1.
Texas Tech Red Raiders football
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The Texas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University. The team competes, as a member of the Big 12 Conference, the program began in 1925 and has an overall winning record, including a total of 11 conference titles and one division title. On December 12,2012, former Red Raider quarterback Kliff Kingsbury became the teams 15th head coach, home games are played at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech fielded its first intercollegiate football team during the 1925 season, the team was known as the Matadors from 1925 to 1936, a name suggested by the wife of E. Y. Freeland, the first football coach, to reflect the influence of the Spanish Renaissance architecture on campus, in 1932, Texas Tech joined the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, also known as the Border Conference. That same year, the team won its first conference championship and was invited to the Sun Bowl, the game was played on January 1,1938, and resulted in a 7–6 loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers. Texas Tech suffered four more losses before their first postseason win in the 1952 Sun Bowl. Before withdrawing from the Border Conference in 1956, the Red Raiders won eight championships and one co-championship. In 1956, Texas Tech was admitted to the Southwest Conference and it gained full SWC membership and began official conference play in 1960. The Red Raiders won conference co-championships in 1976 and 1994, the team remained in the SWC until the conference dissolved in 1996. The university was invited and became a member in the South Division of the Big 12 Conference. Texas Tech was the member in the history of the Big 12 to boast a winning record every year since the conferences formation. In 2003, Texas Tech was the team to ever have 5 or more players with at least 60 receptions in a single season. In 2008, the Red Raiders were one of three teams involved in the first three way conference division tie. Texas Tech has competed as a member of three different conferences since 1925, the Red Raiders have won National Championships and 11 conference championships, the first 9 were Border Conference championships, and the most recent was the Big 12 South Championship won in 2008. The Red Raiders were previously members of the Big 12 South between its inception in 1996 and the dissolution of divisions within the Big 12 in 2011. † Denotes co-champions Texas Tech has played in 37 postseason bowl games with an record of 14 wins,22 losses. The 37 bowl game appearances by the Red Raiders rank the program 17th in all-time in bowl games played, Texas Techs first bowl game was at the conclusion of the 1937 season, only 13 years after the program was established
2.
Miami Dolphins
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The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football franchise based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The Dolphins play their games at Hard Rock Stadium in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins and the Atlanta Falcons are the oldest NFL franchises in the Deep South, however, of the four AFC East teams, they are the only team in the division that was not a charter member of the American Football League. The Dolphins team was founded by attorney-politician Joe Robbie and actor-comedian Danny Thomas and they began play in the AFL in 1966. For the first few years the Dolphins full-time training camp and practice facilities were at Saint Andrews School, in 1970 the Dolphins joined the NFL when the AFL–NFL merger occurred. The team made its first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl VI, Miami also appeared in Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX, losing both games. For most of their history, the Dolphins were coached by Don Shula. Under Shula, the Dolphins posted losing records in two of his 26 seasons as the head coach. During the period spanning 1983 to the end of 1999, quarterback Dan Marino became one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, Marino led the Dolphins to five division titles,10 playoff appearances, and Super Bowl XIX before retiring following the 1999 season. During the summer of 1966, the Dolphins training camp was in St. Pete Beach with practices in August at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport. The Dolphins had a combined 15–39–2 record in their first four seasons under head coach George Wilson, before Don Shula was hired as head coach. Shula was a Paul Brown disciple who had been lured from the Baltimore Colts after losing Super Bowl III two seasons earlier to the AFLs New York Jets and finishing 8–5–1 the following season. Interestingly, Shula got his first NFL coaching job from then-Detroit Head Coach George Wilson, when Shula replaced Wilson at Miami the Colts charged the Dolphins with tampering in their hiring of Shula, costing the Dolphins their first round draft pick in 1971. Shula introduced himself to the Miami press by saying that he didnt have any magic formulas, Shulas early training camps with the Dolphins, with four workouts a day, would soon be the stuff of sweltering, painful legend. But Shulas hard work paid dividends, as Miami improved to a 10–4 record and their first-ever playoff appearance. The Dolphins were successful in the early 1970s, becoming the first team to advance to the AFC Championship for three consecutive seasons and they captured the AFC championship in 1971 behind quarterback Bob Griese, running backs Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick, and wide receiver Paul Warfield. The AFC Divisional Playoff Game, in which the Dolphins defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, was the longest contest in NFL history, in Super Bowl VI, however, Miami lost to the Dallas Cowboys 24–3
3.
Dallas Cowboys
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The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and plays its games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, the Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The teams national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs, the Cowboys streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games began in 2002. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC, the Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons, in which they only missed the playoffs twice, an NFL record that remains unchallenged. In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable team in the world. The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U. S. sports team. Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D. C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas, Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins from Marshall in 1958. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized and this infuriated Murchison and he called off the deal. Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas, since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshalls position would prevent Murchison from joining the league. Marshall had an out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin. Breeskin had written the music to the Redskins fight song Hail to the Redskins, Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchisons plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchisons attorney to him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959. Murchison purchased Hail to the Redskins for $2,500, before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he owned the song and Marshall could not play it during games. After a few Marshall expletives, Murchison gave the rights to Hail to the Redskins to Marshall for his vote, the one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time. From 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, in addition, they appeared in 5 and won two Super Bowls, at the end of the 1971 and 1977 regular seasons
4.
2008 NFL season
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The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan Believe in Now. Conversely, the Detroit Lions became the first NFL team with a season since the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season. For the first time since the NFL expanded to the sixteen game season in 1978, previously two teams won two or fewer games in 1979,1981,1985,1992 and 2001. In preseason games, the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game was played August 3 between the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins, which aired on NBC. Other preseason highlights included the first game of the Toronto Series, the Bills won that game, 24–21. The games kickoff was ninety minutes earlier than years, at 7 p. m. EDT. Other featured games during the week included the NBC Sunday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, in which the Kyle Orton-led Bears upset the Colts 29–13. Also, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a season ending injury against the Kansas City Chiefs, the 2008 season also was the third season of the use of the flexible scheduling for Sunday games starting with Week 11. This was the second season that the league played at least one regular season game outside the United States as part of its International Series. The contest between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints was played at Wembley Stadium in London on October 26, the Chargers played at Buffalo the week beforehand on October 19 so they could immediately travel to London afterward in order to get used to the time difference. The league has also approved the Bills’ request to play at least one regular season game at Torontos Rogers Centre over each of the next five seasons. Team owner Ralph Wilson petitioned the league to play at least one game in Canada to strengthen his clubs fan base in Ontario, the game in Toronto was on December 7, after the end of the 2008 CFL season, against the Miami Dolphins, Miami won 16–3. CBS televised both games regionally, the Toronto game was carried across Canada on Rogers Sportsnet and City TV, a third game on NFL Network, featuring the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles followed at 8,15 PM EST. The NFLs Pro Bowl all-star game at the end of the season was played at Aloha Stadium in the Honolulu, the league had the option under their current contract to hold the game elsewhere, including the possibility of moving it to the host site of the Super Bowl. W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against Playoff seeds are marked in parentheses, Giants clinched the NFC #1 seed over Carolina based on a head-to-head victory. B Miami finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on conference record. C San Diego finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on a division record. D Baltimore clinched the AFC #6 seed over New England based on a conference record
5.
Kansas City Chiefs
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The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. The team was founded in 1960 as the Dallas Texans by businessman Lamar Hunt and was a member of the American Football League. In 1963, the relocated to Kansas City and assumed their current name. The Chiefs joined the NFL as a result of the merger in 1970, the team is valued at just under $1 billion. The Chiefs were also the team, after the Green Bay Packers, to appear in more than one Super Bowl. The Chiefs Wild-Card playoff victory ended what was at the time the third-longest drought in the NFL, in 1959, Lamar Hunt began discussions with other businessmen to establish a professional football league that would rival the National Football League. Hunts desire to secure a team was heightened after watching the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts. After unsuccessful attempts to purchase and relocate the NFLs Chicago Cardinals to his hometown of Dallas, Texas, Hunt went to the NFL and asked to create an expansion franchise in Dallas. The NFL turned him down, so Hunt then established the American Football League and started his own team, the Dallas Texans, to begin play in 1960. Hunt hired an assistant coach from the University of Miami football team, Hank Stram, to be the teams head coach after the job offer was declined by Bud Wilkinson. The Texans shared the Cotton Bowl with the NFLs cross-town competition Dallas Cowboys for three seasons, the Texans were to have exclusive access to the stadium until the NFL put an expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys, there. While the team averaged a league-best 24,500 at the Cotton Bowl, in the franchises first two seasons, the team managed only a 14–14 record. In their third season, the Texans strolled to an 11–3 record, the game was broadcast nationally on ABC and the Texans defeated the Oilers 20–17 in double overtime. The game lasted 77 minutes and 54 seconds, which stands as the longest championship game in professional football history. It turned out to be the last game the team would play as the Dallas Texans and he considered moving the Texans to either Atlanta or Miami for the 1963 season. However, he was swayed by an offer from Kansas City Mayor Harold Roe Bartle. Bartle promised to triple the franchises season ticket sales and expand the capacity of Municipal Stadium to accommodate the team
6.
Pro Bowl
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The Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League. Between 2014 and 2016, the NFL experimented with an unconferenced format, the players were picked in a televised schoolyard pick prior to the game. Unlike most major leagues, which hold their all-star games roughly midway through their respective regular seasons. Between 1970 and 2009, it was held the weekend after the Super Bowl. Since 2010, the Pro Bowl has been played the weekend before the Super Bowl, Players from the two teams competing in the Super Bowl do not participate. Observers and commentators expressed their disfavor with the Pro Bowl in its current state and it draws lower TV ratings than its regular-season games, although the game draws similar ratings to other major all-star games, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the star players, the Associated Press wrote that players in the 2012 game were hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight. Between 1980 and 2016, the game was played at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, on June 1,2016, the NFL announced that they reached a multi-year deal to move the game to Orlando, Florida as part of the leagues ongoing efforts to make the game more relevant. For years, the game has suffered from lack of interest due to perceived low quality, the 2017 Pro Bowl will also mark a return to the AFC–NFC format. The first Pro All-Star Game, featuring the all-stars of the 1938 season, was played on January 15,1939 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The NFL All-Star Game was played again in Los Angeles in 1940 and then in New York, although originally planned as an annual contest, the all-star game was discontinued after 1942 because of travel restrictions put in place during World War II. During the first five games, an all-star team would face that years league champion. The league champion won the first four games before the all-stars were victorious in the game of this early series. The concept of a game was not revived until June 1950. The game was sponsored by the Los Angeles Publishers Association and it was decided that the game would feature all-star teams from each of the leagues two conferences rather than the league champion versus all-star format which had been used previously. This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicago College All-Star Game, the teams would be led by the coach of each of the conference champions. The first 21 games of the series were played in Los Angeles, the site of the game was changed annually for each of the next seven years before the game was moved to Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii for 30 straight seasons from 1980 through 2009. With the new rule being that the teams do not include players from the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl
7.
Tackle (football move)
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Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary and important purposes of tackling are to dispossess an opponent of the ball, the word is used in some contact variations of football to describe the act of physically holding or wrestling a player to the ground. In others, it simply one or more methods of contesting for possession of the ball. It can therefore be used as both a defensive or attacking move, in Middle Dutch, the verb tacken meant to grab or to handle. By the 18th century, a use was applied to harnesses or equipment used with horses. Modern use in football comes from the sport of rugby. In any such case, the ball becomes dead, the down is over, a tackle is known as a quarterback sack when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage while attempting to throw a pass. A tackle for loss indicates a tackle that causes a loss of yardage for the running back or wide receiver. When a player who does not have the ball is taken down it is referred to as a block. Tackles can also be made by grabbing the ball carriers jersey, as mentioned above, the referee can declare that a play is dead if the ball carriers forward progress has been stopped, even if he has not actually been taken to the ground. To protect players from potentially catastrophic injury, there are restrictions on tackles. At no time may a defensive player tackle a player by grabbing the facemask of their helmet, doing so incurs a 15-yard penalty. A similar penalty is assessed to any player attempting to contact with his helmet against another opponents helmet. Grabbing a ball carrier by the pads behind his neck and pulling him down is known as a horse collar, a method which has been made illegal at all levels of American football. However, in the NFL a player can continue forward for one step, place kickers and punters are afforded an even greater protection from being tackled. Once the play is ruled complete, no contact is permitted, a player who makes contact with an opponent after the play is charged with unnecessary roughness and his team is assessed a 15-yard penalty. However, a player who plays on the line can block below the knees as long the block is five yards of the line. In the National Football League, tackles are tracked as a statistic by a scorekeeper hired by the home team
8.
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
9.
Texas Tech University
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Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on February 10,1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, the universitys student enrollment is the sixth-largest in Texas as of the Fall 2014 semester. The university shares its campus with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, making it the campus in Texas to house an undergraduate university, law school. The university offers degrees in more than 150 courses of study through 13 colleges and hosts 60 research centers, Texas Tech University has awarded over 200,000 degrees since 1927, including over 40,000 graduate and professional degrees. The Carnegie Foundation classifies Texas Tech as having highest research activity, Research projects in the areas of epidemiology, pulsed power, grid computing, nanophotonics, atmospheric sciences, and wind energy are among the most prominent at the university. The Texas Tech Red Raiders are charter members of the Big 12 Conference, the Red Raiders football team has made 36 bowl appearances, which is 17th most of any university. The Red Raiders basketball team has made 14 appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament, bob Knight has coached the second most wins in mens NCAA Division I basketball history and served as the teams head coach from 2001 to 2008. The Lady Raiders basketball team won the 1993 NCAA Division I Tournament, in 1999, Texas Techs Goin Band from Raiderland received the Sudler Trophy, which is awarded to recognize collegiate marching bands of particular excellence. Though the majority of the students are from the southwestern United States. Texas Tech University alumni and former students have gone on to prominent careers in government, business, science, medicine, education, sports, the call to open a college in West Texas began shortly after settlers arrived in the area in the 1880s. In 1917, the Texas legislature passed a bill creating a branch of Texas A&M to be in Abilene, however, the bill was repealed two years later during the next session after it was discovered Governor James E. Ferguson had falsely reported the site committees choice of location. After new legislation passed in the house and senate in 1921, Governor Pat Neff vetoed it. Furious about Neffs veto, some in West Texas went so far as to recommend West Texas secede from the state, on February 10,1923, Neff signed the legislation creating Texas Technological College, and in July of that year, a committee began searching for a site. When the committees members visited Lubbock, they were overwhelmed to find residents lining the streets to support for hosting the institution. That August, Lubbock was chosen on the first ballot over other towns, including Floydada, Plainview, Big Spring. Construction of the campus began on November 1,1924. Ten days later, the cornerstone of the Administration Building was laid in front of 20,000 people, chitwood served in the position only fifteen months, he died in November 1926. With an enrollment of 914 students—both men and women—Texas Technological College opened for classes on October 1,1925 and it was originally composed of four schools—Agriculture, Engineering, Home Economics, and Liberal Arts
10.
High school football
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High school football is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular sports in both countries. It is also popular amongst American High school teams in Europe, High school football began in the late 19th century, concurrent with the start of many college football programs. In the late 19th and early 20th century, many college, other traditions of high school football such as pep rallies, marching bands, mascots, and homecomings are mirrored from college football. No true minor league farm organizations exist in American football, therefore, high school football is generally considered to be the third tier of American football in the United States, behind professional and college competition. The National Federation of State High School Associations establishes the rules of high school football in the United States, two states, Texas and Massachusetts, use NCAA playing rules except as shown below. Kickoffs take place at the kicking teams 40-yard line, as opposed to the 35 in college, if an attempted field goal is missed it is treated as a punt, normally it would be a touchback and the opposing team will start at the 20-yard line. However, if it not enter the end zone, it can be downed or returned as a normal punt. Any kick crossing the line is automatically a touchback, kicks cannot be returned out of the end zone. Pass interference by the results in a 15-yard penalty. Pass interference by the results in a 15-yard penalty, from the previous spot. The defense cannot return an extra-point attempt for a score, any defensive player that encroaches the neutral zone, regardless of whether the ball was snapped or not, commits a dead ball foul for encroachment. 5-yard penalty from the previous spot, prior to 2013, offensive pass interference resulted in a 15-yard penalty AND a loss of down. The loss of down provision has been deleted from the rules starting in 2013, in college and the NFL, offensive pass interference is only 10 yards. The use of overtime, and the type of overtime used, is up to the state association. The NFHS offers a suggested overtime procedure based on the Kansas Playoff, intentional grounding may be called even if the quarterback is outside the tackle box. The home team must wear dark-colored jerseys, and the team must wear white jerseys. In the NFL, the team has choice of jersey color, and in the NCAA
11.
Michael Crabtree
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Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers tenth overall in the 2009 NFL Draft and he played college football at Texas Tech, where he was a two-time unanimous All-American and twice won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nations best wide receiver. Michael Crabtree was born in Dallas, Texas and he attended David W. Carter High School in Dallas, where he played basketball, football, and ran track for the Cowboys program. He played as a quarterback for the Carter Cowboys high school football team, as a senior, he passed for 870 yards and eleven touchdowns on 45 completions out of 100 attempts. He also ran for 646 yards and nine touchdowns on 100 carries and he was four-star football recruit as an athlete. In addition to playing football in school, Crabtree was also on the basketball team. During a visit in 2004, Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight asked Crabtree which sport he was going to choose, though the decision was not an easy one, he opted to play college football exclusively. Crabtree was offered scholarships by Baylor, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech. He was also recruited by Texas, whose coaches wanted him to play defense, Crabtree refused, stating that he wanted to score touchdowns. Crabtree accepted a scholarship to attend Texas Tech University, where he played for coach Mike Leach. Crabtree was redshirted his season of 2006 due to a transcript glitch. In 2007, Crabtree started his season against SMU. The Red Raiders won 49–9, and Crabtree stood out with 106 yards receiving on twelve receptions for three touchdowns, the next week, in a 45–31 win over UTEP, Crabtree continued his performance with 15 receptions,188 yards, and two touchdowns. Against the Rice Owls, Crabtree put up 244 yards on eleven receptions for three touchdowns, in Techs first loss of the season, against Oklahoma State, he had 14 receptions for 237 yards and three touchdowns. In a 75–7 win over Northwestern State, Crabtree had 145 yards on eight receptions for three touchdowns in two and a half quarters of playing time. In the contest against Iowa State, Crabtree had 10 receptions for 154 yards, during the Iowa State game, Crabtree broke the season record for most touchdown receptions by a freshman receiver. The previous record of 14 was shared by Jabar Gaffney in 2000, Mike Williams in 2002, in the October 13,2007 game, Crabtree tacked on 170 more receiving yards on eight receptions but had no touchdowns in a 35–7 win over the Texas A&M Aggies. This brought his total yardage to 1,244, in the next game, against Missouri, he again did not score but still added 76 more yards on ten catches
12.
College Football Hall of Fame
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The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation launched the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players, from 1995 to 2012, the Hall was located in South Bend, Indiana. It was connected to a center and situated in the citys renovated downtown district,2 miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. In August 2014, the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience opened in downtown Atlanta, rutgers donated land near its football stadium, office space, and administrative support. In response, the Foundation moved its operations to New York City, when the New York Attorney Generals office began its own investigation, the foundation moved to Kings Mills, Ohio, where a building finally was constructed adjacent to Kings Island in 1978. The Hall opened with good attendance figures early on, but visitation dwindled dramatically as time went on, nearby Galbreath Field remained open as the home of Moeller High School football until 2003. A new building was opened in South Bend, Indiana on August 25,1995. Despite estimates that the South Bend location would more than 150,000 visitors a year, the Hall of Fame drew about 115,000 people the first year. In 2009, the National Football Foundation decided to move the College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta, the possibility of moving the museum has been brought up in other cities, including Dallas, which had the financial backing of billionaire T. Boone Pickens. However, the National Football Foundation ultimately decided on Atlanta for the next site, the new $68.5 million museum opened on August 23,2014. It is located next to Centennial Olympic Park, which is near other attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, CNN Center, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. The Hall of Fame is located near the Georgia Institute of Technology of the ACC, the new building broke ground on January 28,2013. Sections of the architecture are reminiscent of a football in shape, the facility is 94,256 square feet and contains approximately 50,000 square feet of exhibit and event space, interactive displays and a 45-yard indoor football field. Atlanta Hall Management operates the College Football Hall of Fame, as of 2017, there are 987 players and 214 coaches enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, representing 306 schools. The National Football Foundation outlines specific criteria that may be used for evaluating a candidate for induction into the Hall of Fame. A player must have received major first team All-America recognition, a player becomes eligible for consideration 10 years after his last year of intercollegiate football played. Football achievements are considered first, but the record as a citizen is also weighed. Players must have played their last year of football within the last 50 years
