1.
Halfback (American football)
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A halfback is an offensive position in American football, whose duties involve lining up in the backfield and carrying the ball on most rushing plays, i. e. a running back. The halfback position is one of the more glamorous positions on the field, sometimes the halfback can catch the ball from the backfield on short passing plays as he is an eligible receiver. Occasionally, they line up as wide receivers. When not running or catching the ball, the responsibility of a halfback is to aid the offensive linemen in blocking. Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, all members of the backfield were legitimate threats to run or pass the ball. Most teams used four offensive backs on every play, a quarterback, the quarterback began each play a quarter of the way back, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway back, and the fullback began each play the farthest back. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the position was both an offensive and defensive position. There has also been a shift in most offense’s dependence on halfbacks, however, the average output of the halfback has not changed. Older systems require the halfback be proficient at throwing the ball downfield as well, many of the “scat backs” in the modern era produce more total yards and touchdowns than their ancestor “power backs” by breaking off big plays on outside runs and receptions. The spread offense and the hurry-up offense change the halfback’s role, the spread, the hurry-up, and the pro-style offenses dominate American football but the “smash-mouth” style of play is far from extinct. A power-running scheme is often utilized to counter an effective Spread attack, as it allows a team to control the clock and this strategy is utilized in NFL, college, and all other forms of American football. The need for “power backs is very prevalent, alongside the need for “scat backs”, in the past few decades the role of the halfback has gone through a great shift as most offensive game plans are now fueled by creativity and finesse instead of raw force. Stamina and durability is more important than ever in the hurry-up offense, on the other hand, speed is often valued over strength, and pass-catching ability is sometimes valued over blocking proficiency. Power was once the most desired trait in a halfback, but has been taken by the need for a diverse skill set. In the last few decades the running back’s individual share of output has declined as quarterbacks are generally treated as the cornerstone of the offense. The demands of an up-tempo offense also favor a multiple running back system, from the dawn of American football through the 1880s most offensive schemes focused on the running game. In a running based game plan the halfback was typically the cornerstone of the offense and this system focused on a physical run attack concentrated in the inside of the field, and therefore depended on a skilled “power back”. There were no forward passes, and pure speed took a backseat to tackle-breaking and bucking ability, there was a focus on physicality over finesse, as this type of playing style earned the moniker of “smash mouth” football
2.
Fayetteville, North Carolina
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Fayetteville is a city in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, Fayetteville has received the All-America City Award from the National Civic League three times. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 200,564 and it is the sixth-largest municipality in North Carolina. Fayetteville is in the Sandhills in the part of the Coastal Plain region, on the Cape Fear River. With an estimated population in 2013 of 210,533 people, the Fayetteville metropolitan area is the largest in southeastern North Carolina, suburban areas of metro Fayetteville include Fort Bragg, Hope Mills, Spring Lake, Raeford, Pope Field, Rockfish, Stedman, and Eastover. Fayettevilles mayor is Nat Robertson, who is serving his second term, the area of present-day Fayetteville was historically inhabited by various Siouan Native American peoples, such as the Eno, Shakori, Waccamaw, Keyauwee, and Cape Fear people. They followed successive cultures of indigenous peoples in the area for more than 12,000 years. Two inland settlements, Cross Creek and Campbellton, were established by Scots from Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, merchants in Wilmington wanted a town on the Cape Fear River to secure trade with the frontier country. They were afraid people would use the Pee Dee River and transport their goods to Charleston, the merchants bought land from Newberry in Cross Creek. Campbellton became a place where poor whites and free blacks lived, Fayetteville was the first city to be named in his honor in the United States. Lafayette visited the city on March 4 and 5,1825, the local region was heavily settled by Scots in the mid/late 1700s, and most of these were Gaelic-speaking Highlanders. The vast majority of Highland Scots, recent immigrants, remained loyal to the British government, despite this, they were eventually defeated by a larger Revolutionary force at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. The area also included a number of active Revolutionaries, in late June 1775, residents drew up the Liberty Point Resolves, which preceded the Declaration of Independence by a little more than a year. Robert Rowan, who organized the group, signed first. Robert Rowan was one of the leading public figures of the 18th century. A merchant and entrepreneur, he settled in Cross Creek in the 1760s and he served as an officer in the French and Indian War, as sheriff, justice and legislator, and as a leader of the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War. Rowan Street and Rowan Park in Fayetteville and a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution are named for him, though Rowan County was named for his uncle. Flora MacDonald, a Scots Highland woman known for aiding Bonnie Prince Charlie after his Highlander armys defeat at Culloden in 1746 and she was a staunch Loyalist and aided her husband to raise the local Scots to fight for the King against the Revolution
3.
Carolina Panthers
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The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The team president is Danny Morrison, and the coach is Ron Rivera. The Panthers were announced as the leagues 29th franchise in 1993 and they did not have another winning season until 2003, when they won the NFC Championship Game and reached Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing 32–29 to the New England Patriots. After recording playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008, the failed to record another playoff appearance until 2013. After losing in the round to the San Francisco 49ers in 2013 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, the Panthers finally returned to the Super Bowl in 2016. The Panthers have reached the playoffs seven times, advancing to four NFC Championship Games and they have won six division titles, one in the NFC West and five in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers are legally registered as Panther Football, LLC, the team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte, also the teams home field. They are one of the few NFL teams to own the stadium they play in, the team hosts its annual training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. On December 15,1987, entrepreneur Jerry Richardson announced his bid for an NFL expansion franchise in the Carolinas. Richardson drew his inspiration to pursue an NFL franchise from George Shinn, who had made a bid for an expansion National Basketball Association team in Charlotte. Richardson founded Richardson Sports, a partnership consisting of himself, his family, Richardson looked at four potential locations for a stadium, ultimately choosing uptown Charlotte. In choosing the name, the Richardsons did not run focus groups with potential fans. Their intention had always been the Panthers, Jerry Richardson began driving a car with the license plate PNTHRS near the end of 1989, to highlight the demand for professional football in the Carolinas, Richardson Sports held preseason games around the area from 1989 to 1991. The matchups were between existing NFL teams, in 1991, the group formally filed an application for the open expansion spot, and on October 26,1993, the 28 NFL owners unanimously named the Carolina Panthers as the 29th member of the NFL. The Panthers first competed in the 1995 NFL season, they were one of two teams to begin play that year, the other being the Jacksonville Jaguars. Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was named the first head coach, the team finished its inaugural season 7–9, the best performance ever from a first-year expansion team. They performed even better in their season, finishing with a 12–4 record and winning the NFC West division
4.
Florida Blue Key
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Florida Blue Key is a student honor and service society at the University of Florida. It is often written and referred to by the initialism FBK and this organization was started at the University of Florida in 1923 under the presidency of Albert Murphree. Blue Key quickly spawned chapters across the United States, before the other chapters split with the original Florida chapter in the early 1930s and their original charge was to plan a special weekend celebration for the university. Today, the remains the powerful and politically active founding Blue Key chapter. A significant amount of Floridas famous politicians and business leaders became members of Florida Blue Key during their years and have followed that network for much of their careers. Florida Blue Key was founded on November 1,1923, several days prior to the Universitys Homecoming celebration, at the suggestion of President Albert E. Murphree, Bert C. Riley, Dean of General Extension, brought together a group of student leaders to form an organization which would recognize leadership and promote service to the University. Among the duties assigned to Florida Blue Key were playing host to campus visitors, in this respect, Blue Key was given the task of planning and executing Homecoming activities that year and has continued to lead this activity ever since. Also included in the 1923 Homecoming was Dads Day, a time for parents to visit, Dads Day and Homecoming were held concurrently until the 1930s. The organization quickly became so popular that Blue Key spread to colleges and universities across the country, initially, membership in the organization was ex officio, a student automatically belonged to the organization if he held one of the major student organization positions on campus. The concept of a group of student leaders pooling their talents and interests to plan, through Dean Rileys travels and professional contacts, similar organizations were developed on other campuses and it wasnt long before it seemed appropriate to organize into a national group. For a variety of reasons, the University of Florida chapter decided not to be part of the organization between 1932 and 1935.5 grade point average. Since then, Florida Blue Key has changed its stance on the point average requirement. The Blue Key National Honor Society came into being and is a respected national organization with chapters on many campuses throughout the country. Florida Blue Key was also formed as an organization only to be found at the University of Florida, the parting of the ways between the parent chapter and other chapters forming the national organization left deep wounds on many Florida students. The perceptions of the conflict being an important part of any subsequent discussions about the organization for years to come. The active members at that time wanted nothing to do with the organization once it was founded. Examples of such feelings are expressed in the last sentence of the Oath of Membership in Florida Blue Key, through the 1940s, the orientation of new members included hours on the discussion of this topic
5.
Johnny Unitas
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John Constantine Unitas, nicknamed Johnny U and The Golden Arm, was an American football player in the National Football League. He spent the majority of his playing for the Baltimore Colts. He was a quarterback, and the NFLs most valuable player in 1957,1959,1964. For 52 years he held the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass, Unitas was the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback with a strong passing game, media fanfare, and widespread popularity. He has been listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time. John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, who both were of Lithuanian descent, he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood. When Johnny was five years old, his father died of renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother. His surname was a result of a transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justins High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback, after high school, Unitas looked for an opportunity to play college football. The University of Louisville came through and Unitas left home to play for the Cardinals, in his four-year career as a Louisville Cardinal, Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. Reportedly, the 6-foot-1 Unitas weighed 145 pounds on his first day of practice at Louisville, unitass first start was in the fifth game of the 1951 season against St. Bonaventure. That game, the freshman threw 11 consecutive passes and three touchdowns to give the Cardinals a 21–19 lead, though Louisville lost the game 22–21 on a disputed field goal, the team had found a talented quarterback. Unitas completed 12 of 19 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a 35–28 victory over Houston, the team finished the season 5–5 overall and 4–1 with Unitas as the starting quarterback. As a freshman, Unitas completed 46 of 99 passes for 602 yards, by the 1952 season, the university decided to de-emphasize sports. The new president at Louisville, Dr. Philip Grant Davidson, reduced the amount of athletic aid, as a result,15 returning players could not meet the new standards and lost their scholarships. But Unitas maintained his scholarship by taking on a new elective, in 1952 Coach Camp switched the team to two-way football. Unitas not only played safety or linebacker on defense and quarterback on offense but returned kicks, the Cards won their first game against Wayne State, and then Florida State in the second game. Unitas completed 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns and it was said that Unitas put on such a show at the Florida State game that he threw a pass under his legs for 15 yards
6.
Hardee's
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Hardees Food Systems, Inc. is an American-based fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960 in North Carolina, in April 1997, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. the parent company of Carls Jr. paid $327 million to Montreal-based Imasco Limited for Hardees. The merger created a chain of 3,828 restaurants -3,152 Hardees outlets in 40 states and 10 foreign countries and 676 Carls Jr. outlets, Hardees founder, Wilber Hardee, opened his first restaurant in Greenville, North Carolina, on September 3,1960. After a year of success, Wilber decided to look into expanding his restaurant and opening another location so he met with James Gardner and Leonard Rawls to discuss doing so. That location was demolished in 2007 after 10 years of vacancy and replaced with a park named for Jack Laughery. According to Wilber Hardee, Gardner and Rawls won a share of the company from him in a game of poker. After realizing that he had lost control over his namesake company, Rawls and Gardner sold their first franchises to a small group of longtime friends and acquaintances who formed their own companies and over time, built hundreds more franchised locations. Hardee’s Food Systems went public in 1963 with Rawls as president, Gardner, who was vice president, had political ambitions and left the company when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1966. Strawberry shakes were created from vanilla by addition of a syrup which had to be mixed with a spindle. At the end of the 1960s, the corporation operated nearly 200 restaurants in the Midwest, Hardees purchased Sandys in 1972 with the last of the restaurants converting to Hardees by 1979. During the mid-and-late 1970s, Hardees saw rapid growth and high profits on the strength of its two key sandwiches, the Big Twin and the Big Deluxe. Another acquisition occurred in the late 1970s when Hardees purchased the Utah-based burger chain Dees Drive-In, Hardees was purchased by Canadian company Imasco LImited in 1981. In 1982, General Foods sold Burger Chef to Imasco for $44 million, Imasco converted many locations to Hardees restaurants and let franchises and locations near existing Hardees locations convert to other brands. Remaining restaurants that did not convert to Hardees or new names, a new management team in the early 1980s seeking to cut costs changed the signature burger recipe and eliminated the flagship menu items of the Big Twin and the Big Deluxe. In addition to Roy Rogers, Hardees also owned Rax Roast Beef for a period of time, in April 1997, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. the parent company of Carls Jr. bought Hardees from Imasco for $327 million. The merger created a chain of 3,828 restaurants –3,152 Hardees outlets in 40 states and 10 foreign countries and 676 Carls Jr. outlets primarily in California, in 2001, Hardee’s headquarters moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In 2005, Hardee’s introduced Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shakes & Malts, in September 2013, it was announced that Hardees would expand into the Northeastern United States. In April 2015, Hardees announced the opening of its 300th restaurant in the Middle East with longtime franchisee, in 2015, Nations Restaurant News ranked Hardees as the No.28 foodservice chain by sales in the United States through 2011
7.
George Halas
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George Stanley Halas Sr. nicknamed Papa Bear and Mr. Everything, was a player, coach, and owner involved with professional American football. He was the founder and owner of the National Football Leagues Chicago Bears and he was also lesser known as an inventor, jurist, radio producer, philanthropist, philatelist, and Major League Baseball player. He was one of the co-founders of the National Football League in 1920, Halas was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a family of Czech-Bohemian immigrants. His parents were migrants from Pilsen, Austria-Hungary, George had a varied career in sports. In 1915, Halas worked temporarily for Western Electric, and was planning on being on the SS Eastland and he was running late, however, as he was attempting to gain weight to play Big Ten football and missed the capsizing. He also became a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and he helped Illinois win the 1918 Big Ten Conference football title. Serving as an ensign in the Navy during World War I, he played for a team at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, and was named the MVP of the 1919 Rose Bowl. Afterward, Halas played minor league baseball, eventually earning a promotion to the New York Yankees, however, a hip injury effectively ended his baseball career. The popular myth was that Halas was succeeded as the Yankees right fielder by Babe Ruth, later that year, Halas played for the Hammond Pros and received about $75 per game. After one year with the Pros, Halas moved to Decatur, Illinois to take a position with the A. E. Staley Company, a starch manufacturer. He served as a sales representative, an outfielder on the company-sponsored baseball team. Halas selected his alma maters colors—orange and navy blue—for the teams uniforms, in 1920, Halas represented the Staleys at the meeting which formed the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio. After suffering financial losses despite a 10–1–2 record, company founder, Halas moved the team to Chicago and took on teammate Dutch Sternaman as a partner. Halas was given a $5,000 bonus for the move to Chicago provided that he keep the Staleys franchise name for the 1921 season, the newly minted Chicago Staleys maneuvered their schedule to win the NFL championship that year. They took the name Bears in 1922 as a tribute to baseballs Chicago Cubs, Halas was not only the teams coach, but also played end and handled ticket sales and the business of running the club. However, severe financial difficulties brought on by the Great Depression put the Bears in dire financial straits even though Jones led them to the NFL title in 1932, Halas returned as coach in 1933 to eliminate the additional cost of paying a head coachs salary. He coached the Bears for another ten seasons and his 1934 team was undefeated until a loss in the championship game to the New York Giants. Every other team in the league immediately began trying to imitate the format, the Bears repeated as NFL champions in 1941, and the 1940s would be remembered as the era of the Monsters of the Midway
8.
Super Bowl 50
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Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos won against National Football Conference champion Carolina Panthers 24–10 to win their 3rd Super Bowl championship, the game was played on February 7,2016, at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Panthers finished the season with a 15–1 record, racking up the leagues top offense. They defeated the Arizona Cardinals 49–15 in the NFC Championship Game, the Broncos finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, bolstered by having the leagues top defense and the veteran presence of starting quarterback and Super Bowl XLI winner Peyton Manning. This record would later be broken the next season, in 2017, in one of the most defensive Super Bowl matchups in NFL history, the Broncos took an early lead in Super Bowl 50 and never trailed. Denver recorded seven sacks and forced four turnovers, Carolina likewise kept pace by recording five sacks and forcing two turnovers. Denver linebacker Von Miller was named Super Bowl MVP and this game was also the final game of Peyton Mannings career, he announced his retirement on March 7,2016. CBS broadcast of the game was the third most-watched program in American television history with an average of 111.9 million viewers, the network charged an average of $5 million for a 30-second commercial during the game. It remains the highest-rated program in the history of CBS, the Super Bowl 50 halftime show was headlined by Coldplay, with special guest performers Beyoncé and Bruno Mars. In early 2012, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the league planned to make the 50th Super Bowl spectacular and that it would be an important game for us as a league. The Los Angeles bid was dependent on a team relocating to the area by the time the site was selected, No team requested to relocate by the time the site was selected, and Los Angeles was pulled from consideration. Los Angeles was then put into consideration for Super Bowl LIV, the league eventually narrowed the bids to three sites, New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Miamis Sun Life Stadium, and the San Francisco Bay Areas Levis Stadium. The league announced on October 16,2012, that the two finalists were Sun Life Stadium and Levis Stadium, the South Florida/Miami area has previously hosted the event 10 times, with the most recent one being Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. The San Francisco Bay Area last hosted in 1985, held at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California, the Miami bid depended on whether the stadium underwent renovations. However, on May 3,2013, the Florida legislature refused to approve the plan to pay for the renovations. On May 21,2013, NFL owners at their meetings in Boston voted and awarded the game to Levis Stadium. The $1.2 billion stadium opened in 2014 and it is the first Super Bowl held in the San Francisco Bay Area since Super Bowl XIX in 1985, and the first in California since Super Bowl XXXVII took place in San Diego in 2003. For the third season, the number one seeds in the NFC and AFC
9.
Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues American Football Conference North division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC, Pittsburgh has won more Super Bowl titles and hosted more conference championship games than any other NFL team. The Steelers have won 8 AFC championships, tied with the Denver Broncos and they share the record for most conference championship games played in with the San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers share the record for second most Super Bowl appearances with the Broncos, and Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers lost their most recent championship appearance, Super Bowl XLV, on February 6,2011. The Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8,1933, by Art Rooney, taking its name from the baseball team of the same name. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding, the current owner is Arts son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II. The Steelers enjoy a large, widespread fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation, the Steelers currently play their home games at Heinz Field on Pittsburghs North Side in the North Shore neighborhood, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons, prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL first took to the field as the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 20,1933, through the 1930s, the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than.500. Prior to the 1940 season, the Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers, during World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises to field a team, during the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the Phil-Pitt Eagles and were known as the Steagles. In 1944, they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as Card-Pitt and this team finished 0–10, marking the only winless team in franchise history. The Steelers made the playoffs for the first time in 1947 and this forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Forbes Field, which the Steelers lost 21–0. The Steelers also received a $3 million relocation fee, which was a windfall for them, the Steelers history of bad luck changed with the hiring of coach Chuck Noll for the 1969 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers 1974 draft was their best ever, no team has ever drafted four future Hall of Famers in one year. They also enjoyed a regular season streak of 49 consecutive wins against teams that would finish with a record that year. The Steelers suffered a rash of injuries in the 1980 season, the 1981 season was no better, with an 8–8 showing
10.
Jerry Richardson Stadium
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The team became a Football Bowl Subdivision member in 2015 and competes in Conference USA. Businessmen Hugh McColl and Jerry Richardson purchased the rights to the facilitys playing field in 2011. The stadium was named for Richardson in 2013 after an additional $10 million donation, the stadium hosted its first major event on August 31,2013, when the 49ers defeated the Campbell Fighting Camels. Designed by Jenkins·Peer Architects and the DLR Group, the stadium has a capacity of 15,314 people. Much of the current home side seating area is available with the purchase of a personal seat license, the venue includes various amenities, such as the Judy W. Rose football center, which includes athletic and academic facilities. In June 2008, Dubois presented a report to the schools Board of Trustees addressing the impact of the addition of a football stadium on the university. Dubois preferred the latter for cost reasons, in November 2008, the board unanimously approved Dubois proposal to add a football program. On December 11,2009, the Board of Trustees approved a plan for football. On February 12,2010, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved a student fee increase to fund the construction of the facility, students pay an annual fee of $120 to fund the stadiums construction debt. A separate fee, which begin at $50 and increase annually until it reaches $200. On August 2,2010, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue signed the debt service fee bill into law to clear the way for stadium construction, the final design of the new stadium was displayed at the Board of Trustees meeting on September 24,2010. Rodgers PCL Russell, a joint venture of Rodgers Builders, PCL Construction, on April 28,2011, UNC Charlotte held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new football stadium. Construction finished in the fall of 2012, and ownership was turned over to university control on October 31,2012 and that month, the university announced its intent to make the stadium a zero waste facility. The donation attracted some controversy, due to the fact that Richardson had recently lobbied the City of Charlotte for $87.5 million in funds to renovate Bank of America Stadium. Lighting for night games was installed starting on March 17,2015, eight light poles were erected by Qualite Sports Lighting for $1.5 million. On August 28,2015 the promenade containing the university box, media box, broadcast booths and coaches’ boxes, was named for alumni Hunter and Stephanie Edwards. Four days after the venue passed inspection, the team hosted an informal scrimmage in front of approximately 1,500 spectators on November 3,2012, two weeks later,2,500 attendees watched the teams final scrimmage before its first season in 2013. The inaugural Green and White Spring Game was held on April 20,2013, the stadium hosted its first major event when the 2013 Charlotte 49ers football team defeated the Campbell Fighting Camels 52–7 on August 31,2013
11.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
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The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, also known as UNC Charlotte, UNCC, or Charlotte, is a public research university located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. UNC Charlotte has three campuses, Charlotte Research Institute Campus, Center City Campus, and the main campus, the main campus sits on 1,000 wooded acres with approximately 85 buildings about 8 miles from Uptown Charlotte. The university is the largest institution of education in the Charlotte region. The city of Charlotte had sought a public university since 1871 but was never able to sustain one, for years, the nearest state-supported university was 90 miles away. The city submitted a bid in the late 1880s for what would become North Carolina State University, in 1946, the city sought a state-run medical school, instead, the state expanded the existing two-year school at UNC-Chapel Hill. On September 23,1946, the State of North Carolina opened the Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina with an enrollment of 278 students and it was founded to serve the education needs of returning World War II veterans. Like many of the United States post–World War II universities, it owes its inception to the G. I, bill and its effects on public education. In 1949, when the state began closing the centers, the Charlotte Center was taken over by the city district and became Charlotte College. It was first funded by student tuition payments, then by local property taxes, classes were held at Central High School near uptown Charlotte, but by 1957, enrollment increased to 492, and the schools leaders began searching for a permanent site for the campus. They decided on a 250-acre tract of land northeast of the city near the Cabarrus County border, the college became state-supported in 1958 upon joining the newly formed North Carolina Community College System and moved to its current location in 1961. In 1963, Charlotte College became a four-year college and it adopted its current name July 1,1965, upon becoming part of the Consolidated University of North Carolina, since 1972 called the University of North Carolina. In 1969, the university offering programs leading to masters degrees. In 1992, it was authorized to offer programs leading to doctoral degrees, the University operates several campuses in Charlotte. The Main Campus is situated on just under 1,000 acres of rolling land between U. S. Route 29 and N. C, highway 49, about 10 miles from Uptown Charlotte in the University City neighborhood. The campus is self-contained, meaning that no major roads run through the campus, the campus boasts several man-made lakes, and is heavily wooded. Near the center of campus are two gardens that attract over 300,000 visitors a year, starting in 2014, these buildings are being renovated to todays standards. Under the campus third chancellor, James Woodward, the campus underwent major changes which continue today, the newest buildings, funded from state bonds, are being constructed in brick with neoclassical architecture. Concrete and asphalt sidewalks have largely replaced by brick
12.
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
