 through 1917. A versatile motivator of athletes, during his tenure Bezdek was also the West Coast scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the 1916 season, Oregon went undefeated with seven wins and one tie under Bezdek, shutting out all their opponents except California. They opened the season against Willamette University, defeating them 97–0, the game against Washington ended in a 0–0 tie. The Oregon football team defeated the heavily favored University of Pennsylvania Quakers 14–0, in 1918 Bezdek quit Oregon to become general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was succeeded by Shy Huntington, one of the heroes of the 1917 Rose Bowl, Oregon lost the 1920 Rose Bowl to Harvard University, 7–6. This would be the teams last bowl appearance until the 1948 Cotton Bowl, prince G. Prink Callison, Oregon native, alumnus, former player and coach of the freshman team, took over from Spears in 1932. Behind standout back Mike Mikulak and a defense, Callison led the 1933 Webfoots to a 9–1 mark and Pacific Coast Conference co-championship. This record would stand as the best in history until 2001. After the homegrown Callison retired in 1937, Oregon again hired a head coach. Oliver returned as coach after the war, eventually posting a mediocre 23–28–3 cumulative record. His 71–7 loss at Texas in 1941 on the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor stands as the most points allowed by any Oregon team, Oliver, in 1945, is the only coach to see his team lose twice to Oregon State in the same season
5.
Quarterback
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A quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the team and line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, the quarterback touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and his successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of his team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified and scrutinized positions in team sports, prior to each play, the quarterback will usually tell the rest of his team which play the team will run. After the team is lined up, the center will pass the ball back to the quarterback, usually on a running play, the quarterback will then hand or pitch the ball backwards to a half back or full back. On a passing play, the quarterback is almost always the responsible for trying to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver downfield. Depending on the scheme by his team, the quarterbacks role can vary. While quarterbacks in Canadian football need to be able to throw the ball often, in the NFL, quarterbacks are required to wear a uniform number between 1 and 19. In the CFL, the quarterback can wear any number from 0 to 49 and 70 to 99. Because of their numbering, quarterbacks are eligible receivers in the NCAA, NFHS, after a Super Bowl victory, the starting quarterback is the first player to be presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The starting quarterback of the victorious Super Bowl team is chosen for the Im going to Disney World. Campaign, whether they are the Super Bowl MVP or not, examples include Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, Dilfer was chosen even though teammate Ray Lewis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, due to the bad publicity from Lewis murder trial the prior year. In addition to their role, quarterbacks are occasionally used in other roles. Most teams utilize a backup quarterback as their holder on placekicks, in the Wildcat, a formation where a halfback lines up behind the center and the quarterback lines up out wide, the quarterback can be used as a receiving target or a blocker. A more rare use for a quarterback is to punt the ball himself, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway was known to perform quick kicks occasionally, typically when the Broncos were facing a third-and-long situation. As Roger Staubachs back-up, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was also the teams punter, ascending the starting role upon Staubachs retirement, White held his position as the teams punter for several seasons—a double duty he performed to All-American standard at Arizona State University. White also had two touchdown receptions as a Dallas Cowboy, both from the halfback option, if quarterbacks are uncomfortable with the formation the defense is using, they may call an audible change to their play
6.
Oregon Ducks men's basketball
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The Oregon Ducks mens basketball team is an intercollegiate basketball program that competes in the NCAA Division I and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference, representing the University of Oregon. The Ducks play their games at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon, then coached by Howard Hobson, won the first NCAA mens basketball championship in 1939. The basketball team has appeared in the NCAA tournament 15 times and has won the championship six times. The University of Oregon mens basketball played its first season in 1902–03 with Charles Burden as the head coach. Only two games were played that season with Oregon losing both games, Oregon did not record a win until its fourth season in 1907 against Roseburg. The season ended with a record of 4–3, under Hugo Bezdek. Bezdek left after that season to coach at Arkansas until 1913 when he went back to Oregon to coach until 1917, during Bezdeks absence, the basketball team was coached largely by William Hayward, Oregons track coach. In 1923, William Reinhart took over as the head coach, Coach Reinhart suffered only one losing season at Oregon. Howard Hobson, an alumnus of the university, became the coach in 1935. His ideas were considered cutting edge during his years at Oregon and he ran a fast break offense little used by anyone else in the country at the time and his defenses were an unorthodox hybrid defense. He lobbied for the installment of a clock and three-point field goal years before they were first introduced. In 1939, the Oregon Ducks became the first team to win the NCAA Basketball Championship, sports editor L. H. Gregory coined the phrase Tall Firs to describe the Oregon players due to their taller stature compared to other teams in the country. The season started with a trip to the east coast for a series of games. The Ducks went 6–3 during that trip but gained experience for the remainder of the season. Oregon went 14–2 to claim the North Division title in the Pacific Coast Conference, the Ducks won two games straight to claim the conference title. The Ducks returned to San Francisco for the NCAA regional series where they defeated the Texas Longhorns in the first game 56–41 then the Oklahoma Sooners 55–37, the Ohio State Buckeyes had defeated Wake Forest and Villanova in their regional series to earn their right in the championship game. On March 27, Oregon and Ohio State squared off to claim the national title, Oregon emerged victorious to claim the first NCAA national championship trophy, defeating Ohio State 46–33
7.
Oregon Ducks baseball
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The Oregon Ducks baseball team represents the University of Oregon in NCAA Division I college baseball in the Pac-12 Conference. The head coach is George Horton and home games are played on campus at PK Park, Oregon played its first baseball game in 1877 and established the program in 1885. The UO team made one College World Series appearance, in 1954, after the 1981 season, baseball and three other varsity sports at Oregon were dropped by the university due to a budget crisis, and baseball became a club sport in March 1983. In July 2007, the university announced that it would field a varsity baseball team. In-state rival Oregon State had secured their second consecutive College World Series title a month earlier, in the Ducks first game in PK Park, they defeated the defending national champions, the Fresno State Bulldogs, 1–0 on a walk-off single by senior Andrew Schmidt. A sellout crowd of 2,777 was on hand for the game, the Ducks previously played baseball at Howe Field, south of McArthur Court, named in 1936 for Dr. Herbert Crombie Howe, the former chairman of the English department. Howe started teaching at UO in 1901 and was its original faculty representative to the Pacific Coast Conference in 1915, when the university dropped baseball after the 1981 season, the field was converted to use by the Ducks womens softball team in 1987. Softball was formerly played at Amazon Park, Baseball became a club sport in 1983 and Oregon was the only Pac-10 school without a varsity baseball program through 2008. Following the reinstatement of baseball, announced in 2007, the university built PK Park, directly northeast of Autzen Stadium, formerly paved parking spaces. It opened for the Ducks in 2009 and since 2010, the park is home for the minor league Eugene Emeralds of the short season Northwest League. The NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament started in 1947, the format of the tournament has changed through the years. Joe Gordon, Hall of Famer as a second baseman Dave Roberts Steve Baker Ray Smith Tom Dodd Zack Thornton List of NCAA Division I baseball programs Official website
8.
Pacific Coast Conference
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The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. The name Pacific Coast Conference is now used by a San Diego area community college established in 1982. Established on December 2,1915, its four members were the University of California, the University of Washington, the University of Oregon. Among other complaints, he disdained the quality of education in the Oregon schools, pauley felt that University of California campuses deserved to play against colleges with comparably high academic standards. The PCC had a commissioner, an elaborate constitution, a formal code of conduct. Following the submission of his report, Atherton was promptly hired as commissioner in 1940, the conference was wracked by scandal in 1951. Charges were made and confirmed that University of Oregon football coach Jim Aiken had violated the code for financial aid. After Aiken was compelled to resign, Oregon urged the PCC to look at similar abuses by UCLA football coach Red Sanders, the conference spent five years attempting to reform itself. In 1956, the scandal became public, the scandal first broke in Washington, when in January 1956, several discontented players staged a mutiny against their coach, John Cherberg. After the coach was fired, the PCC followed up on charges of a slush fund, the PCC found evidence of the prohibited activities of the Greater Washington Advertising Fund run by Roscoe C. Torchy Torrance, and in May imposed sanctions, in March, allegations of prohibited payments made by two booster clubs associated with UCLA, the Bruin Bench and the Young Mens Club of Westwood, were published in Los Angeles newspapers. UCLA refused for ten weeks to allow PCC officials to proceed in their investigation and this same alumnus also blew the whistle on Cals phony work program for athletes known as the San Francisco Gridiron Club, with an extension in the Los Angeles area known as the South Seas Fund. The first major reaction came from the University of California system, for Sproul the PCC dispute was not just about athletics, at stake was the ideal of a unified University of California that enjoyed statewide support. This ideal collided with aspirations of UCLA alumni who believed that Sprouls vision would always favor the Berkeley campus at the expense of the younger UCLA campus. Oregon State College president August Leroy Strand wrote, The reasons for California and UCLA dropping out are as different as night, the significance of the whole affair was the union of Berkeley and UCLA. Admissions and scholarship had nothing to do with the withdrawals, the PCC was falling apart, leading to the decision to dissolve after the 1958-59 season. Soon after the PCC was dissolved, five of its nine members created the Athletic Association of Western Universities for the 1959 season, after initially being blocked from admission, three of the four remaining schools would eventually join, but members were not required to play other members. Tensions were high between UCLA and Stanford, as Stanford had voted for UCLAs expulsion from the PCC, Idaho was not involved in the scandals but had become noncompetitive in the PCC
9.
University of Oregon
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The University of Oregon is a public flagship research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institutions 295-acre campus is along the Willamette River, since July 2014, UO has been governed by the Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon. The university has a Carnegie Classification of highest research activity and has 21 research centers, UO was admitted to the Association of American Universities in 1969. UO offers 316 undergraduate and graduate programs in a wide range of disciplines. Additionally, the Graduate School oversees the universitys graduate and certificate programs, UO student-athletes compete as the Ducks and are part of the Pac-12 Conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. With eighteen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their team and track. The Oregon State Legislature established the university on October 12,1872, the residents of Eugene struggled to help finance the institution, holding numerous fundraising events such as strawberry festivals, church socials, and produce sales. They raised $27,500, enough to buy eighteen acres of land at a cost of $2,500, the doors officially opened in 1876 with the name of Oregon State University and Deady Hall as its sole building. The first year of enrollment contained 155 students taught by five faculty members, the first graduating class was in 1878, graduating five students. In 1881, the university was closed, it was $8,000 in debt before Henry Villard donated $7,000 to help pay for the debt. In 1913, and again in 1932, there were proposals to merge the university with what is now Oregon State University, during Prince Lucien Campbells tenure as president from 1902 to 1925, the university experienced tremendous growth. The budget, enrollment, facilities, and faculty members all grew several times its amount prior to his presidency, however, the University of Oregon lost its School of Engineering to Oregon Agricultural College, now known as Oregon State University. The Zorn-MacPherson Bill in 1932 proposed the University of Oregon and Oregon State College merge, the bill lost in a landslide vote of over 6 to 1. The University of Oregon Medical School was founded in 1887 in Portland, however, in 1974 it became an independent institution known as Oregon Health Sciences University. In 1969, the UO was admitted into the Association of American Universities, with contributions exceeding $100 million from benefactors such as Phil Knight and Lorry I. Lokey, the goal was exceeded by over $253 million. The University occupies over 80 buildings and these projects, among others, were commissioned in part to support current student enrollment as well as possible future increases. Effective July 1,2014, the University of Oregon became an independent public body governed by the Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon
