1.
Atlanta
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Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U. S. state of Georgia, with an estimated 2015 population of 463,878. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,710,795 people, Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. In 1837, Atlanta was founded at the intersection of two lines, and the city rose from the ashes of the American Civil War to become a national center of commerce. Atlantas economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors that include logistics, professional and business services, media operations, Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage. Revitalization of Atlantas neighborhoods, initially spurred by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, has intensified in the 21st century, altering the demographics, politics. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in north Georgia, Creek Indians inhabited the area, standing Peachtree, a Creek village located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Indian settlement to what is now Atlanta. As part of the removal of Native Americans from northern Georgia from 1802 to 1825, the Creek ceded the area in 1821. In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western, the initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would then be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the zero milepost was driven into the ground in what is now Five Points. A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later as Thrasherville after a merchant who built homes. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor the Governors daughter, later, J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29,1847, by 1860, Atlantas population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a hub for the distribution of military supplies, in 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, on November 11,1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Armys March to the Sea by ordering Atlanta to be burned to the ground, sparing only the citys churches and hospitals. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt, due to the citys superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta surpassed Savannah as Georgias largest city, by 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology and the citys black colleges had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted the Cotton States and International Exposition, during the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta experienced a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades time, Atlantas population tripled as the city expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs
2.
Sun Belt Conference
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The Sun Belt Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAAs Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001 and its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The 12 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed primarily across the southern United States, over the next ten years the conference would add Western Kentucky University, Old Dominion University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Virginia Commonwealth University. New Orleans was forced out of the league in 1980 due to its small on-campus gymnasium that the Conference did not deem suitable for Conference competition, UNO competed as an independent before joining the newly formed American South Conference in 1987. After the 1990-91 basketball season, all members of the Sun Belt, except Western Kentucky, South Alabama, although the American South was the larger conference, the merged league retained the Sun Belt name. Central Florida left the following the 1991-92 academic year. Lamar, Texas–Pan American, and Jacksonville departed at the end of the 1997-98 academic year, Florida International University joined the Sun Belt in 1998, and the University of Denver was added in 1999. Louisiana Tech departed after the 2000-01 academic year and these new members gave the Sun Belt seven football playing members in their first season, as Arkansas State and Louisiana–Lafayette were already full members which sponsored football. Another Big West school, Utah State University, was added as a member in 2003, then departed in 2005 with Idaho. In 2004, Troy University became a member until the Trojans joined the conference in all sports. In 2005, Florida Atlantic became a member until the Owls joined the conference in all sports. In 2006, Louisiana–Monroe joined the conference as a full member when the Warhawks left their former home. Longtime Sun Belt member Western Kentucky joined the Sun Belts football conference in 2009 after its Board of Regents voted to upgrade the schools program to Division I FBS. On November 11,2009, New Orleans announced they were investigating a move from Division I to the NCAAs Division III, in order to maintain athletic scholarships, UNO instead opted for entry into Division II. On April 20,2011, UNO officially received approval from the NCAA Division II Membership Committee. On April 9,2012, Georgia State, one of the members of the Sun Belt Conference. On May 2,2012, Texas State University announced it would leave the WAC after just one year, at the press conference to announce Texas States addition, Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson also hinted that more changes could be on the way for the conference. On May 25,2012, the announced that the University of Texas at Arlington had accepted an invitation to join the conference
3.
South Alabama Jaguars
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The South Alabama Jaguars represent the University of South Alabama in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics. USA competes in the Sun Belt Conference, it is the only remaining charter member from its inception. USAs athletics teams are nicknamed the Jaguars, popular sports are baseball and mens basketball. USA sponsors 8 mens sports teams and 9 womens sports teams, the board of trustees recently voted to start a football program that began play in the fall of 2009. It is used widely across the school through primarily heard in reference to football and basketball, on December 6,2007, the schools Board of Trustees approved the addition of football to the intercollegiate athletics program. The team began play in 2009 with a full transition to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision by 2013. USA completed its first season undefeated at 7-0, outscoring its opponents by a score of 321-41. The 2010 schedule was made up of schools from National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I-FCS, NCAA Division II, USA finished the season undefeated at 10-0, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 413-130. On September 17,2011, South Alabama suffered its first loss in the new history when it traveled to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. After the week 3 game of the 2011-2012 football season S. Alabamas season record stood at 2-1, the head coach of the baseball team is Mark Calvi. Since the creation of the Sun Belt conference in 1978, South Alabama leads with 11 Sun Belt Tournament titles, in addition to the 11 conference titles, Coach Kittrell has led South Alabama to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure. The South Alabama baseball team plays its games at Eddie Stanky Field. The stadium is named after former coach Eddie Stanky who compiled a 488-193 record in 14 seasons as coach, Stanky Field seats 4,500 spectators, and features the Jon Lieber Clubhouse and Luis Gonzalez Hitting Facility. The current head coach is Steve Kittrell, Kittrell has led the Jaguars baseball program to more than 1,000 victories, numerous NCAA Tournament appearances and Sun Belt Conference championships. In 2011, alumnus David Freese was named the National League Championship Series MVP, the mens basketball team has a strong history as a founding member of the Sun Belt Conference. After a successful stint in the late 1980s and 1990s, South Alabama basketball declined in the part of the 2000s. In 2002 John Pelphrey was named coach and brought the team back to its winning ways, in 2006, South Alabama won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, beating Western Kentucky 95-70 in the championship game. They earned a bid into the 2006 NCAA Tournament and this was their first since NCAA bid since 1998 and were seeded 14th in the Minneapolis bracket
4.
Pounce (mascot)
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Pounce is the official mascot of Georgia State University. Pounce is usually represented as a panther with blue fur, sharp white teeth with protruding canines. He usually wears either the mens basketball outfit or the University football uniform, Pounce has existed in his current form since 2009, but has existed in two previous forms. Prior to that, a host of other mascots represented Georgia State University, like many mascots, Pounce communicates via hand gestures and sign language, rather than speech. Pounce is often used in different community projects either sponsored by or held by the University. While Pounce is considered a Panther, a definition of which species he is not elaborated on, although he shows considerable likeness to the Florida Panther. Pounce is 60 with a 3 foot tail and favors the colors royal blue, Georgia State University has had multiple names and mascots, beginning with an Owl in 1940 when the school was Georgia Evening College. In 1947, the school would, for no apparent reason and this would again change in 1955 to the Panthers, however at that time no mascot existed for the school. Claws the Panther, the first personified blue panther, was created in the early 1980s to support the GSU basketball team, in 1989, Urbie, a crimson panther was created, but would only remain until 1993 when a new mascot, Pounce, was unveiled. The original Pounce was a cartoonish, muscular blue panther with yellow eyes and this remained the universitys mascot with slight variations up until 2009. As the university unveiled its new team, it also unveiled a new Pounce. This is the current mascot in use
5.
College football
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It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. No minor league farm organizations exist in American football and it is in college football where a players performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football. The best collegiate players will declare for the professional draft after 3 to 4 years of collegiate competition. Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as a free agent. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League, college football remained extremely popular throughout the U. S, in many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests. This allows them to more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium. College athletes, unlike players in the NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries, colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as football, by the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as Rugby football. The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges, the first documented gridiron football match was a game played at University College, a college of the University of Toronto, November 9,1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional mob football played in England. The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, when games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football, Princeton University students played a game called ballown as early as 1820. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes, in 1860, both the town police and the college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. The Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a figure called Football Fightum. The authorities held firm and it was a dozen years before football was again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were first published in 1871, all of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities
6.
Georgia State University
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Georgia State University is a public research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgias four research universities, Georgia State University offers more than 250 undergraduate and graduate degree programs spread across eight academic colleges with around 3,500 faculty members. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, approximately 27% of the student population is considered part-time while 73% of the population is considered full-time. The university is one of only four Georgia universities classified as a Research University/Very High Activity, the university has a full-time faculty count of 1,142, with 69 percent of those faculty members either tenured or on tenure track. GSU has two libraries, University library and Law library, which hold over 4.3 million volumes combined, the university has an economic impact on the Atlanta economy of more than $1.4 billion annually. Initially intended as a school, Georgia State University was established in 1913 as the Georgia School of Technologys Evening School of Commerce. During this time, the school was divided into two divisions, Georgia Evening College, and Atlanta Junior College, in September 1947, the school became affiliated with the University of Georgia and was named the Atlanta Division of the University of Georgia. The school was removed from the University of Georgia in 1955. In 1961, other programs at the school had grown enough that the name was shortened to Georgia State College. It became Georgia State University in 1969, in 1995, the Georgia Board of Regents accorded Georgia State research university status, joining the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Georgia, and Augusta University. The first African-American student enrolled at Georgia State in 1962, a year after the integration of the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech. Annette Lucille Hall was a Lithonia social studies teacher who enrolled in the course of the Institute on Americanism and Communism, a course required for all Georgia social studies teachers. The Peachtree Road Race, was started in 1970 by Georgia State cross country coach and dean of men Tim Singleton, the second year, he created the first valuable collectible T-shirt. Over its 100-plus year history, Georgia States growth has required the acquisition and construction of space to suit its needs. In addition, a plaza and walkway system was constructed to connect these buildings with each other over Decatur Street. Georgia States first move into the Fairlie-Poplar district was the acquisition and renovation of the Standard Building, the Haas-Howell Building, and the Rialto Theater in 1996. The Standard and Haas-Howell buildings house classrooms, offices, and practice spaces for the School of Music, and the Rialto is home to GSUs Jazz Studies program and an 833-seat theater. In 1998, the Student Center was expanded toward Gilmer Street and provided a new 400-seat auditorium and space for exhibitions, a new Student Recreation Center opened on the corner of Piedmont Avenue and Gilmer Street in 2001
7.
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
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Division I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. This level was called the University Division of the NCAA, in contrast to the lower level College Division. For football only, Division I was further subdivided in 1978 into Division I-A, Division I-AA, in 2006, Division I-A and I-AA were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision, respectively. FCS teams are allowed to award scholarships, a practice technically allowed. FBS teams also have to meet attendance requirements, while FCS teams do not need to meet minimum attendance requirements. Another difference is post season play, starting with the 2014 postseason, a four-team playoff called the College Football Playoff, replaced the previous one game championship format. Even so, Division I FBS football is still the only NCAA sport in which a champion is not determined by an NCAA-sanctioned championship event. All D-I schools must field teams in at least seven sports for men and seven for women or six for men and eight for women, with at least two team sports for each gender. Division I schools must meet minimum financial aid awards for their athletics program, Several other NCAA sanctioned minimums and differences that distinguish Division I from Divisions II and III. Each playing season has to be represented by each gender as well, there are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria. Mens and womens teams have to play all but two games against Division I teams, for men, they must play one-third of all their contests in the home arena. The NCAA has limits on the financial aid each Division I member may award in each sport that the school sponsors. Equivalency sports, in which the NCAA limits the total financial aid that a school can offer in a sport to the equivalent of a set number of full scholarships. Roster limitations may or may not apply, depending on the sport, the term counter is also key to this concept. The NCAA defines a counter as an individual who is receiving financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport. The number of scholarships that Division I members may award in sport is listed below. In this table, scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without a point, for equivalency sports, they are listed with a decimal point. An exception exists for players at non-scholarship FCS programs who receive aid in another sport, participants in basketball are counted in that sport, unless they also play football
8.
Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, the AFL instead granted a franchise to Miami. The Falcons are tied with the Dolphins for being the second-oldest NFL franchise in the Deep South, the Falcons played their home games at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta from the 1992 to 2016 NFL seasons. Construction began on Mercedes-Benz Stadium in May 2014, with play projected to begin there during the 2017 season and their headquarters and practice facilities are located at a 50-acre site in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Two years later, the AFL held another exhibition, this time with the New York Jets taking on the San Diego Chargers, in 1965, after the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium was built, the city of Atlanta felt the time was right to start pursuing professional football. Another group reported it had deposited earnest money for a team in the AFL and he forced the city to make a choice between the two leagues. By June 30, the city picked Rankin Smith and the NFL, former commissioner Pete Rozelle and Smith made the deal in about five minutes and the Atlanta Falcons brought the largest and most popular sport to the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta expansion franchise became the 15th NFL franchise, and they were awarded the first pick in the 1966 NFL draft as well as the pick in each of the first five rounds. The Falcons drafted All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the draft, the league also held the 1966 NFL Expansion Draft six weeks later in which the Falcons selected unprotected players from existing franchises. Although the Falcons selected many players in those drafts, they still were not able to win right away. The Atlanta Falcons Football Club received its nickname on August 29,1965, miss Julia Elliott, a school teacher from Griffin, Georgia, was singled out from many people who suggested Falcons as the nickname for the new franchise. Elliott wrote, the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and it is deadly and has a great sporting tradition. The Falcons had their first season in 1966, and their first preseason game on August 1,1966, under Head Coach Norb Hecker they lost their first nine regular-season games in 1966 and secured their first victory on the road against the New York Giants. The team finished the 1960s with only 12 wins, the Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season. The only two winning seasons in this period were 1971 and 1973. In the 1978 season, the Falcons qualified for the playoffs for the first time, the following week, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27–20 in the Divisional Playoffs. In the 1980 season, after a winning streak, the Falcons posted a franchise then-best record of 12–4
9.
Dan Reeves
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Daniel Edward Reeves is a former American football running back and head coach in the National Football League. He participated in a combined nine Super Bowls as player and coach, the second-most in league history behind Bill Belichicks ten. Reeves played in two Super Bowls, was an assistant coach in three more, and was coach in four, XXI, XXII, and XXIV with the Denver Broncos. Reeves is tied with Jeff Fisher for the NFL record of most regular-season losses as a coach, with 165. Born in Rome, Georgia, Reeves grew up in Americus and he attended Americus High School, where he practiced football, baseball and basketball. After he missed four games with a collarbone during his senior season. The interest from schools came later, when he won the MVP trophy at the Georgia High School football All-star game. He also was selected to the All-state basketball team in 1961, Reeves played college football at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where he was a three-year starter at quarterback from 1962 through 1964. He became the quarterback during his sophomore year in 1962 and was named second-team All-conference after his junior and senior years. Reeves also became a good baseball prospect as a right fielder for the Gamecocks team. In 1977, he was inducted into the schools Athletic Hall of Fame, in 2006, he was inducted into the State of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. His rookie year was spent mostly on the kickoff and punt units, in 1966, Tom Landry looking for more speed at running back, shifted All-Pro safety Mel Renfro to offense. His performance helped the Cowboys take some of the load from fullback Don Perkins. He set a record with 16 touchdowns, had over 1,300 all-purpose yards, was sixth in the NFL in rushing, first in touchdowns. He was also voted to The Sporting News All-Pro team at the end of the year, in 1967, he posted back-to-back seasons with more than 600 rushing yards, ranking second on the team in rushing with 603 yards and third in receiving with 490 yards. In the week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons, he set a record after scoring 4 touchdowns. In the week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he scored touchdowns running, receiving, during the first half of his NFL career, he became a multi-talented running back and displayed the ability to consistently make big plays. He remained a starter until the week 4 of the 1968 season, the injury ended up hampering him for the remainder of his career and limiting his abilities
10.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in the sport of American football. The Yellow Jackets team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Georgia Tech has fielded a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 700–471–43. The Yellow Jackets play in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta, Georgia, the Yellow Jackets have won four Division I-A college football national championships and fifteen conference titles. A number of collegiate and professional football players once played for Tech. The school has 48 first-team All-Americans and over 150 alumni who have played in the NFL, among the most lauded and most notable players the school has produced are Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, Keith Brooking, Joe Hamilton, Joe Guyon, and Billy Shaw. In addition to its players, Techs football program has been noted for its coaches and its, in many cases bizarre traditions and game finishes. Among the teams coaches are John Heisman, for whom the Heisman Trophy is named, and Bobby Dodd, for whom the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. Heisman led the team to the game in American football history. Dodd also led the Jackets on their longest winning streak against the University of Georgia, Tech began its football program with several students forming a loose-knit troop of footballers called the Blacksmiths. On November 5,1892, Tech played its first football game against Mercer University, the team lost to Mercer 12–6 in Macon, Georgia. Tech played two games during their first season and lost both of them for a season record of 0–3. Discouraged by these results, the Blacksmiths sought a coach to improve their record, leonard Wood, an Army officer and Atlantan, heard of Techs football struggles and volunteered to player-coach the team. Over the span of 1892–1903, Tech only won 8 games, tied in 5, in 1893, Tech played against the University of Georgia for the first time. Tech defeated Georgia 28–6 for the schools first-ever victory, the angry Georgia fans threw stones and other debris at the Tech players during and after the game. The poor treatment of the Blacksmiths by the Georgia faithful gave birth to the now known as Clean. In 1902, Jesse Thrash was the teams first All-Southern selection and he began the season as a sub and closed it as the undisputed star of the Tech team. Oliver Jones Huie was selected by Ga Techs athletic association to coach the team for the 1903 season when the team won 3. A professional coach was desperately needed if Tech wished to build a competitive football program
11.
Alabama Crimson Tide football
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The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the team is currently coached by Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide is among the most storied and decorated football programs in NCAA history, since beginning play in 1892, the program claims 16 national championships, including 11 wire-service national titles in the poll-era, and five other titles before the poll-era. From 1958 to 1982, the team was led by Hall of Fame coach Paul Bear Bryant, despite numerous national and conference championships, it was not until 2009 that an Alabama player received a Heisman Trophy, when running back Mark Ingram became the universitys first winner. In 2015, Derrick Henry became the universitys second Heisman winner, Alabama has 878 official victories in NCAA Division I, has won 30 conference championships and has made an NCAA-record 64 postseason bowl appearances. Other NCAA records include 23 winning streaks of 10 games or more and 19 seasons with a 10–0 start, the program has 34 seasons with 10 wins or more, and has 37 bowl victories, both NCAA records. Alabama has completed 10 undefeated seasons,9 of which were perfect seasons, the Crimson Tide leads the SEC West Division with 12 division titles and 11 appearances in the SEC Championship Game. Alabama holds a record against every current and former SEC school. The Associated Press ranks Alabama 4th in all-time final AP Poll appearances, Alabama plays its home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium, located on the campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. With a capacity of 101,821, Bryant-Denny is the 8th largest non-racing stadium in the world, Alabama has had 28 head coaches since organized football began in 1892. Adopting the nickname Crimson Tide after the 1907 season, the team has played more than 1,100 games in their 114 seasons, in that time,12 coaches have led the Crimson Tide in postseason bowl games, Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Harold D. Red Drew, Bear Bryant, Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, Mike DuBose, Dennis Franchione, Mike Shula, Joe Kines, and Nick Saban. Eight of those coaches also won championships, Wade, Thomas, Drew, Bryant, Curry, Stallings, DuBose. During their tenures, Wade, Thomas, Bryant, Stallings, of the 27 different head coaches who have led the Crimson Tide, Wade, Thomas, Bryant, and Stallings have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The current head coach is Nick Saban, who was hired in January 2007, National championships in NCAA FBS college football are debated as the NCAA does not officially award the championship. Despite not naming an official National Champion, the NCAA provides lists of championships awarded by organizations it recognizes, beginning in 1936, the Associated Press began the best-known and most widely circulated poll of sportswriters and broadcasters. Before 1936, national champions were determined by research and retroactive ratings. The criteria for being included in this historical list of poll selectors is that the poll be national in scope, either through distribution in newspaper, television, since World War II, Alabama only claims national championships awarded by the final AP Poll or the final Coaches Poll
12.
Kentucky Wildcats football
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The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, until about 1913, the modern University of Kentucky was referred to as Kentucky State College and nearby Transylvania University was known as Kentucky University. In 1880, Kentucky University and Centre College played the first intercollegiate game in Kentucky. Kentucky State first fielded a team in 1881, playing three games against rival Kentucky University. The team was revived in 1891, both the inaugural 1881 squad and the revived 1891 squad have unknown coaches according to university records in winning two games and losing three. The 1891 teams colors were blue and light yellow, decided before the Centre–Kentucky game on December 19, a student asked What color blue. And varsity letterman Richard C. Stoll pulled off his necktie and this is still held as the origin of Kentuckys shade of blue. The next year light yellow was dropped and changed to white, the 1892 team was coached by A. M. Miller, and went 2–4–1. The greatest UK team of this era was the 1898 squad, to this day, the Immortals remain the only undefeated, untied, and unscored upon team in UK football history. The Immortals were coached by W. R. Bass and ended the year a perfect 7–0–0, head coach Jack Wright led the team to a 7–1 record in 1903, losing only to rival and southern champion Kentucky University. Fred Schacht posted a 15–4–1 record in two seasons but died unexpectedly after his second season, J. White Guyn also had success leading the Wildcats, posting a 17–7–1 record in his three years. Edwin Sweetland went 16–3 in three seasons but resigned due to poor health, Sweetland also served as Kentuckys first athletics director. The 1909 team upset the Illinois Fighting Illini, upon their welcome home, Philip Carbusier said that they had fought like wildcats, a nickname that stuck. John J. Tigert coached Kentucky for two seasons with each season having one loss, the 1916 team fought the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association co-champion Tennessee Volunteers to a scoreless tie. The years only a loss,45 to 0 to the Irby Curry-led Vanderbilt Commodores, was the dedication of Stoll Field, quarterbacks Curry and Kentuckys Doc Rodes were both selected All-Southern at years end. Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin stated If you would give me Doc Rodes, Coach Harry Gamage had a 32–25–5 record during his seven seasons from 1927 to 1933. A. D. Kirwan, who would go on to be the president of the university, coached the Wildcats from 1938 to 1944, longtime athletics director Bernie Shively also served as Kentuckys head football coach for the 1945 season. Coach Paul Bear Bryant was Kentuckys head football coach for eight seasons, Bear Bryant came to Kentucky from Maryland
13.
Bill Curry
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William Alexander Bill Curry is a retired American football coach and former player. Most recently he was the coach at Georgia State University. Curry formerly worked as a football analyst for ESPN, previously, Curry served as the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Alabama, and the University of Kentucky. Curry was born in College Park, Georgia and he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1965. He was a NFL Champion for the 1965 Green Bay Packers, in his second year, he was the starting Center for Green Bay in their 35-10 Super Bowl I victory at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The request to include Curry in the transaction was made by Colts head coach Don Shula who admired his special teams versatility, through his tremendous work ethic and tenacity, Curry slowly developed into a first rate NFL center. He was the Colts starting center during their NFL Championship season of 1968, and was viewed as a force on the offensive line. Like most of his Colts teammates, he remains bewildered by their stunning 16-7 loss in Super Bowl III at the hands of Joe Namath and the New York Jets in Miamis Orange Bowl. The Colts had finished the 1968 season with a record of 13-1, trailing 7-0 late in the first half, and feeling the pressure, the Colts attempted a flea-flicker to help reverse their fortunes. In retrospect, this was Baltimores one last golden opportunity to get back into the game and it was particularly dispiriting for Curry, who, had a perfect view of Orr, and was sure the play would result in a touchdown. I looked up, and saw Jimmy open, I dont know what happened, to add insult to injury, following the loss, Curry and his teammates were subjected to unusually harsh criticisms, including unsubstantiated claims that they had somehow thrown the game. After ownership of the Colts was transferred to Bob Irsay the teams championship spirit and he learned that he was traded via a collect call from Thomas at the Pro Bowl in Dallas. During a brief stint with the flagging Houston Oilers in 1973, Curry suffered a leg injury when he was hit in the back of the leg by Rams great. Though he did not retire until August 1975, the injury ended his playing career. Currys NFL career is notable for his efforts in leadership positions at the NFLPA. Prior to his first head coaching assignment, Curry served as an assistant at Georgia Tech in 1976, Curry returned to Georgia Tech in 1980 as head football coach. While it has reported that Currys first head coaching decision was to dismiss the quarterbacks coach, Steve Spurrier. Curry said, I never fired Steve, Georgia Tech fired the staff before I got there
14.
Colonial Athletic Association
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Most of its members are public universities, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond. The CAA was historically a Southern conference until the addition of five northeastern schools after the turn of the 21st century, the CAA was founded in 1979 as the ECAC South basketball league. It was renamed the Colonial Athletic Association in 1985 when it added championships in other sports, as of 2006, it organizes championships in 21 mens and womens sports. The addition of Northeastern University in 2005 gave the conference the NCAA minimum of six football programs needed to sponsor football, for the 2007 football season, all of the Atlantic 10 Conferences football programs joined the CAA football conference, as agreed upon in May 2005. The CAA has expanded in recent years, following the exits of longtime members such as the United States Naval Academy, the University of Richmond, East Carolina University, and American University. In 2001, the conference added four additional universities, Towson University, Drexel University, Hofstra University. Four years later the league expanded again when Georgia State University and Northeastern University joined, Virginia Commonwealth University left for the Atlantic 10 Conference in July 2012. More changes came in 2013, Old Dominion University left for Conference USA, Georgia State joined the Sun Belt Conference, in 2006, George Mason became the first CAA team to reach the Final Four. In 2011, the VCU Rams became the second CAA team to reach the Final Four, as well as the first team to win five games en route, on March 25,2013, George Mason University left the CAA to join the Atlantic-10 Conference. Shortly after, the CAA ceased sponsorship of wrestling due to the lack of teams, the 2015–16 basketball season saw the conference RPI reach its highest rating when it finished the season ranked 9th in the nation. Notes ‡ – Towson joined the league as a member in 1979, left in 1981 to join the ECAC-Metro Conference. Notes Full members Full members Assoc. members Assoc. member The CAA sponsors championship competitions in ten mens, twelve schools are associate members in three sports. Neither cheerleading nor dance team competitions are sponsored by the NCAA, RS = regular-season champion, T = tournament champion Note, The conference was known as the ECAC South from 1979 to 1985. In December 2012 the CAA announced that the 2014 through 2016 tournaments would be held at the then known as 1st Mariner Arena, now known as Royal Farms Arena. It marked the first time the tournament was held outside the state of Virginia, for this reason, there are no true football associate members as every member of CAA Football is a full-member of the football-only conference. In the 2004–05 academic year, the CAA had five schools that sponsored football, all of them as football-only members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. In 2005, as noted, Northeastern accepted the CAAs offer of membership. At that time, the CAA announced it would launch its new conference in 2007
15.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
16.
Downtown Atlanta
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Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Downtown measures approximately four miles, and had 26,700 residents as of 2010. Similar to other business districts in the U. S. Downtown has recently undergone a transformation that included the construction of new condos and lofts, renovation of historic buildings, Downtown is bound by North Avenue to the north, Boulevard to the east, Interstate 20 to the south, and Northside Drive to the west. This definition of Downtown Atlanta includes central areas like Five Points, the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District organization, though, defines a much smaller downtown area measuring just one and two tenths square miles. This area only includes the central business district neighborhoods of Fairlie-Poplar, Five Points, the Hotel District, Centennial Hill. The history of downtown began in 1826 with Wilson Lumpkin and Hamilton Fulton surveying a possible route between Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Milledgeville, Georgias capital at the time. In 1833, Lumpkin, who had become governor, requested that the state legislature charter three railroad lines. By 1836, the state-financed Western and Atlantic Railroad, linking the middle of Georgia to the states north and west, was founded by the legislature. As a result, the town named Terminus was founded in 1837, Terminus received a name change in 1842 when the towns 30 inhabitants voted to change the towns name to Marthasville, in honor of Governor Lumpkins daughter. By 1845, John Edgar Thomson, chief engineer of the Georgia Railroad, the first suggestion was Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta. In 1847, Atlanta was incorporated, with the town limits extending in a radius from the mile marker at the railroad depot. By the outbreak of the Civil War, Atlanta was a railroad hub and manufacturing center. In 1864, General William T. Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground during his March to the Sea, Atlantas first resurgence began during Reconstruction. In 1868, Georgias state capital was moved to the city from Milledgeville, by the 1920s, a downtown business sector ringed by residential districts had emerged. Professional sports came to Atlanta in 1965 with the construction of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the National Football League awarded the city the Falcons expansion team in 1966. The Hawks arrived in 1968, even though Omni Coliseum, the basketball arena. Atlantas three major sports team continue to play their home games downtown in updated facilities, Turner Field, the Georgia Dome
17.
Shorter University
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Shorter University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Rome, Georgia. Founded in 1873, it is a Christian university historically affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention, Shorter offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through seven colleges and schools and has current enrollment of 1770 traditional and non-traditional students. The 155-acre main academic and residential campus is located 72 miles northwest of Atlanta, there are adult education and graduate programs at distance learning facilities in Duluth, North Atlanta, and Riverdale. In addition Shorter operates the Robert H. Ledbetter College of Business, fielding athletic teams known as the Shorter Hawks, the university became a provisional member of NCAA Division II, and the Gulf South Conference in July,2013. The official school and athletic colors are blue and white, the majority of Shorters students are from Georgia, with only 6% of student enrollment coming from out-of-state and an additional 3% as international students. The university offers a number of extracurricular activities to its students, including athletics, honor societies, clubs and student organizations. Shorter University was founded in 1873 by Luther Rice Gwaltney, pastor of the Rome Baptist Church, the college was renamed in 1877 to Shorter Female College because of the financial contributions of Alfred and Martha Shorter. Shorter was located in Victorian-style buildings on Shelton Hill near downtown Rome and educated young women at primary, preparatory, classes were held Tuesdays through Saturdays and early curriculum included science, music, art, drama and literary works. Through additional contributions from the J. L. Bass and J. P. Cooper families, during the 1920s the college constructed the first indoor swimming pool in the United States and swimming became a physical education graduation requirement. The era also included the first women were selected for the Board of Trustees, during the 1920s Shorter became an accredited member in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, in which the university holds accreditation. Academics were strengthened through membership with the National Association of Schools of Music, in the 1950s, the college became co-educational and the addition of male students created a need for a new male-only residence hall. The university also began intercollegiate athletics program in the NAIA and initiated new clubs organizations, randall Minor became the colleges 14th president in 1958. Under Minor, control of the process for trustees was given to the Georgia Baptist Convention. The college constructed a new building, student center, library, fine arts center. The late 1950s also saw the first African-American student graduate, the political and social climate of the 1960s had a great effect on the college throughout the decade. During the era the student governments power increased and new organizations were created on campus, in 1973 Shorter College celebrated its 100th anniversary through special activities and traditions. International programs began in the 1990s and the university expanded MBA programs, the university dedicated the Winthrop-King Centre and created the Fitton Student Union when it converted the old gym into the facility. Shorter College constructed the Bass Apartments, the J. Robert Eubanks Welcome Center, in 2005, the college attempted to break away from the Georgia Baptist Convention
18.
Georgia Dome
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The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and it was primarily the home stadium for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League and the Georgia State Panthers football team from Georgia State University. Also, it has hosted the Peach Bowl from 1992 until 2016, in addition, the Georgia Dome has also hosted several soccer matches since 2009 that have drawn over 50,000 fans. The Dome was accessible by rail via MARTAs Blue and Green lines, in 1992, the Georgia Dome was completed at a cost of $214 million, which came from the Georgia General Assembly, making it one of the largest state-funded construction projects in Georgia history. For most Georgia State football games, the dome was configured with 28,155 seats, with tickets for only the bulk of the lower level, the record for overall attendance at the Georgia Dome is 80,892 for the 2008 SEC Championship Game in football. The dome was the largest cable-supported dome in the world and its roof was made of teflon-coated fiberglass fabric and had an area of 374,584.08 square feet. From its completion until the December 31,1999 opening of the 20-acre Millennium Dome in London, the Georgia Dome originally used AstroTurf artificial surface for its football events. In 2003, Arthur Blank, the new owner of Atlanta Falcons, in 2006, the Atlanta Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority announced a $300 million renovation to the Georgia Dome. The project was separated into two stages, the first stage, which took place before the 2007 NFL season, focused on updating the premium seating areas, including the creation of eight super-suites as well as an owners club. The entrance gates and concourses were also renovated and updated before the 2008 football season, in 2009, the video screens in both endzones were relocated to a new exterior monument sign on Northside Drive. The interior endzones each received a new and considerably wider High Definition video screen that significantly enhances views of replays, as well as graphics, a new sound system was installed in the same year, replacing the previous system that was nearly 20 years old. Three years after the completion of the Dome, the integrity of its roof became an issue. During a Falcons pre-season game in August 1995, a rainstorm caused water to pool on the fabric, tearing part of the material. The collapse occurred after fans left the stadium, and no one was injured during the incident, the roof was eventually repaired in a way that prevented similar incidents from occurring in the future. The quarterfinal game to follow between the Kentucky Wildcats and Georgia Bulldogs was postponed until the following day, the resulting damage forced the rest of the tournament to be moved to the Alexander Memorial Coliseum, now known as Hank McCamish Pavilion, at Georgia Tech. The Falcons final football game in the Dome was the 2016 NFC Championship Game on January 22,2017, the stadiums final public event took place on March 4 and 5,2017 with back-to-back Monster Jam events. Salvage operations and interior demolition will take place throughout the spring, the Georgia Dome site will become greenspace for tailgating at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and other community events, a 600-car parking garage and a convention center hotel is also planned for the site. The stadium also hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, the new incarnation of Turner Field is now tentatively known as Georgia State Stadium
19.
Sonny Perdue
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George Ervin Sonny Perdue III is an American politician who served as the 81st Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction, Perdue currently serves on the Governors’ Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC, and is President Donald Trumps nominee for U. S. Secretary of Agriculture. If confirmed, Perdue would only be the second Secretary of Agriculture from the Deep South, the first was Mike Espy of Mississippi, who served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 to December 1994. On January 18,2017, incoming U. S. President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be United States Secretary of Agriculture and his nomination was transmitted to the Senate on March 9,2017. Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia, the son of Ophie Viola, a teacher and he grew up and still lives in Bonaire, an unincorporated area between Perry and Warner Robins. Perdue has been known as Sonny since childhood and prefers to be called by name, he was sworn in. Perdue is the first cousin of U. S, Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School and was a walk-on at the University of Georgia, where he was also a member of the Beta-Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Perdue is not related to the family owns and operates Perdue Farms. Perdue served in the U. S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain before his discharge, after serving as a member of the Houston County Planning & Zoning Commission in the 1980s, Perdue ran for a seat in the Georgia General Assembly. He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the Senator representing the 18th district. Perdue was elected in 1991,1994, and 1996, serving as his partys leader in the Senate, from 1994 to 1997 and his committee assignments included Ethics, Finance & Public Utilities, Health & Human Services, Reapportionment and Economic Development, Tourism & Cultural Affairs. He switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1998 and was re-elected to the Senate as a Republican and he also won re-election in 2000. In December 2001, Perdue resigned as State Senator and devoted entirely to running for the office of Governor. He won the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes, 51% to 46% and he became the first Republican governor of Georgia in over 130 years since Benjamin F. Conley. In 2006, Perdue was re-elected to a term in the 2006 Georgia gubernatorial election. His Democratic opponent was Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor, Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot. Perdue advocated reforms designed to cut waste in government, most notably the sale of surplus vehicles, prior to Perdues becoming governor, no state agency had even compiled an inventory of what assets the state owned. In education, Perdue promoted the return of most decision-making to the local level, after Perdue took office, in 2003 and 2004, Georgia moved up from last place in the country in SAT scores
20.
Andrew Young
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Andrew Jackson Young, Jr. is an American politician, diplomat, and activist. Young later became active in politics, serving first as a U. S, congressman from Georgia, then United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and finally Mayor of Atlanta. Since leaving political office, Young has founded or served in a number of organizations working on issues of public policy. Andrew Young was born on March 12,1932 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Daisy Fuller Young, a school teacher, Youngs father hired a professional boxer to teach Andrew and his brother how to fight, so they could defend themselves. In an 1964 interview with author Robert Penn Warren for his book, Young recalls the tensions of segregation in New Orleans, especially growing up in a fairly well-to-do household. He recalls his parents trying to compensate for segregation by providing for their children but were reluctant to help less wealthy black communities in the area, Young graduated from Howard University and earned a divinity degree from Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1955. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Young was appointed to serve as pastor of a church in Marion, Alabama. It was there in Marion that he met Jean Childs, who became his wife. Young became interested in Mohandas Gandhis concept of nonviolent resistance as a tactic for social change and he encouraged African Americans to register to vote in Alabama, and sometimes faced death threats while doing so. It was at time that he became a friend and ally of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1955 he accepted a pastorate at Bethany Congregational Church in Thomasville, in 1957, Young and Jean moved to New York City when he accepted a job with the Youth Division of the National Council of Churches. Young served as a pastor of the Evergreen Congregational Church in Beachton, in 1960, he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. No longer satisfied with his work in New York, Young moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1961 upon the invitation of Bernard Lafayette and again worked on drives to register black voters. Young played a key role in the 1963 events in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1964, Young was named executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, becoming, in that capacity, one of Kings principal lieutenants. As a colleague and friend of Martin Luther King Jr. he was a strategist and negotiator during the Civil Rights Campaigns in Birmingham, St. Augustine, Selma, and Atlanta. He was jailed for his participation in civil rights demonstrations, both in Selma, Alabama, and in St. Augustine, Florida, the movement gained congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Young was with King in Memphis, Tennessee, when King was assassinated in 1968, in 1970, Andrew Young ran as a Democrat for Congress from Georgia, but was unsuccessful. After his defeat, Rev. Fred C, bennette, Jr. introduced him to Murray M. Silver, an Atlanta attorney, who served as his campaign finance chairman
21.
2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
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The 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tides 116th overall season, 77th as a member of the Southeastern Conference, the team was led by head coach Nick Saban, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of ten wins and three losses and defeated Michigan State 49–7 in the Capital One Bowl, Alabama entered the season as defending national champions, and began the 2010 season as the preseason number one team in both the AP and Coaches Polls. However, Alabama completed the season with only nine victories and losses to South Carolina, LSU and Auburn. After the regular season, the Crimson Tide accepted an invitation to compete in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, against Big Ten co-champions Michigan State, Alabama won by a final score of 49–7 and captured both a third straight ten win season and top ten finish. They finished the season as the consensus National Champions, being voted No.1 in the AP, in addition to the national title, sophomore running back Mark Ingram became the first Alabama player to win the Heisman Trophy. In February 2010, eighteen players each signed an individual National Letter of Intent to play football at Alabama. The 2010 recruiting class was ranked nationally in the top five by several recruiting services including Rivals, Scout, ESPNU, spring practice began on March 12 and concluded with the annual A-Day game on April 17. Televised live by ESPN, the Crimson team of offensive starters defeated the White team of defensive starters by a score of 23–17 before 91,312 fans in Bryant–Denny Stadium. The game was decided after the end of regulation when Brandon Gibson caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from AJ McCarron in sudden death. For their performances, Marcell Dareus earned the Dwight Stephenson Lineman of the A-Day Game Award, by August, Alabama had a combined 21 players on 12 different preseason award watch lists. Alabama had 10 returning starters from the season, including eight on offense. Additionally, all of special teams players were replaced following the departures of punter P. J. Fitzgerald, placekicker Leigh Tiffin, long snapper Brian Selman, Alabama signed the No.5 recruiting class according to Rivals and the No.4 recruiting class according to Scout. The football program received 18 letters of intent on National Signing Day, the 2010 schedule was officially released on September 2,2009. In accordance with rules, Alabama faced all five Western Division opponents, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State. They also faced three Eastern Division opponents, official SEC rival Tennessee, Florida, and South Carolina, Alabama did not play SEC opponents Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The contest against Ole Miss served as the 2010 homecoming game, Alabama also played four non-conference games. On December 5, it was announced Alabama would face Big Ten co-champion Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, in what was the first meeting between the programs, the Tide defeated the Spartans 49–7 and secured their third consecutive ten-win season
22.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution, the staff was combined in 1982. Separate publication of the morning Constitution and afternoon Journal ended in 2001, the AJC has its headquarters in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody, Georgia. It is also co-owned with television flagship WSB-TV and six radio stations, subsequent to the staff consolidation of 1982, the afternoon Journal maintained a conservative editorial stance, while the editorials and op-eds in the morning Constitution were center-left. When the editions combined in 2001, the editorial page staffs also merged, the editorials and op-eds have attempted to strike a more balanced tone. Most of the editorial stances have been closer to those of the old Constitution center-left viewpoint. The Atlanta Journal was established in 1883, founder E. F. Hoge sold the paper to Atlanta lawyer Hoke Smith in 1887. After the Journal supported Presidential candidate Grover Cleveland in the 1892 election, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Margaret Mitchell worked for the Journal from 1922 to 1926. In 1922, the Journal founded the Souths first radio station, the radio station and the newspaper were sold in 1939 to James Middleton Cox, founder of what would become Cox Enterprises. The Journal carried the motto Covers Dixie like the Dew, the Constitution, as it was originally known, was first published on June 16,1868. Its name changed to The Atlanta Constitution in October 1869 and it was such a force that by 1871 it had killed off the Daily Intelligencer, the only Atlanta paper to survive the American Civil War. In August 1875 its name changed to The Atlanta Daily Constitution for two weeks, then to The Constitution again for about a year, in 1876 Captain Evan Howell purchased a controlling interest from E. Y. Clarke Sr. and became its editor-in-chief. That same year, Joel Chandler Harris began writing for the paper and he soon invented the character of Uncle Remus, a black storyteller, as a way of recounting stories from African-American culture. In October 1876 the newspaper became The Daily Constitution, before settling on the name The Atlanta Constitution in September 1881, during the 1880s, editor Henry W. Grady was a spokesman for the New South, and encouraged industrial development. The Constitution started the radio station, WGM AM710, having received its Federal Radio Commission broadcast license in March 1922. It is now succeeded by WGST AM640, though its original facility is now WGKA AM920, the station folded after just over a year, and was donated to the Georgia School of Technology. Ralph McGill, editor for the Constitution in the 1940s, was one of the few southern newspaper editors to support the American Civil Rights Movement, in 1946, reporter David Snell wrote that Japan had developed its own atomic bomb prior to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
23.
Indiana State Sycamores football
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The Indiana State Sycamores football team is the NCAA Division I mens football program of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. They currently compete in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the team last played in the NCAA Playoffs in the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship. The Sycamores boast of 8 Conference Player of the Year,19 First Team All-Americans, the Sycamores also appeared in 1984 NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. Past coaches include Dennis Raetz, Jerry Huntsman, George Ashworth, the Indiana State Sycamores play their home games at Memorial Stadium, which seats 12,764. The Sycamores have appeared in 3 NCAA Division I Football Championships, playoff Games The Sycamores shared the 1964 Heartland Collegiate Conference title with 4 schools, they finished with a 4-2 conference record and were 6-2 overall. At the time, the Heartland Collegiate Conference was known by its more recognizable name, the Sycamores have played football at venerable Memorial Stadium since the 1949 campaign. Originally constructed in 1922-24, at a cost of $450,000, among the esteemed visitors were Major League Baseball Commissioner Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis and Charles Barnard of the Cleveland Indians. The facility was acquired by Indiana State University in 1967, the installation of Astroturf made Indiana State the first university to own a football stadium with artificial turf. The leagues include the NFL, CFL, AFL. and the UFL, the most notable players are, The Sycamores have met Illinois State annually since 1969 and 48 times in the past 50 seasons. The first game in the series was in 1936, which ended in an 0–0 tie, the Redbirds hold a slight edge over the Sycamores, the schools also are frequent Homecoming opponents. Indiana State leads in Homecoming games in Terre Haute, while in Bloomington-Normal, the largest crowd in Illinois State football history is the 1970 match-up with Indiana State,21,500 fans attended saw the Jerry Huntsman-led Sycamores win 28–7. The schools have been rivals since 1981 as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The burgeoning rivalry with Southern Illinois has tilted to SIUs advantage in recent seasons, though the Salukis lead the series record. SIU also own a victory in the playoff meeting between the schools. Following the 1949 season, the Sycamores were invited to the 1949 Shrine Bowl versus the Salukis, the Salukis, who earlier in the season had lost to Indiana State, won the rematch 41–14. From 1901–2009, the Sycamores played Eastern Illinois 83 times, the stands at 37–42–4 in favor of Eastern Illinois. In 2017, the rivalry will resume after a 7-year hiatus, from 1924 to 2014, the Sycamores played Ball State University 65 times, the series stands at 39–25–1 in favor of Ball State. In 1940, the respective Blue Key chapters sponsored a trophy presentation, the term Homecoming was first used in print announcements for the Alumni-Varsity Basketball Game on Dec.9,1916
24.
NCAA Division I Football Championship
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The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an American college football tournament played each year to determine the champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Prior to 2006, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship, the FCS is the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament sanctioned by the NCAA to determine its champion. The four-team playoff system used by the Bowl Subdivision is not sanctioned by the NCAA, the reigning national champions are the James Madison Dukes, who had previously won in 2004. When Division I-AA was formed for football in 1978, the playoffs included just four teams, in 1982 the I-AA playoffs were expanded to 12 teams, with each of the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals. In its ninth season of 1986, the I-AA playoffs were expanded again to a 16-team format, eight conference champions received automatic bids, with the remaining eight bids available on an at-large basis. The field is set the Sunday before Thanksgiving and play begins that weekend. The top four teams are seeded, however, the matchups are not strictly set up by these seedings as geographic considerations are taken into account to minimize travel. In April 2008 the NCAA announced that the field would again expand to include 20 teams beginning in 2010. At the same time, it announced that the number of conferences receiving automatic bids would increase to 10, the structure then adopted included eight teams playing in four first round games. The four first round advance to the second Round of Sixteen where they play the top four seeds. The playoffs expanded to 24 teams beginning with the 2013 season, the tournament has historically been played in November and December, with the 2010 expansion to a 20-team field, the championship game moved from December to January. The title game is now played in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas at Toyota Stadium, the original contract with Frisco began in the 2010 season and ran through the 2012 season. The contract has since been extended twice, first through the 2015 season, three Football Championship Subdivision conferences usually do not participate in the tournament. The teams that make the playoffs are determined by the FCS Playoff Selection Committee, the current committee chairman is Mark Wilson. The others who serve on the committee are Chuck Burch, Troy Dannen, Brian Hutchinson, Richard Johnson, Nathan Pine, Marty Scarano, Paul Schlickmann, Dr. Brad Teague. ++ The MEAC Champion, since 2015, forgoes its automatic bid to allow its champion to participate in the Celebration Bowl, non-champions are eligible for at-large bids. % The SWAC abstains from the tournament to allow for a longer regular season, an in-conference championship game. † Known as University of Louisiana at Monroe since 1999, ‡ Now Toyota Stadium * Toyota Stadium capacity reduced due to construction ^ Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision
25.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
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The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a non-profit association which regulates athletes of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations, and individuals. It also organizes the programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2014, the NCAA generated almost a billion dollars in revenue. 80 to 90% of this revenue was due to the Division I Mens Basketball Tournament and this revenue is then distributed back into various organizations and institutions across the United States. In August 1973, the current three-division setup of Division I, Division II, under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships, generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III. Division I football was divided into I-A and I-AA in 1978. Subsequently, the term Division I-AAA was briefly added to delineate Division I schools which do not field a football program at all, in 2006, Divisions I-A and I-AA were respectively renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision. Inter-collegiate sports began in the US in 1852 when crews from Harvard University, as other sports emerged, notably football and basketball, many of these same concepts and standards were adopted. Football, in particular, began to emerge as a marquee sport, the IAAUS was officially established on March 31,1906, and took its present name, the NCAA, in 1910. For several years, the NCAA was a group and rules-making body, but in 1921, the first NCAA national championship was conducted. Gradually, more rules committees were formed and more championships were created, a series of crises brought the NCAA to a crossroads after World War II. The Sanity Code – adopted to establish guidelines for recruiting and financial aid – failed to curb abuses, postseason football games were multiplying with little control, and member schools were increasingly concerned about how the new medium of television would affect football attendance. The complexity of problems and the growth in membership and championships demonstrated the need for full-time professional leadership. Walter Byers, previously an executive assistant, was named executive director in 1951. Byers wasted no time placing his stamp on the Association, as college athletics grew, the scope of the nations athletics programs diverged, forcing the NCAA to create a structure that recognized varying levels of emphasis. In 1973, the Associations membership was divided into three legislative and competitive divisions – I, II, and III, five years later in 1978, Division I members voted to create subdivisions I-A and I-AA in football. Until the 1980s, the association did not offer womens athletics, instead, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, with nearly 1000 member schools, governed womens collegiate sports in the United States
26.
Cure Bowl
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Bright House Networks Stadium, also known as The Bounce House, is an American football stadium located in Orlando, Florida, United States, on the main campus of The University of Central Florida. It is the venue for the UCF Knights football team. The stadium was the first on-campus stadium in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I FBS to open in the 21st century, and was the second newest BCS stadium in the country. The stadium opened in 2007 as a replacement for the Citrus Bowl in Downtown Orlando, where the Knights had played since 1979, the steel and brick-clad stadium was designed by 360 Architecture and constructed in 18 months. The stadium underwent an $8 million renovation following the 2014 season, the Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership was built on the east facade of the stadium, and a party deck was added to the east stands. Following the renovations, seating capacity is 44,206, the attendance record as of 2014 was 48,453, for an October 18,2009 match-up against the Miami Hurricanes. It is sometimes known as The Bounce House because the stadium visibly shakes when students jump during Zombie Nations Kernkraft 400. The stadium is a part of UCFs Athletic Village and is bordered by McCulloch Road on the side, Knights Plaza on the west side. To the west in Knights Plaza is the CFE Arena, the arena of UCF Knights basketball. Also located to the west, are Jay Bergman Field, the field of Knights baseball. Also located in Knights Plaza are The Towers residence halls, housing 2,000 UCF students, on March 31,2005, UCF received the results of a feasibility study it commissioned on whether it should build an on-campus football stadium. On April 14,2005, the UCF Board of Trustees approved the construction of an on-campus stadium, the stadium, initially known as UCF Stadium, was scheduled to be completed in time for the 2006 football season. However, the Board of Trustees delayed construction until March 2006 due to the concerns from local residents regarding potentially falling property values, construction on UCF Stadium began on March 22,2006. The stadium was built without water fountains. The university argued that the code used when the stadium was approved did not require water fountains. During the stadiums opening game, vendors ran out of water at halftime, on May 9,2006, it was announced that the Texas Longhorns would be the first opponent for the UCF Knights in the new stadium. The game, the first of three scheduled meetings between the schools, was held September 15,2007, and televised nationally on ESPN2 at 3,30 pm EDT, a sellout crowd of 45,622 saw the Knights put a scare into the Longhorns before falling 35–32. Although the Knights lost their first on-campus home game, they finished the remainder of the inaugural season undefeated
27.
South Carolina Gamecocks football
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The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina in the sport of American football. The Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, will Muschamp currently serves as the teams head coach. They play their games at Williams-Brice Stadium. Currently, it is the 20th largest stadium in college football, USCs SEC tenure has been highlighted by an SEC East title in 2010, Final Top-25 rankings in 2000,2001,2010,2011,2012 and 2013, and four wins over Top-5 SEC opponents. From 1953 through 1970, the Gamecocks played in the Atlantic Coast Conference, winning the 1969 ACC championship and finishing No.15 in the 1958 final AP poll. From 1971 through 1991, they competed as a independent, producing 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers, six bowl appearances. The Gamecocks have produced a National Coach of the Year in Joe Morrison and they also have four members of the College Football Hall of Fame in former players George Rogers and Sterling Sharpe, and former coaches Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier. Carolina fielded its first football team on Christmas Eve, in Charleston, South Carolina, at that time the football team was not sanctioned by the University. They provided their own uniforms and paid their own train fare in order to participate in the game and they were nicknamed the College Boys by The News and Courier and their supporters wore garnet and black. USC won its first game in its season, on November 2,1895 against Columbia AA. The squad designated their first head coach, W. H. Dixie Whaley, the 1896 season also saw the inaugural game against arch-rival Clemson on November 12, which Carolina won 12–6. From 1902 to 1903, coach Bob Williams led the Gamecocks to a 14–3 record, in 1902, South Carolina beat Clemson, coached by John Heisman, for the first time since 1896, the first year of the rivalry. After the game on Thursday, the Clemson guys frankly told the Carolina students that if you bring this poster, and naturally, of course, the Carolina students brought the poster to the parade. If you give someone an ultimatum and they’re your rival, they’re going to do exactly what you told them not to do, as expected, another brawl broke out before both sides agreed to mutually burn the poster in an effort to defuse tensions. The immediate aftermath resulted in the stoppage of the rivalry until 1909,1903 also heralded the programs first 8-win season with an overall record of 8–2. Future senator and former player for South Carolina and UVA. 1904s captain Gene Oliver played against Georgia with a broken jaw, within months The Board of Trustees reversed their decision after hearing pleas, and receiving petitions, from students and alumni alike. Play was allowed to resume in 1907, a hastily assembled football team, coached by Board of Trustees member Douglas McKay, competed in an abbreviated season that same year, and the squad won all three games
28.
Georgia State Panthers
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The Georgia State Panthers represent the NCAA Division I sports teams of Georgia State University. GSUs teams are members of the Sun Belt Conference, a conference of which they were a charter member, previously, GSU was a member of the CAA, and prior to that, the Atlantic Sun Conference. Georgia State became a fully accredited NCAA Division I athletics program in 1963, however, sports did exist at GSU prior to becoming an NCAA member, In 1956, the Panthers began a baseball team, the oldest sport played at Georgia State. Prior to joining the NCAA, no scholarships were given and no sports were part of any national affiliate, when GSU did join the NCAA, only basketball, cross country, golf, and tennis were played as NCAA sports. In 1975, five womens sports also joined, playing in the New South Womens Athletic Conference, or NSWAC, in 1976, the Sun Belt Conference was formed with Georgia State being one of its founding members. With only a few hundred fans attending each game, this became a joke to media outlets, after leaving the Sun Belt, the Panthers played as independents for three years before joining the TAAC. In 1983, Georgia State joined the TAAC, joining in-state schools Mercer and it would remain in this conference until 2005, watching other peers leave to pursue FBS football. While the Panthers would stay headstrong against adding football until 2008 and this culminated in the official launch of the football program on April 17,2008. Due to the addition of mens scholarships, Title IX regulations required the university to have additional womens scholarships added and this led to the addition of beach volleyball. With the addition of football, a makeover of the department was done, changing the fight song, logos. The university also decided to go back on one of its previous institutional name rules in making GSU a secondary name for the university, the study was conducted by Collegiate Consulting, who concluded that the university was in a good position to move up to the FBS. On April 9,2012, Georgia State officially accepted an invitation to rejoin the Sun Belt Conference on July 1,2013, Georgia State sponsors teams in six mens and ten womens NCAA sanctioned sports, * Georgia State is a member of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association. The nickname Panthers has existed as the name for all Georgia State teams since 1963 and it wasnt until 1989 that an official mascot appeared in the form of Urbie, a crimson panther. This was later replaced in 1993 by an early of the current mascot, Pounce, pounces appearance has changed twice since his debut, most recently in 2009 when the current incarnation was presented during a basketball game against Georgia Southern. The first team name to represent Georgia State was the Owls, between 1947 and 1963, GSU teams went by the name Ramblers, although no reasoning for why has been presented. The teams were briefly referred to as the Crimson Panthers during the Urbie era. The primary athletics logo contains a picture of the newest incarnation of Pounce and this primary logo is interchangeable with the words Georgia State beneath Pounce. The secondary logo is an italicized, capitalized GSU in white with blue outlining with a red streak beneath, the new logos replaced the face of Pounce prior to 2009, as a highly stylized cartoon panther beneath the old Georgia State wordmark
29.
Steve Spurrier
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Stephen Orr Spurrier is a former American football player and coach. Spurrier served as the coach of three college and two professional teams. He was also a college football player, and spent a decade playing professionally in the National Football League. Spurrier retired from coaching in 2015 and now serves as an ambassador and he is nicknamed the Head Ball Coach. Spurrier was born in Miami Beach, Florida and grew up in Tennessee and he is a graduate of the University of Florida, where he was the Florida Gators starting quarterback for three seasons. Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy in his season of 1966, was a consensus All-American in both 1965 and 1966, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986. Spurrier was drafted in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers, in 1976, the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded for Spurrier, and he was the teams starting quarterback for most of their inaugural season. After retiring as a player, Spurrier returned to the game in 1978 as an offensive assistant at Florida under head coach Doug Dickey. Dickey and his staff were fired after the season, and Spurrier served as the quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech in 1979 under head coach Pepper Rodgers. At his first two coaching stops, Spurrier had been primarily a position coach without play calling responsibilities, in 1980, Duke University head coach Red Wilson hired Spurrier as his offensive coordinator. When asked in later years how he developed his offense, Spurrier has often stated that he learned it all at Duke University, the Bandits had a successful run, going 35-19 over three seasons, and Spurriers Bandit Ball offense was popular with fans. However, the team folded along with the rest of the USFL after the 1985 season, Spurrier returned to Duke University as the Blue Devils head coach in 1987, and his Fast Break offense broke many of the records set during his tenure as offensive coordinator. Spurriers 1989 Duke squad won the programs first conference championship since 1962, in 1990, Spurrier returned to the University of Florida to become the Gators head coach. For the next seasons, he led Floridas program to unprecedented success, including Floridas first six Southeastern Conference championships. His wide-open offensive scheme continued to produce at Florida, and his squads and individual players set numerous school, in 1996, Spurrier became the first Heisman Trophy winner to coach a Heisman Trophy winner when Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel won the award. In 2005, he returned to the game as the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Spurrier retired as the winningest coach in both Florida and South Carolina history, and has the second most coaching wins in the history of the SEC behind only Bear Bryant. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2017, in July 2016, Spurrier returned to the University of Florida as an ambassador and consultant to the athletic department
30.
Will Muschamp
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William Larry Muschamp is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the coach at the University of South Carolina. He was previously the coach at the University of Florida from 2011 to 2014. Muschamp has built a reputation for his defenses and his intense demeanor during games. In his second season as defensive coordinator at Auburn, Muschamp was a finalist for the 2007 Broyles Award for the most outstanding assistant coach in college football, Muschamp was born in Rome, Georgia but grew up in Gainesville, Florida. He attended Martha Manson Academy elementary school and Oak Hall High School in Gainesville and his family moved back to Rome, where his father became the headmaster of the Darlington School, and where he graduated from high school. Muschamp played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track for the Darlington Tigers, Muschamp attended the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He walked on to the Georgia Bulldogs football team and played safety from 1991 to 1994, as an undergraduate, he was initiated into the Kappa Alpha Order and also earned a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1993. He was a team captain his senior season, and played in two bowl games with the Bulldogs. Former Georgia offensive coordinator and Bulldogs quarterback Mike Bobo, who was Muschamps college teammate, Muschamp graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelors degree in 1994. After graduating from Georgia, Muschamp became an assistant coach at Auburn University. Muschamp joined Nick Sabans staff at LSU as the coach in 2001. In 2003, LSU won the BCS Championship and that season, Muschamps defense led the nation in both scoring defense and total defense. The Tigers topped the SEC in every defensive category and also ranked second nationally in defensive pass efficiency. While at LSU, Muschamp coached four All-Americans including Bradie James, Chad Lavalais, Corey Webster, Muschamp left LSU with Saban after the 2004 season to join the Miami Dolphins staff as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. As assistant head coach/defense of the Miami Dolphins, Muschamp, along with defensive coordinator Richard Smith, the Dolphins allowed 19.8 points per game and 317.4 total yards per game during the 2005 NFL season. The unit also ranked second in the NFL with 49 quarterback sacks, when the Auburn defensive coordinator position became available in January 2006, Muschamp took the opportunity to return to the college game. In 2006, Muschamps first season at Auburn, the finished seventh among NCAA Division I-FBS teams in scoring defense
31.
Columbia, South Carolina
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Columbia is the capital and largest city of the U. S. state of South Carolina, with a population of 133,803 as of 2015. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, the name Columbia is a poetic term used for the United States, originating from the name of Christopher Columbus. The city is located approximately 13 miles northwest of the center of South Carolina. It lies at the confluence of the Saluda River and the Broad River, in 1860, the city was the location of the South Carolina Secession Convention, which marked the departure of the first state from the Union in the events leading up to the Civil War. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Columbia were a people called the Congaree, in May 1540, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto traversed what is now Columbia while moving northward. The expedition produced the earliest written records of the area. From the creation of Columbia by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1786, the Congarees, a frontier fort on the west bank of the Congaree River, was the head of navigation in the Santee River system. A ferry was established by the government in 1754 to connect the fort with the growing settlements on the higher ground on the east bank. Like many other significant early settlements in colonial America, Columbia is on the line from the Piedmont region. The fall line is the spot where a river becomes unnavigable when sailing upstream, State Senator John Lewis Gervais of the town of Ninety Six introduced a bill that was approved by the legislature on March 22,1786, to create a new state capital. There was considerable argument over the name for the new city, according to published accounts, Senator Gervais said he hoped that in this town we should find refuge under the wings of COLUMBIA, for that was the name which he wished it to be called. One legislator insisted on the name Washington, but Columbia won by a vote of 11–7 in the state senate, the site was chosen as the new state capital in 1786, due to its central location in the state. The State Legislature first met there in 1790, after remaining under the direct government of the legislature for the first two decades of its existence, Columbia was incorporated as a village in 1805 and then as a city in 1854. Columbia received a stimulus to development when it was connected in a direct water route to Charleston by the Santee Canal. This canal connected the Santee and Cooper rivers in a 22-mile-long section and it was first chartered in 1786 and completed in 1800, making it one of the earliest canals in the United States. With increased railroad traffic, it ceased operation around 1850, the commissioners designed a town of 400 blocks in a 2-mile square along the river. The blocks were divided into lots of 0.5 acres and sold to speculators, buyers had to build a house at least 30 feet long and 18 feet wide within three years or face an annual 5% penalty. The perimeter streets and two streets were 150 feet wide
32.
NCAA Division I
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Division I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. This level was called the University Division of the NCAA, in contrast to the lower level College Division. For football only, Division I was further subdivided in 1978 into Division I-A, Division I-AA, in 2006, Division I-A and I-AA were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision, respectively. FCS teams are allowed to award scholarships, a practice technically allowed. FBS teams also have to meet attendance requirements, while FCS teams do not need to meet minimum attendance requirements. Another difference is post season play, starting with the 2014 postseason, a four-team playoff called the College Football Playoff, replaced the previous one game championship format. Even so, Division I FBS football is still the only NCAA sport in which a champion is not determined by an NCAA-sanctioned championship event. All D-I schools must field teams in at least seven sports for men and seven for women or six for men and eight for women, with at least two team sports for each gender. Division I schools must meet minimum financial aid awards for their athletics program, Several other NCAA sanctioned minimums and differences that distinguish Division I from Divisions II and III. Each playing season has to be represented by each gender as well, there are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria. Mens and womens teams have to play all but two games against Division I teams, for men, they must play one-third of all their contests in the home arena. The NCAA has limits on the financial aid each Division I member may award in each sport that the school sponsors. Equivalency sports, in which the NCAA limits the total financial aid that a school can offer in a sport to the equivalent of a set number of full scholarships. Roster limitations may or may not apply, depending on the sport, the term counter is also key to this concept. The NCAA defines a counter as an individual who is receiving financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport. The number of scholarships that Division I members may award in sport is listed below. In this table, scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without a point, for equivalency sports, they are listed with a decimal point. An exception exists for players at non-scholarship FCS programs who receive aid in another sport, participants in basketball are counted in that sport, unless they also play football
33.
Penn State Nittany Lions football
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The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The team is also #8 all-time in total-wins, one game behind Oklahoma and Alabama, the Nittany Lions play their home games at Beaver Stadium, located on-campus in University Park, Pennsylvania. With an official seating capacity of 106,572, Beaver Stadium is the second-largest stadium in the hemisphere, behind only Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The team is coached by James Franklin. The first recorded game occurred on November 12,1881, when Penn State traveled to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to play Bucknell, Penn State won 9–0, which was nine goals to none. At the time, this was really a game of American rugby, the father of American football, Walter Camp, did not develop the scrimmage, the first down and the gridiron until 1882. Although this game was reported in two State College newspapers and the Mirror, Bucknell denies that this ever happened. Penn State did not field teams from 1882 through 1886, Penn State played its first season in 1887, but had no head coach for their first five years, from 1887–1891. The teams played its games on the Old Main lawn on campus in State College. They compiled a 12–8–1 record in these seasons, playing as an independent from 1887–1890, in 1891, the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Football Association was formed. It consisted of Bucknell, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Haverford, Penn State, lafayette and Lehigh were excluded because it was felt they would dominate the Association. Penn State won the championship with a 4–1–0 record, the Association was dissolved prior to the 1892 season. George W. Hoskins was the first head coach at Penn State. He posted a 17–4–4 record in his four seasons from 1892–1895 as head coach and his first team played its home game on the Old Main lawn on campus in State College, Pennsylvania, before the 500-seat Beaver Field opened in 1893. He was succeeded by Samuel B, newton, who posted a 12–14 record in three seasons, 1896–1898. Sam Boyle coached for one year in 1899 and compiled a 4–6–1 record. Pop Golden coached the Nittany Lions for three seasons from 1900–1902, tallying a record of 16–12–1, daniel A. Reed took over for the 1903 season and went 5–3. Tom Fennell coached the Nittany Lions for five seasons from 1904–1908, in 1907 the school adopted the Nittany Lion mascot, a mountain lion named after nearby Mount Nittany
34.
Charlotte 49ers football
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The Charlotte 49ers football program represents the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in college football. The UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees officially voted to add a program on November 13,2008. The online poll was approved by the Student Senate and administered in collaboration with the Universitys IT Department, despite the possibility of potential rises in student fees, the vote clearly displayed a student interest in a football team. The program began play during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season, in 1946,22 young men began practice as the Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina Owls first athletic program, a football team. The team finished the season 2–4, with wins over Pembroke State and Belmont Abbey, and losses to Davidson JV, Catawba College JV, the team hosted 2 home games that year at American Legion Memorial Stadium. In part due to the effects of fewer World War II veterans entering college in the late 1940s, the final football game was played on October 27,1948. On July 12,2006, a group of 15 UNCC students, a student organization, Charlotte Football Advocates, became a part of the larger CFI group during the fall of 2006. The committee held meetings throughout the summer of 2007, plus three public forums in the fall of 2007. In December 2007, the Football Feasibility Committee voted unanimously to recommend the addition of 49ers football, in September 2008, a major student-led March to the Endzone rally was held on campus. On September 18,2008, Chancellor Dubois officially recommended adding a 49ers football program with the condition that its fans first raise $5 million to fund the stadium complex. On November 13,2008, the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees voted to add a Charlotte 49ers football program by 2013, the 49ers played as an Independent during their two years in the FCS subdivision. Charlotte Football officially joined the FBS subdivision and C-USA Football on July 1,2015, Charlotte 49ers football statistical leaders List of Charlotte 49ers football seasons Statistics correct as of the conclusion of the 2016-17 college football season regular season. The Chancellor initially set forth a goal of 5,000 FSL reservations within 6 months, however, due to the tremendous level of support for the new program, the goal was met in only 2 months. In February 2008, a capital campaign was established and led by prominent community leaders. These leaders included Mac Everett, Johnny Harris and Gene Johnson, seat licenses are being sold in three tiers of seating, Green, Gold and White Gold. Chancellor Dubois originally recommended that the university start Division I football at the FCS level with no timeline to move up to FBS, the team played their first full season in the fall of 2013 as an FCS Independent. On May 4,2012 Charlotte agreed to rejoin Conference USA for all sports except football in 2013, Charlotte moved to the FBS in 2015 and will become FBS bowl eligible in 2016. The 49ers were founding members of C-USA from 1996–2005, Chancellor Dubois conducted a lengthy review process of the committees results before making his final recommendation to the Board of Trustees
35.
Memphis Tigers football
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The Memphis Tigers football team represents the University of Memphis in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Tigers currently play in the American Athletic Conference as an all-sports member and they play home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Mike Norvell is the coach, as he was formally introduced on December 4,2015. Since their inaugural season in 1912, the Memphis Tigers have won over 450 games, the program has also claimed 5 conference championships with the most recent title coming in 2015 as a member of the American Athletic Conference. West Tennessee State Normal School first fielded a team in 1912. The team was coached by Clyde Wilson, in 1922, Lester Barnard was the Tigers head coach. His team compiled a 5–2–2 record, from 1937 to 1938, Allyn McKeen coached the Tigers, compiling a 13–6 record. His 1938 team went undefeated at 10–0, McKeen departed the Tigers after two seasons to accept the head football coach position at Mississippi State and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1991. West Tennessee State Teachers College changed its name to Memphis State College in 1941, the Tigers did not field a football team from 1943–1945 due to the events surrounding World War II. Billy Murphy served as football coach for the Tigers for fourteen seasons. Murphys 1963 team was the schools first undefeated team in twenty-five years, the team finished ranked #14 in the UPI Coaches Poll, the highest final ranking in school history. Murphy retired after the 1971 season, fred Pancoast came to Memphis from his post as offensive coordinator at Georgia. In three seasons, he led the Tigers to a 20–12–1 record, Pancoast left the Tigers after the 1974 season to accept the head football coach position at Vanderbilt. Richard Williamson, previously offensive coordinator at Arkansas, was hired to take over the Tigers after Pancoasts departure, Williamsons teams finished 7–4, 6–5, 4–7, 5–6, and 2–9. Williamson was honored with the Southern Independent Conference Coach of the Year award twice, Rex Dockery was hired away from Texas Tech as the Tigers new head coach after Williamsons firing. He had an 8–24–1 record at Memphis State, starting his tenure with back-to-back 1–10 seasons, Dockery was killed in a plane crash on December 12,1983, in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, en route to an appearance before the Quarterback Club there. Also killed in the crash were Memphis State freshman Charles Greenhill, offensive coordinator Chris Faros, in December 1983, the playing surface at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium was named Rex Dockery Field. After the tragedy, Rey Dempsey was hired away from Southern Illinois as Memphis States new head football coach and his teams struggled to find success on the football field, posting a record of 7–12–3 in two seasons before Dempsey was fired
36.
American Athletic Conference
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The American was considered one of the six collegiate power conferences of the Bowl Championship Series era. With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014, The American became a Group of Five conference, the league is the product of substantial turmoil in the original Big East Conference during the 2010–14 conference realignment period. It is one of two conferences to emerge from the all-sports Big East in 2013, while the other successor, which does not sponsor football, purchased the Big East Conference name, The American inherited the old Big Easts structure and is that conferences legal successor. However, both conferences claim 1979 as their date, and the same history up to 2013. The American is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, and led by Commissioner Michael Aresco, UConn and Boston College would accept the invitation, while Holy Cross soon thereafter declined the invitation, and Rutgers eventually declined and remained in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Seton Hall was then invited as a replacement, and the conference started play with seven members, villanova and Pittsburgh joined shortly thereafter under the leadership of the Big Easts first commissioner, Dave Gavitt. The conference remained largely unchanged until 1991, when it began to sponsor football, adding Miami as a member, and Rutgers, Temple, Virginia Tech. Rutgers and West Virginia upgraded to full Big East membership in 1995, Temple football was kicked out after the 2004 season, but rejoined in 2012 and intended to become a full Big East member in 2013. The unusual structure of the Big East, with the football and non-football schools, the conference was reorganized following the tumultuous period of realignment that hobbled the Big East between 2010 and 2013. The Big East was one of the most severely impacted conferences during the most recent conference realignment period, in all,14 member schools announced their departure for other conferences, and 15 other schools announced plans to join the conference. Three of the group later backed out of their plans to join. The Catholic 7, by leaving, were looking for a lucrative television deal than the one they would receive by remaining with the football schools. Various names were considered, with the America 12 conference reportedly one of the finalists until rejected by college presidents sensitive of adding a number to the end of the conference name. On April 3,2013, the announced that it had chosen a new name. The conference also revealed that it prefers the nickname The American because it was thought AAC would cause too much confusion with the Atlantic Coast Conference, Louisville and Rutgers spent one season in the renamed conference. On July 1,2014, Louisville joined the ACC and Rutgers joined the Big Ten Conference, on that same day, East Carolina, Tulane, and Tulsa joined The American for all sports, while Sacramento State and San Diego State joined as associate members for womens rowing. Navy joined as a member in football on July 1,2015. Wichita State, Dayton, and VCU were reportedly considered, with Wichita State being seen as the strongest candidate, the report indicated that a final decision would be made in April
37.
UCF Knights football
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The UCF Knights football team represents The University of Central Florida in the sport of American football. The Knights compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and their current head coach is Scott Frost, who began his tenure at the start of the 2016 season. The Knights play their games at the 45,000 seat Bright House Networks Stadium. As a Division I–AA program, the Knights made the 1990 and 1993 playoffs, as of the 2015 regular season, UCF has 225 official victories, and has won four division championships and four conference championships. The Knights have made seven postseason appearances since joining FBS, including winning one BCS bowl game, the program has produced one Consensus All-American, Kevin Smith in 2007, and two Heisman Trophy candidates, Daunte Culpepper in 1998 and Kevin Smith in 2007. UCF has had three picks in the NFL Draft and produced a long-line of NFL players. The Knights main rivals are the East Carolina Pirates, and South Florida Bulls, UCF has had eight head coaches since organized football began in 1979. The Knights have played nearly 400 games in their 34 seasons, in that time,2 coaches have led the Knights to the postseason, Gene McDowell and George OLeary. McDowell in 1987,1990, and 1993, and OLeary in 2005,2007,2009,2010, OLeary is the only coach to win a division or conference championship at the school. Before leading UCF in 1983 and 1984, Lou Saban was a coach in both the American Football League and the National Football League. OLeary also coached in the NFL between 2002 and 2004, the UCF football program can be traced back to a speech given by the universitys second president, Dr. Trevor Colbourn, in January 1979. Colbourn believed that a successful athletics program would bring the university greater renown, in addition, Colbourn changed the name of the school to the University of Central Florida, to express the universitys expanded academic scope. This would be the first football tryouts for prospective players, OLeary had previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama under Paul Bear Bryant. He would spearhead the effort to more than $40,000 to start the program. Without a budget to hire a staff, OLeary reached out to six UCF graduate students as volunteer assistants, from there, OLeary was able to lure Don Jonas, a former NFL quarterback and Orlando dignitary, to become UCFs first head football coach on a voluntary basis. One day during a practice, OLeary pulled the team aside and he would reveal a template that would follow the team into the 21st century, black jerseys, gold pants and gold helmets. Less than one year after Colbourn had envisioned a football program for the university, the Knights would prove victorious with a 21–0 shutout, and less than a week later, the Knights would win their first home game by defeating Ft. Benning, 7–6. Jonas led the Knights to a 6–2 inaugural season, behind an average attendance of 11,240, following the season, in March 1980, Jonas was offered the Knights head coaching as a full-time position
38.
Hurricane Irma
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The 1978 Atlantic hurricane season was the last Atlantic hurricane season to use an all-female naming list. The hurricane season began on June 1, and ended on November 30. It was an average season due to a subsiding El Niño. The first storm, a storm, developed unusually early – on January 18 –. At the end of July and early August, short-lived Tropical Storm Amelia caused extensive flooding in Texas after dropping as much as 48 in of rain, there were 33 deaths and $110 million in damage. Tropical Storm Bess and Hurricane Cora resulted in only minor land impacts, later in August, Tropical Storm Debra produced widespread effects, though damage was also relatively minor. Hurricane Ella became the northernmost Category 4 hurricane while located at 38°N, hurricanes Flossie and Kendra as well as Tropical Storms Hope, Irma, and Juliet caused minimal land impacts as a tropical cyclone. However, the precursor to Hurricane Kendra caused flooding in Puerto Rico, Hurricane Greta brought strong winds, high tides, and flooding to Central America, particularly Belize and Honduras. Greta resulted in about $25 million in damage and at least five fatalities, overall, the storms of this season collectively caused $191 million in damage and 42 fatalities. Hurricane Greta crossed into the pacific and was renamed Olivia. The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1,1978. Although 24 tropical cyclones developed, only twelve of them reached tropical storm intensity, of the twelve tropical storms, five of them strengthened into a hurricane, which is slightly below the 1966-2009 average of 6.2. Two of the five became major hurricanes, which is Category 3 or greater on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Three tropical storms and two hurricanes made landfall during the season and caused at least 41 fatalities and $135 million, additionally, the precursor to Hurricane Kendra brought flooding to Puerto Rico, with $6 million in damage and one death. The season officially ended on November 30,1978, Tropical cyclogenesis began very early, with the development of a subtropical storm on January 18. It dissipated about five days later, however, the next tropical cyclone, an unnumbered depression, did not develop until June 21. In July, there were two systems, including a tropical depression and Tropical Storm Amelia. Seven tropical cyclones formed in August, including Tropical Depression Four and tropical storms Bess and Debra and hurricanes Cora, there were also seven system in September – tropical depressions Eight, Nine, and Twelve, Tropical Storm Hope, and hurricanes Flossie and Greta
