1.
Tim Tebow
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He played college football for the University of Florida, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and appearing on BCS National Championship-winning teams during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Tebow was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft and he also played for the New York Jets in 2012. Additionally, he had stints with the New England Patriots. Tebow became the Florida Gators starting quarterback during the 2007 season when he became the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. In 2008, Tebow led Florida to a 13–1 record and its national championship in three years, and was named the offensive MVP of the national championship game. The Gators again went 13–1 in 2009, his senior year, as a member of the Denver Broncos, he started the last three games of his rookie season and became the teams full-time starting quarterback beginning in the sixth game of 2011. During the 2012 offseason, the Broncos traded Tebow to the New York Jets where he received playing time and was released after the 2012 season ended. He signed a two-year, non-guaranteed contract with the New England Patriots on June 11,2013, after two seasons away from the game, Tebow signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on April 20,2015 and was released by the Eagles on September 5. It is unprecedented for an NFL quarterback to have had the kind of early success Tebow had, in 2016, Tebow announced he would pursue a career in professional baseball and signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on September 8. Tebows parents, Pamela Elaine and Robert Ramsey Tebow II, met while attending the University of Florida in the late 1960s and his mother was a freshman and his father was a sophomore at the time. The couple married on June 12,1971, before Pamelas graduation from the University, in 1985, the family moved to the Philippines where they served as Baptist missionaries and built a ministry. Prior to becoming pregnant with Tim, his mother contracted amoebic dysentery and she discovered she was pregnant while recovering. Because of the used to treat her, the fetus experienced a severe placental abruption. Doctors expected a stillbirth and recommended an abortion, the Tebows decided against it citing their strong faith. On August 14,1987, she gave birth to Tim in Manila, Tebow is the youngest of five children. He and his siblings were all homeschooled by their parents, who instilled the familys Christian beliefs, in 1996, legislation was passed in Florida allowing home-schooled students to compete in high school sporting events. The law specifies that home-schooled students may participate on the team of the high school in the school district in which they live. Tebow took advantage of this law when he decided to attend Trinity Christian Academy, the high school in his hometown of Jacksonville
2.
Cam Newton
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Cameron Jerrell Newton is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He played college football at Auburn and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. Newton is the player in the modern era to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, win a national championship. He was the 2011 NFL Rookie of the Year, is a three-time Pro Bowler, in his rookie year, Newton broke all-time NFL rookie records for passing and rushing yards. He became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 400 yards in his first game and he also broke Otto Grahams 61-year-old record for passing yards by any quarterback in an NFL debut. Newton went on to become the first rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season and he also ran for 14 touchdowns, more in a single season than any quarterback in NFL history, breaking Steve Grogans 35-year-old record. In 2015, Newton became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 30 touchdowns and he also became the only quarterback ever to have 300 yards passing,5 touchdown passes, and over 100 yards rushing in the same game. Newton capped off the 2015 season by capturing MVP honors and leading his Panthers to a 15–1 record, Newton attended Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia, where he played for the Westlake Lions high school football team. As a 16-year-old junior, he passed for 2,500 yards and 23 touchdowns and ran for 638 yards and 9 touchdowns, gaining the attention of major college programs. His senior year he was rated a five-star prospect by Rivals. com, the No.2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation, and he received scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech. He committed to the University of Florida at the beginning of his senior year, Newton initially attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators football team in 2007 and 2008. As a freshman in 2007, Newton beat out fellow freshman quarterback John Brantley as the back-up for eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and he played in five games, passing for 40 yards on 5-of-10 and rushing 16 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns. In 2008, during his season, Newton played in the season opener against Hawaii but suffered an ankle injury. He was subsequently suspended from the team, campus police tracked the stolen laptop to the athlete. Newton tossed the computer out his dorm window in a humorously ill-advised attempt to hide it from cops. All charges against Newton were dropped after he completed a court-approved pre-trial diversion program, I believe that a person should not be thought of as a bad person because of some senseless mistake that they made, said Newton in 2010. I think every person should have a second chance, if they blow that second chance, so be it for them. Newton announced his intention to transfer from Florida three days before the Gators national championship win over Oklahoma, in November 2010, Thayer Evans of Fox Sports reported that Newton faced potential expulsion from the University of Florida for three instances of academic dishonesty, prior to transferring. In January 2009, Newton transferred to Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, to play for head coach Brad Franchione and that Fall, he led his team to the 2009 NJCAA National Football Championship, throwing for 2,833 yards with 22 touchdowns and rushing for 655 yards
3.
Quarterback
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A quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the team and line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, the quarterback touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and his successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of his team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified and scrutinized positions in team sports, prior to each play, the quarterback will usually tell the rest of his team which play the team will run. After the team is lined up, the center will pass the ball back to the quarterback, usually on a running play, the quarterback will then hand or pitch the ball backwards to a half back or full back. On a passing play, the quarterback is almost always the responsible for trying to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver downfield. Depending on the scheme by his team, the quarterbacks role can vary. While quarterbacks in Canadian football need to be able to throw the ball often, in the NFL, quarterbacks are required to wear a uniform number between 1 and 19. In the CFL, the quarterback can wear any number from 0 to 49 and 70 to 99. Because of their numbering, quarterbacks are eligible receivers in the NCAA, NFHS, after a Super Bowl victory, the starting quarterback is the first player to be presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The starting quarterback of the victorious Super Bowl team is chosen for the Im going to Disney World. Campaign, whether they are the Super Bowl MVP or not, examples include Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, Dilfer was chosen even though teammate Ray Lewis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, due to the bad publicity from Lewis murder trial the prior year. In addition to their role, quarterbacks are occasionally used in other roles. Most teams utilize a backup quarterback as their holder on placekicks, in the Wildcat, a formation where a halfback lines up behind the center and the quarterback lines up out wide, the quarterback can be used as a receiving target or a blocker. A more rare use for a quarterback is to punt the ball himself, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway was known to perform quick kicks occasionally, typically when the Broncos were facing a third-and-long situation. As Roger Staubachs back-up, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was also the teams punter, ascending the starting role upon Staubachs retirement, White held his position as the teams punter for several seasons—a double duty he performed to All-American standard at Arizona State University. White also had two touchdown receptions as a Dallas Cowboy, both from the halfback option, if quarterbacks are uncomfortable with the formation the defense is using, they may call an audible change to their play
4.
Ocala, Florida
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Ocala is a city located in Northern Florida. As of the 2013 census, its population, estimated by the United States Census Bureau, was 57,468, making it the 45th most populated city in Florida. It is the seat of Marion County and the city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Archeological investigation has revealed that the area was inhabited by varying cultures of peoples from as early as 6500 B. C. The second lasted through 500 A. D, in early historic times, the Timucua inhabited the area. Ocala is located near what is thought to have been the site of Ocale or Ocali, the modern city takes its name from the historical village, the name of which is believed to mean Big Hammock in the Timucua language. The Spaniard Hernando de Sotos expedition recorded Ocale in 1539 during his exploration through what is today the southeastern United States, Ocale is not mentioned in later Spanish accounts, it appears to have been abandoned in the wake of de Sotos attack. In the late eighteenth and early centuries, Creek people and other Native Americans. After foreign colonial rule shifted between Spain and Great Britain and back again, in 1821 the United States acquired the territory of Florida, the fort was an important base during the Second Seminole War and later served in 1844 as the first courthouse for Marion County. The modern city of Ocala, which was established in 1849, greater Ocala is known as the Kingdom of the Sun. Plantations and other agricultural development dependent on labor were prevalent in the region. Ocala was an important center of production until the Great Freeze of 1894–1895. Rail service reached Ocala in June 1881, encouraging economic development with access to markets for produce. Two years later, much of the Ocala downtown area was destroyed by fire on Thanksgiving Day,1883, the city encouraged rebuilding with brick, granite and steel rather than lumber. By 1888, Ocala was known statewide as The Brick City, in December 1890, the Farmers Alliance and Industrial Union, a forerunner of the Populist Party, held its national convention in Ocala. At the convention, the Alliance adopted a platform that would become known as the Ocala Demands, most of the Ocala Demands were to become part of the Populist Party platform. The first thoroughbred horse farm in Florida was developed in 1943 by Carl G. Rose, when he ran into problems with asphalt, he improvised and experimented with limestone, an abundant resource in the state which he realized supported good pasture for raising strong horses. In 1943, Rose bought land along State Highway 200, at $10 per acre, the next year one of his horses, Gornil, won at Miamis Tropical Park, becoming the first Florida-raised thoroughbred to win a Florida race
5.
Florida Gators football
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The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and they play their home games in Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the universitys Gainesville campus. The Gators have won three championships and eight SEC titles in the 108-season history of Floridas varsity football program. The Florida football program has evolved from its beginnings and achieved notable successes. Florida has had a home field since the beginning of their football program. Since 1930, their home field has been Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the stadium was known as Florida Field until 1989 when its name was extended to honor alumnus and sports benefactor Ben Hill Griffin. During the 1990s, football coach Steve Spurrier called the stadium the Swamp, the quickly became popular. Since 1906 Florida has had twenty-five head coaches, including three who were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for their coaching success and their first head coach was Pee Wee Forsythe in 1906, the 2015 season was the first for their twenty-fifth head coach, Jim McElwain. During the programs early years, Florida was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, in 1932 the University of Florida was a founding member of the Southeastern Conference, and it is currently one of fourteen member institutions. The Gators have competed in the SEC Eastern Division since the league began play in 1992. Florida plays an eight-game SEC schedule, with six games against the other Eastern Division teams, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, the schedule is filled out with an annual game against Louisiana State and a rotating SEC Western Division team. Until 2003, the Gators also played Auburn every season, Florida has also played in-state rival Florida State every year since 1958, usually facing off in the last game of the regular season. The two teams emergence as perennial football powers during the 1980s and 1990s helped build the Florida–Florida State rivalry into a game often has national-title implications. The remaining dates on Floridas regular schedule are filled by non-conference opponents which vary from year to year, previously known as the worlds largest outdoor cocktail party, it is most commonly called the Florida–Georgia game by Gator fans. The game is held at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, the designated home team alternates, with ticket distribution split evenly between the schools. In the rivalrys early years, games rotated among locations in Savannah, Georgia, Tampa, Florida, Jacksonville and, occasionally, Gainesville, since 1933 the game has been played in Jacksonville, except for 1994 and 1995. Georgia had early success in the rivalry, winning the first six games, after the 2014 game Florida had won 21 out of the most-recent 27 games, and holds a 38–28–1 advantage in the series since 1950. The Bulldogs lead the overall, 49–43–2
6.
Baltimore Ravens
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The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference North division. The team plays its games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills. The Ravens were established in 1996, when Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, in return, he was allowed to take his own personnel and team to Baltimore, where such personnel would then form an expansion team. The Ravens organization has been led by general manager Ozzie Newsome since 1996, the team is owned by Steve Bisciotti and valued at $1.5 billion, making the Ravens the 24th-most valuable sports franchise in the world. The name Ravens was inspired by Edgar Allan Poes poem The Raven, chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters, the allusion honors Poe, who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore and is buried there. As the Baltimore Sun reported at the time, fans also liked the tie-in with the birds in town, the Orioles. After the controversial relocation of the Colts to Indianapolis, several attempts were made to bring an NFL team back to Baltimore. In 1993, ahead of the 1995 league expansion, the city was considered a favorite, behind only St. Louis and this led to public outrage and the Baltimore Sun describing Taglibue as having an Anybody But Baltimore policy. Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer said afterward that Taglibue had led him on, praising Baltimore, by May 1994, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos had gathered a new group of investors, including author Tom Clancy, to bid on teams whose owners had expressed interest in relocating. Angelos found a partner in Georgia Frontiere, who was open to moving the Los Angeles Rams to Baltimore. Jack Kent Cooke opposed the move, intending to build the Redskins new stadium in Laurel, Maryland and this led to heated arguments between Cooke and Angelos, who accused Cooke of being a carpetbagger. Following this, Angelos made an unsuccessful $200 million bid to bring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Baltimore, enticed by Baltimores available funds for a first-class stadium, Modell announced on November 6,1995 his intention to relocate the team from Cleveland to Baltimore the following year. The resulting controversy ended when representatives of Cleveland and the NFL reached a settlement on February 8,1996, tagliabue promised the city of Cleveland that an NFL team would be located in Cleveland, either through relocation or expansion, no later than 1999. Additionally, the agreement stipulated that the Browns name, colors, uniform design, the franchise history includes Browns club records and connections with Pro Football Hall of Fame players. Modells Baltimore team, while retaining all current player contracts, would, for purposes of history, appear as an expansion team. Not all players, staff or front office would make the move to Baltimore, after relocation, Modell hired Ted Marchibroda as the head coach for his new team in Baltimore. Marchibroda was already well known because of his work as coach of the Baltimore Colts during the 1970s
7.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
8.
University of Texas at Austin
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Founded in 1881 as The University of Texas, its campus is in Austin, Texas—approximately 1 mile from the Texas State Capitol. The institution has the nations seventh-largest single-campus enrollment, with over 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and over 24,000 faculty, UT Austin was inducted into the American Association of Universities in 1929, becoming only the third university in the American South to be elected. It is a center for academic research, with research expenditures exceeding $550 million for the 2014–2015 school year. J. Pickle Research Campus and the McDonald Observatory, among university faculty are recipients of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, the Wolf Prize, the Emmy Award, the Turing Award, and the National Medal of Science, as well as many other awards. UT Austin student athletes compete as the Texas Longhorns and are members of the Big 12 Conference and its Longhorn Network is the only sports network featuring the college sports of a single university. The first mention of a university in Texas can be traced to the 1827 constitution for the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although Title 6, Article 217 of the Constitution promised to establish education in the arts and sciences. On April 18,1838, An Act to Establish the University of Texas was referred to a committee of the Texas Congress. On January 26,1839, the Texas Congress agreed to set aside fifty leagues of land towards the establishment of a publicly funded university, in addition,40 acres in the new capital of Austin were reserved and designated College Hill. In 1845, Texas was annexed into the United States, interestingly, the states Constitution of 1845 failed to mention higher education. On February 11,1858, the Seventh Texas Legislature approved O. B,102, an act to establish the University of Texas, which set aside $100,000 in United States bonds toward construction of the states first publicly funded university. The legislature also designated land reserved for the encouragement of railroad construction toward the universitys endowment, Texas secession from the Union and the American Civil War delayed repayment of the borrowed monies. At the end of the Civil War in 1865, The University of Texas endowment was just over $16,000 in warrants, the more valuable lands reverted to the fund to support general education in the state. The legislature additionally appropriated $256,272.57 to repay the funds taken from the university in 1860 to pay for frontier defense, the 1883 grant of land increased the land in the Permanent University Fund to almost 2.2 million acres. Under the Act of 1858, the university was entitled to just over 1,000 acres of land for every mile of railroad built in the state. On March 30,1881, the legislature set forth the structure and organization. By popular election on September 6,1881, Austin was chosen as the site, galveston, having come in second in the election was designated the location of the medical department. On November 17,1882, on the original College Hill, smite the earth, smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth
9.
University of Alabama
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The University of Alabama is a public research university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and the flagship of the University of Alabama System. Founded in 1820, UA is the oldest and largest of the universities in Alabama. UA offers programs of study in 13 academic divisions leading to bachelors, masters, Education Specialist, the only publicly supported law school in the state is at UA. The school was a center of activity during the American Civil War, the University of Alabama varsity football program, which was inaugurated in 1892, ranks as one of 10 winningest programs in US history. In a 1913 speech then-president George H. Denny extolled the university as the capstone of the school system in the state, lending the university its current nickname. The University of Alabama has consistently ranked as one of the top 50 public universities in the nation by the U. S. News & World Report. In 1818, U. S. Congress authorized the newly created Alabama Territory to set aside a township for the establishment of a seminary of learning. When Alabama was admitted to the Union on December 14,1819, the board chose as the site of the campus a place which was then just outside the city limits of Tuscaloosa, the state capital at the time. The new campus was designed by William Nichols, also the architect of newly completed Alabama State Capitol building, the universitys charter was presented to the first university president in the nave of Christ Episcopal Church. UA opened its doors to students on April 18,1831, an academy-style institution during the Antebellum period, the university emphasized the classics and the social and natural sciences. There were around 100 students per year at UA in the 1830s, consequently, only a fraction of students who enrolled in the early years remained enrolled for long and even fewer graduated. Those who did graduate, however, often had distinguished careers in Alabama, early graduates included Benjamin F. Porter and Alexander Meek. As the state and university matured, a literary culture evolved on campus. UA had one of the largest libraries in the country on the eve of the Civil War with more than 7,000 volumes, campbell, novelist William Gilmore Simms, and Professor Frederick Barnard. The addresses to those societies reveal a vibrant intellectual culture in Tuscaloosa, they illustrate the proslavery ideas that were so central to the university. Discipline and student behavior was an issue at the university almost from the day it opened. Early presidents attempted to enforce strict rules regarding conduct, Students were prohibited from drinking, swearing, making unauthorized visits off-campus, or playing musical instruments outside a one-hour time frame. Yet riots and gunfights were not an uncommon occurrence, to combat the severe discipline problem, president Landon Garland lobbied and received approval from the legislature in 1860 to transform the university into a military school
10.
University of Louisville
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The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky, a member of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States, the university is mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly to be a Preeminent Metropolitan Research University. UofL enrolls students from 118 of 120 Kentucky counties, all 50 U. S. states, the University of Louisville School of Medicine is touted for the first fully self-contained artificial heart transplant surgery as well as the first successful hand transplantation. The University Hospital is also credited with the first civilian ambulance, the nations first accident services, now known as an emergency room, between 1999 and 2006 UofL was one of the fastest growing medical research institutions according to National Institutes of Health rankings. As of 2006, the melanoma clinic ranked third in among public universities in NIH funding, the research program fourth. UofL is also known for its Louisville Cardinals athletics programs, several of which are among the most successful in the country, the Louisville Cardinals Womens Volleyball program has three-peated as champions of the Big East Tournament, and were Atlantic Coast Conference Champions in 2015. Womens track and field program has won Outdoor Big East titles in 2008,2009 and 2010, the University of Louisville traces its roots to a charter granted in 1798 by the Kentucky General Assembly to establish a school of higher learning in the newly founded town of Louisville. It opened 15 years later and offered college and high school courses in a variety of subjects. It was headed by Edward Mann Butler from 1813 to 1816, despite the Jefferson Seminarys early success, pressure from newly established public schools and media critiques of it as elitist would force its closure in 1829. Eight years later, in 1837, the Louisville City council established the Louisville Medical Institute at the urging of renowned physician, as he had earlier at Lexingtons Transylvania University, Caldwell rapidly led LMI into becoming one of the leading medical schools west of the Allegheny Mountains. In 1840, the Louisville Collegiate institute, a medical school, was established after an LMI faculty dispute. It opened in 1844 on land near the present day Health sciences campus, the university experienced rapid growth in the 20th century, adding new schools in the liberal arts, graduate studies, dentistry, engineering, music and social work. In 1923, the school purchased what is today the Belknap Campus, the school had attempted to purchase a campus donated by the Belknap family in The Highlands area in 1917, but a citywide tax increase to pay for it was voted down. The Belknap Campus was named after the family for their efforts, in 1931, U of L established the Louisville Municipal College for Negroes on the former campus of Simmons University, as a compromise plan to desegregation. As a part of U of L, the school had an equal standing with the other colleges. It was dissolved in 1951 when U of L desegregated, during World War II, Louisville was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. In the second half of the 20th century, schools were opened for business, education, talk of U of L joining the public university system of Kentucky began in the 1960s. As a municipally funded school, the movement of people to the suburbs of Louisville created budget shortfalls for the school, at the same time, the schools well established medicine and law schools were seen as assets for the state system
11.
University of Oklahoma
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The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma, in Fall 2016 the university had 31,250 students enrolled, most located at its main campus in Norman. Employing nearly 3,000 faculty members, the school offers 152 baccalaureate programs,160 masters programs,75 doctorate programs, David Lyle Boren, a former U. S. Senator and Oklahoma Governor, has served as the president since 1994. The school is ranked first among universities in enrollment of National Merit Scholars. Located on its Norman campus are two prominent museums, the Fred Jones Jr, Museum of Art, specializing in French Impressionism and Native American artwork, and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, specializing in the natural history of Oklahoma. The school, well known for its programs, has won 7 NCAA Division I National Football Championships. Its baseball team has won 2 NCAA national championships and the softball team won the national championship in 2000,2013. Oklahomas admission into the union in 1907 led to the renaming of the Norman Territorial University as the University of Oklahoma, Norman residents donated 407 acres of land for the university 0.5 miles south of the Norman railroad depot. The universitys first president ordered the planting of trees before the construction of the first campus building because he could not visualize a treeless university seat. Landscaping remains important to the university, the universitys first president, David Ross Boyd, arrived in Norman in August 1892, and the first students enrolled that year. The university established a School of Pharmacy in 1893 because of demand for pharmacists in the territory. Three years later, the university awarded its first degree to a pharmaceutical chemist, the Rock Building in downtown Norman held the initial classes until the universitys first building opened on September 6,1893. On January 6,1903, the only building burned down. Construction began immediately on a new building, as other towns hoped to capitalize by convincing the university to move. President Boyd and the faculty were not dismayed by the loss, mathematics professor Frederick Elder said, What do you need to keep classes going. Two yards of blackboard and a box of chalk, as a response to the fire, English professor Vernon Louis Parrington created a plan for the future development of the campus. Most of the plan was never implemented, but Parringtons suggestion for the core formed the basis for the North Oval
12.
University of Florida
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The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university on a 2, 000-acre campus in Gainesville, Florida. It is a member of the State University System of Florida and traces its origins to 1853. The University is classified as a Research University with Very High Research by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, for 2017, U. S. News & World Report ranked Florida as the fourteenth best public university in the United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and it is the third largest Florida university by student population, and is the eighth largest single-campus university in the United States with 49,913 students enrolled for the fall 2012 semester. The University of Florida is home to sixteen colleges and more than 150 research centers. The University of Florida traces its origins to 1853, when the East Florida Seminary, on January 6,1853, Governor Thomas Brown signed a bill that provided public support for higher education in Florida. Gilbert Kingsbury was the first person to take advantage of the legislation, and established the East Florida Seminary, the East Florida Seminary was Floridas first state-supported institution of higher learning. James Henry Roper, an educator from North Carolina and a senator from Alachua County, had opened a school in Gainesville. In 1866, Roper offered his land and school to the State of Florida in exchange for the relocation of the East Florida Seminary to Gainesville, the second major precursor to the University of Florida was the Florida Agricultural College, established at Lake City by Jordan Probst in 1884. Florida Agricultural College became the states first land-grant college under the Morrill Act, in 1905, the Florida Legislature passed the Buckman Act, which consolidated the states publicly supported higher education institutions. The member of the legislature who wrote the act, Henry Holland Buckman, later became the namesake of Buckman Hall, the Buckman Act organized the State University System of Florida and created the Florida Board of Control to govern the system. The City of Gainesville, led by its Mayor William Reuben Thomas, on July 6,1905, the Board of Control selected Gainesville for the new university campus. Andrew Sledd, president of the pre-existing University of Florida at Lake City, was selected to be the first president of the new University of the State of Florida, architect William A. Edwards designed the first official campus buildings in the Collegiate Gothic style. Classes began on the new Gainesville campus on September 26,1906, in 1909, the schools name was simplified from the University of the State of Florida to the University of Florida. The alligator was incidentally chosen as the mascot in 1911, after a local vendor ordered. Murphree is the only University of Florida president honored with a statue on the campus, before this, only the summer semester was coeducational, to accommodate women teachers who wanted to further their education during the summer break. Lassie Goodbread-Black from Lake City became the first woman to enroll at the University of Florida, john J. Tigert became the third university president in 1928. By the end of the 1946–47 school year,954 men were enrolled at the Tallahassee Branch, the following semester, the Florida Legislature returned the Florida State College for Women to coeducational status and renamed it Florida State University
