Portal:College football

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The College football Portal

College football refers to gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football first gained popularity in the United States.

Like gridiron football generally, college football is most popular in the United States and Canada. While no single governing body exists for college football in the United States, most schools, especially those at the highest levels of play, are members of the NCAA. In Canada, collegiate football competition is governed by U Sports for universities. The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (for colleges) governs soccer and other sports but not gridiron football. Other countries, such as Mexico, Japan and South Korea, also host college football leagues with modest levels of support.

Unlike most other major sports in North America, no official minor league farm organizations exist for American football or Canadian football. Therefore, college football is generally considered to be the second tier of American and Canadian football; ahead of high school competition, but below professional competition. In some parts of the United States, especially the South and Midwest, college football is more popular than professional football. For much of the 20th century, college football was generally considered to be more prestigious than professional football.

As the second highest tier of gridiron football competition in the United States, many college football players later play professionally in the NFL or other leagues. The NFL draft each spring sees 224 players selected and offered a contract to play in the league, with the vast majority coming from the NCAA. Other professional leagues, such as the CFL and XFL, additionally hold their own drafts each year which see many college players selected. Players who are not selected can still attempt to land a professional roster spot as an undrafted free agent. Despite these opportunities, only around 1.6% of NCAA college football players end up playing professionally in the NFL. (Full article...)

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An old, grainy black and white photo showing a college football team from the lates 19th century. Most are wearing white long sleeve shirts with "T" on the front. Half are standing up in the back, the other half are sitting or lying in the front. There are old wooden houses in the background.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also appropriately referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Georgia Institute of Technology has fielded a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 664–447–43 (a .575 winning percentage). The Jackets play in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta, Georgia, which has a capacity of 55,000. The Jackets have won four Division I-A college football national championships and 15 conference titles.

A number of successful collegiate and professional football players once played for Tech. The school has 48 first-team All-Americans and over 150 alumni who have played in the NFL. Among the most lauded and most notable players the school has produced are Keith Brooking, Joe Hamilton, Joe Guyon, Billy Shaw and Calvin Johnson. In addition to its players, Tech's football program has been noted for its coaches and its traditions. Among the team's former coaches are John Heisman, for whom the Heisman trophy is named, and Bobby Dodd, for whom the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award and the school's stadium are named. Heisman led the team to the highest-scoring game in American football history, and both Heisman and Dodd led Tech's football team to national championships. Dodd also led the Jackets on their longest winning streak against the University of Georgia, Tech's most time-endured rival.

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Aerial view of Harvard Stadium in Boston, in the form of a letter U with a capital H in the center of the field and the words Harvard and Crimson at either end

Yale's original mascot, Handsome Dan

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A football stadium from the upper portion of the seats with several rows of people dressed in black on the field.
A football stadium from the upper portion of the seats with several rows of people dressed in black on the field.
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Opening day for the new Bright House Networks Stadium at University of Central Florida.

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