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.
Ottumwa, Iowa
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Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,023 at the 2010 census, located in southeastern Iowa, the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River. The young town was damaged during the Flood of 1851. In 1857, coal was being mined from the McCready bank, in 1868, Brown and Godfrey opened a drift mine four miles northwest of town. By 1872, Brown and Godfrey employed 300 men and had a production of 77,000 tons. In 1880, the Phillips Coal and Mining Company opened a two miles northwest of town. In subsequent years, they opened 5 more shafts in the Phillips and Rutledge neighborhoods, the Phillips number 5 shaft was 140 feet deep, with a 375 horse power steam hoist. By 1889, the state mine inspector’s report listed 15 mine shafts in Ottumwa, in 1914, the Phillips Fuel Company produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state. Coal mining was so important to the economy that, from 1890 to 1892. John Morrell & Company played a significant role in the development of the City of Ottumwa from 1877 to 1973, the complex typified meat packing as it developed in the midwest during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. Because of the Iowa caucuses, Ottumwa is no stranger to visits by presidential hopefuls. On five occasions a sitting U. S. President has visited the Bridge City, Benjamin Harrison was the first, in 1890, touring the Coal Palace, in 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt made a brief stop while on a train trip around America. President Harry Truman spent part of his 66th birthday, May 8,1950, in July 1971, President Richard Nixon arrived in Air Force One at the Ottumwa Industrial Airport on his way to dedicate the nearby Rathbun Lake dam and reservoir. It was a homecoming for Nixon of sorts, as he had stationed at the Ottumwa airport while serving in the U. S. Navy during World War II. On April 27,2010 President Barack Obama spoke to a crowd at the Hellyer Student Center on the campus of Indian Hills Community College. After the speech the president held a question and answer session, in September 2012 Vice President Joe Biden made a campaign stop in Ottumwa, where he spoke at the Bridgeview Center. Ottumwas longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal form are 41.012917, −92.414817. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 16.53 square miles
4.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Ann Arbor is a city in the U. S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census recorded its population to be 113,934, the citys population was estimated at 117,070 as of July 2015 by the U. S. Census Bureau. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Washtenaw County, the city is also part of the larger Detroit–Ann Arbor–Flint, MI Combined Statistical Area with a population of 5,318,744. Ann Arbor was founded in 1824, named for wives of the villages founders, the University of Michigan moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1837, and the city grew at a rapid rate in the early to mid-20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained a reputation as a center for left-wing politics, Ann Arbor became a focal point for political activism and anti-Vietnam War movement, as well as various student movements. Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan, one of the foremost research universities in the United States, the university shapes Ann Arbors economy significantly as it employs about 30,000 workers, including about 12,000 in the medical center. The citys economy is centered on high technology, with several companies drawn to the area by the universitys research and development infrastructure. In about 1774, the Potawatomi founded two villages in the area of what is now Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor was founded in 1824 by land speculators John Allen and Elisha Walker Rumsey. On 25 May 1824, the plat was registered with Wayne County as Annarbour. Allen and Rumsey decided to name it for their wives, both named Ann, and for the stands of Bur Oak in the 640 acres of land purchased for $800 from the federal government at $1.25 per acre. The local Ojibwa named the settlement kaw-goosh-kaw-nick, after the sound of Allens sawmill, Ann Arbor became the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827, and was incorporated as a village in 1833. The Ann Arbor Land Company, a group of speculators, set aside 40 acres of undeveloped land and offered it to the state of Michigan as the site of the state capital, but lost the bid to Lansing. In 1837, the property was accepted instead as the site of the University of Michigan, since the universitys establishment in the city in 1837, the histories of the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor have been closely linked. Throughout the 1840s and the 1850s settlers continued to come to Ann Arbor, while the earlier settlers were primarily of British ancestry, the newer settlers also consisted of Germans, Irish, and African-Americans. In 1851, Ann Arbor was chartered as a city, though the city showed a drop in population during the Depression of 1873. It was not until the early 1880s that Ann Arbor again saw robust growth, with new immigrants coming from Greece, Italy, Russia, Ann Arbor saw increased growth in manufacturing, particularly in milling. Ann Arbors Jewish community also grew after the turn of the 20th century, during the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained a reputation as an important center for liberal politics. Ann Arbor also became a locus for left-wing activism and anti-Vietnam War movement, during the ensuing 15 years, many countercultural and New Left enterprises sprang up and developed large constituencies within the city
5.
Lake Forest College
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Lake Forest College is a four-year coeducational private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois, on Chicagos North Shore. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876, Lake Forest enrolls approximately 1,600 students representing 47 states and 81 countries. The majority of live on the colleges wooded 107-acre campus. Lake Forest is affiliated with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, the college has 19 varsity teams, which compete in the NCAA Division III Midwest Conference. Lake Forest College was founded in 1857 by Reverend Robert W. Patterson as a Presbyterian alternative to the Methodist Northwestern University in Evanston and it was originally named Lind University after Sylvester Lind, who had given $80,000 to launch the school. They hired St. Louis landscape architect Almerin Hotchkiss to design the town of Lake Forest with a university park at its center, Hotchkiss used the areas wooded ravines and forest as guidelines to plat a park-like, curvilinear layout for the town. Lake Forest Academy, a preparatory school and the first project of the university, began offering classes in 1858. By the mid-1860s, a small New England-style village had been established with an academy building, the school had a medical college from 1859–1863, which later split off and eventually became part of Northwestern University, now known as the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. In 1865, the name became Lake Forest University, in 1869 Ferry Hall, a girls preparatory school and junior college, opened as a division of the university. It later merged with Lake Forest Academy in 1974, in 1876 Mary Eveline Smith Farwell started Lake Forest College, a coeducational division of the university, under the leadership of the Reverend Patterson. In 1878, College Hall was built following a fire destroyed the former hotel being used for classes. The Reverend James Gore King McClure arrived in Lake Forest in 1881 as the pastor of the Presbyterian Church, during this time, the colleges theater group, the Garrick Players, the yearbook, and student newspaper, The Stentor, were all formed. In 1890 Lake Forest established a relationship with the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, Chicagos first dental school, the Lake Forest School of Music opened as a division of the university in 1916, incorporating and extending the courses in music hitherto given in other departments. A summer school of architecture was instituted in 1916. By 1925, Lake Forest College split from Lake Forest Academy, following World War II, the college experienced further growth, taking control of what is now South Campus and constructing the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. In 1960, William Graham Cole, from Williams College, took over as president and brought with him Eastern faculty and students, during his time as president, in 1965, the schools name was officially changed to Lake Forest College. In March 2010, the college received $7 million from alumna Grace Groner, the teaching faculty consists of 178 members. Lake Forest has a ratio of 13,1
6.
End (gridiron football)
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An end in American and Canadian football is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage, usually beside the tackles. Rules state that an offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage. The position was used in this sense until roughly the 1960s, on offense, an end who lines up close to the other linemen is known as a tight end and is the only lineman who aside from blocking can run or catch passes. One who lines up some distance from the line is known as a split end. In recent years and the proliferation of the pass, the generic term wide receiver has come to define both split ends and flankers. The terms “split end” and “flanker” are often ditched today for terms like X and Z receivers, bill Carpenter was the first Lonesome end. On defense, there is a commonly used position called the defensive end and its primary role is to rush the passer, as well as to stop offensive runs to the outer edges of the line of scrimmage. However, as there are no rules regulating the formation of the defense, players at this position commonly take on, don Hutson of the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Green Bay Packers was one of the sports greatest. The self described other end opposite Hutson in college at Alabama was legendary coach Bear Bryant, gaynell Tinsley was another prominent of Hutsons time. Amos Alonzo Stagg of Yale and Arthur Cumnock of Harvard were ends on the first All-America team, Stagg went on to a hall of fame coaching career, some called Cumnock the greatest Harvard player of all time. Mike Ditka and Ron Sellers were some of the last to play the position in college, glossary of American football History of American football positions Tight end Defensive end Wide receiver
7.
Kalamazoo College
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Kalamazoo College, also known as K College or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833, the college is among the 100 oldest in the country, today, it produces more Peace Corps volunteers per capita than any other US academic institution. From 1997 to 2006 it ranked 21st among all institutions in the percentage of graduates who went on to earn doctorates. The school was founded by American Baptist ministers, but today maintains no religious affiliation, Kalamazoo College is a member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. It is listed in Loren Popes Colleges That Change Lives, in 2012, Forbes rated it 65th of Americas Best Colleges, the highest ranked in Michigan as a private college. Kalamazoo College was founded in 1833 by a group of Baptist ministers as the Michigan and its charter was granted on April 22,1833, the first school chartered by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan. Instruction at the Institute began in fall 1836, in 1837, the name of the fledgling college was changed to the Kalamazoo Literary Institute and school officials made their first attempt to secure recognition as a college from the state of Michigan. In 1838, however, the University of Michigan opened the Kalamazoo Branch of the University of Michigan, in 1840, the two schools merged, and from 1840 to 1850 the College operated as the Kalamazoo Branch of the University of Michigan. After receiving its charter, the school changed its name to Kalamazoo College. Shortly after becoming president, Stone proposed the addition of a seminary to increase the supply of ministers in the region. With the support of the Baptist church, classes at the Kalamazoo Theological Seminary began in 1848 with 11 students, at the same time, the Female Department continued to expand under the watchful eye of Lucinda Hinsdale Stone. In 1845-46, almost half of the 90 students enrolled in Kalamazoo were women, the Stones also played a role in the creation of the Republican Party. The first known student of African descent to attend Kalamazoo College was ex-slave Rufus Lewis Perry, Perry attended Kalamazoo Theological Seminary from 1860–1861, but left before he received a diploma. He was ordained a Baptist minister in Ann Arbor in 1861, jamaican-born brothers Solomon and John Williamson were the first black graduates from K, receiving their diplomas in 1911. Kalamazoo College also served as a pioneer in coed education, granting its first degree to a woman, Catherine V. Eldred, in 1877, Kalamazoo College students published the first edition of The Index, a student-run newspaper that continues to publish today. The college also publishes The Cauldron, an annual journal, and The Passage. Kalamazoo Colleges reputation as a powerhouse and a leader in international education was built during the presidency of Weimer Hicks. Hicks conceived of the K Plan program under which most Kalamazoo students spend at least one term abroad, as part of the original K Plan, Kalamazoo College students could attend school year-round
8.
Michigan Wolverines football
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The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history, Michigan began competing in intercollegiate football in 1879. The Wolverines joined the Big Ten Conference at its inception in 1896, Michigan has won or shared 42 league titles, and, since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936, has finished in the top 10 a total of 37 times. The Wolverines claim 11 national championships, most recently that of the 1997 squad voted atop the final AP Poll. From 1900 to 1989, Michigan was led by a series of nine head coaches, Fielding H. Fritz Crisler brought his winged helmet from Princeton University in 1938 and led the 1947 Wolverines to a national title and Michigans second Rose Bowl win. Bo Schembechler coached the team for 21 seasons in which he won 13 Big Ten titles and 194 games, a program record. Following Schembechlers retirement, the program was coached by two of his assistants, Gary Moeller and then Lloyd Carr, who maintained the programs overall success over the next 18 years. However, the programs fortunes declined under the two coaches, Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, who were both fired after relatively short tenures. Following Hokes dismissal, Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh on December 30,2014, Harbaugh is a former quarterback of the team, having played for Michigan between 1982 and 1986 under Schembechler. The Michigan Wolverines have featured 78 players that have garnered consensus selection to the College Football All-America Team, Three Wolverines have won the Heisman Trophy, Tom Harmon in 1940, Desmond Howard in 1991, and Charles Woodson in 1997. Gerald Ford, who would become the 38th President of the United States. On May 30,1879, Michigan played its first intercollegiate game against Racine College at White Stocking Park in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune called it the first rugby-football game to be played west of the Alleghenies, midway through the first inning, Irving Kane Pond scored the first touchdown for Michigan. According to Will Perrys history of Michigan football, the crowd responded to Ponds plays with cheers of Pond Forever, in 1881, Michigan played against Harvard in Boston. The game that marked the birth of inter-sectional football, on their way to a game in Chicago in 1887, Michigan players stopped in South Bend, Indiana and introduced football to students at the University of Notre Dame. A November 23 contest marked the inception of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program, in 1894, Michigan defeated Cornell, which was the first time in collegiate football history that a western school defeated an established power from the east. By 1898 Amos Alonzo Stagg was fast at work at turning the University of Chicago football program into a powerhouse. Before the final game of the 1898 season, Chicago was 9–1–1 and Michigan was 9–0, Michigan won, 12–11, capturing the programs first conference championship in a game that inspired The Victors, which later became the schools fight song
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