Evolution of college sports

• A look at the evolution of college sports

Why Fans Love College Sports

• College sports provide a source of identity, pride, and community
• College athletics represent the highest level of "amateur" competition
• College games are known for having pomp, circumstance, and pageantry
• Game-day traditions enhance the sense of community (ex: the wave, dotting the I)
• College sports foster a sense of togetherness

Why Universities Love College Sports

• Sports build relationships with fans and alumni
• Sports provide "free" advertising for the university
• Sports serve as the "front porch" of the university
• Sports attract donors
• On-field success leads to overall school success
  • San Diego State serves as an example

Examples of San Diego State and George Mason

• San Diego State's title game generated $402 million in free advertising
• George Mason's 2006 Final Four appearance resulted in $677 million in exposure
• After the Final Four, George Mason saw a 22% boost in applications
• On average, schools see an 11% boost in enrollment after a Final Four appearance
• Caitlin Clark's Iowa example

Where the Money Goes

• Revenue is allocated to facilities, coaches' salaries, and support for other athletic programs

Salary Craziness

• In 43 states, the highest-paid state employee is a coach at a public university
• Iowa's Kirk Ferentz makes just over $7.4 million
• Iowa's Fran McCaffery makes just over $3.2 million
• Iowa State's Matt Campbell makes $2.95 million
• Iowa State's Tom Otzelberger makes $2.3 million
• Phil Parker makes $1.9 million, Lisa Bluder makes $1.79 million, and Andrew Pugely makes $1.56 million
• From 2018-2024, the six all-time highest-paid salaries for a state employee in Iowa all went to Kirk Ferentz

Why All This Money in Sports?

• College sports are a multi-billion dollar business
• On-field success, reputation, ratings, and happy donors are all-important
• In 2023, the Iowa athletics department brought in $167 million in revenue, with about $7 million in profit
• Historically, revenue came from tickets, donations, and apparel, now much comes from TV revenue
• Keeping up is a constant race

What This Means

• Athletic departments are feeling the pressure
• Foundations are built on facilities and coaches' salaries

Early Football

• Early American "football" followed "soccer" rules from the London Football Association
• In the early 1800s, activities and sports were not valued in college; it was about academics
• Students in their late teens and early 20s needed other activities to do
• Students messed around with football/rugby
• Harvard had Freshman vs. Upperclassmen games each year called "Bloody Monday"
• Loved by students, banned by presidents, the University banned the game in 1860

Meanwhile...

• 1852: Harvard vs. Yale on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire was the first intercollegiate athletics competition
• 1859: Williams vs. Amherst in Pittsfield, MA was the first intercollegiate baseball game
• 1869: Rutgers vs. Princeton (then New Jersey) took place was the first intercollegiate college football game (Rutgers won 6-4)
• The first game had soccer-style rules
  • Teams of 25 players
  • Goal to kick the ball in the opponent's net
  • One point per score
  • No clock
  • The first to six wins
• Aside from kicking, players were allowed to bat the ball with their hands, feet, head, and sides
• Carrying and throwing were not allowed

What Allowed for Change?

• A gradual shift in mentality
  • After the Civil War, there was a belief that physical activity was valued (strong body, strong mind)
• Muscular Christianity
  • Embracing physicality was important; could bring more people to the church and help create strong young men
  • Led to the start of YMCA
• The explosion of universities
  • By 1870, there were 500 degree-granting universities in the U.S.
  • Resulted in the question of what students would do in their free time, to which football became the answer

The Moral Equivalent of War & Muscular Christianity

• Colleges emphasized making men, stating that football was the most important part of the course

Enter Eugene Baker & Walter Camp

• Winning was everything
• They began recruiting big guys on campus
• Baker captained from 1879-77, while Camp captained from 1878-79
• They became POWERFUL not losing for eight years
• Students took great pride in success and mobbed practice
• Became a question of what happens when someone is really good at something

Walter Camp: The Father of American Football

• Grew up by Yale's campus
• He gave up sweets and ran two miles a day as a kid to train for the team
• Was the original BMOC (Big Man On Campus)
• Saw football as "organized war"
• Played a major role in making the game less British and more American
• Established the line of scrimmage, downs, and positions

Organized War

• "Better to make a boy an outdoor savage than an indoor weakling" - Walter Camp

The Game Evolves

• In 1873, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, and Rutgers agreed on rules
  • Kicking/heading allowed
  • Couldn't run with the ball
  • Lateral or backwards pass allowed
  • No tackling below the waist
  • Score by kicking
• In 1874, Harvard vs. McGill, McGill showed more rugby-style vs. soccer-style rules in the second game
  • Harvard loved it; next year Harvard played Yale with those rules, which spread
• In 1879, Michigan vs. Racine was the first game in the Midwest
  • Michigan won 1-0

Crazy Rules

• Players could hit an opponent with a closed fist three times
• Players didn't score a touchdown until the ball actually touched the end zone
• Players weren't down until they stopped moving
• Harvard administration banned the game AGAIN in 1885; it returned a year later
• By 1888, there were 60 teams across the country

Key Rule Changes

• Every year the Intercollegiate Football Association would meet and Camp had the strongest voice
• 1880: Reduction from 15 players to 11
• 1880: Line of scrimmage, QB snap
• 1882: Three downs to advance five yards
• Later: the passing game

Football's Popularity Explodes

• New universities competed for new students, leading to more than 60 schools that had teams by 1880
• Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were the best schools with the best football teams
• It was believed that great football = great academics = great university
  • FRONT PORCH ARGUMENT
• Illegal recruiting took place
• 1894 Harper's Magazine did a story on the football craze

More Exploding

• The 1880 Championship game moved to New York City on Thanksgiving Day
• It quickly became THE high-society holiday event
• Impact: The Front Porch concept

The University of Chicago

• John D. Rockefeller wanted to create a nationally-recognized university to compete with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton
• He chose Chicago and donated $35 million, choosing William Rainey Harper as university president
• Hired Amos Alonzo Stagg as the first university employee
  • Played at Yale under Walter Camp
  • Was a baseball player
  • Studied under William Rainey Harper at Yale
  • Like a Forrest Gump

Creating the Team

• Opened in 1892; won two national championships (1905, 1913)
• Had seven Big Ten titles
• Jay Berwanger, the first Heisman Trophy winner (1932)
• Used the city's size to help team/university make money

1896: Chicago's Palmer House Hotel

• Rules were out of hand with cheating, recruiting, and paying players
• Faculty reps from seven Midwest schools were present: Chicago, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin
• They formed the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives
  • Later known as the Western Conference
  • Later known as The Big Ten

Iowa's Football Team

• Football began as a club sport in 1872
• Intramurals took place against other schools in 1882
• Played in the Western Interstate Football Association in 1892
• Played as an independent in 1898 and 1899
• Was invited to the Western Conference (Big Nine) in 1900
• Also joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 1907
• Returned to Big Nine exclusively in 1908

Football Faces Death at the White House

• The aftermath of the meeting...:
  • Led to the creation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association (later the NCAA)
  • Creation of the forward pass
  • Camp initially refused to sign the rule
  • John Heisman, Rockne, and others convinced him

Postscript

• The key years for college football and college athletes were from 1890-1915
• The 1920s marked the beginning of the stadium boom
  • Wisconsin (1917)
  • Ohio State (1922)
  • Illinois (1923)
  • Purdue (1924)
  • Northwestern (1926)
  • Michigan (1927)

Iowa (Kinnick) Stadium Facts

• The first game was on October 5, 1929; a 46-0 win over Monmouth
• Dedicated on October 19, 1929
• Was built in 7 months utilizing mules and horses
• Cost: $497,151

Basketball Complications

• Geneva College and Vanderbilt claim the first game in 1893
• Naismith says Geneva College and Iowa played in 1892
• The first unanimous intercollegiate game took place at the intersection of Dubuque Street and Iowa Avenue (University of Chicago vs. University of Iowa

The Story of Currier and Ives

• Printing company in New York
• Products catered to middle-class Americans

First HBCU Game

• Livingston vs. Biddle on December 20, 1892
• Played on the front lawn of Livingston College in Salisbury, NC
• Two 45-minute halves
• Biddle won 5-0

William Henry Lewis

• Was the son of freed slaves
• Captain at Amherst (1891) and Harvard (1893)
• One of the first Black athletes to play college football
• Two-time All-American center at Harvard
• Harvard coach from 1895-1906
• Respected author and debater
• In 1903, he was the first African American to be one of five US Assistant Attorneys General

Frank Kinnie Holbrook

• The first Black athlete for the Hawkeyes
• Was the son of an escaped slave
• Town raised funds
• Led Iowa to the first conference championship in 1896
• Lettered in football and track at Iowa
• Left college after two years

Iowa's Duke Slater

• Iowa lineman from 1918-1921
• 3x All Big-Ten
• 2x first-team All-American
• Leader of 1921 national championship team
• First Black NFL lineman
• Earned his law degree from Iowa while playing in the NFL
• 1948, elected to Cook County Municipal Court
• 1960, first Black elevated to Cook County Superior Court

Duke Slater Field

• A push took place in 1972 to name the field after Nile Kinnick
• University president Sandy Boyd proposed Kinnick-Slater Stadium
• In 2000, Black Lives Matter and allegations brought on this renewed focus
• In 2021, announced "Duke Slater Field"

Iowa State's Jack Trice

• The first Black athlete at Iowa State
• Studied animal husbandry

Jack Trice Stadium

• ISU did not renew their contract following his death
• Student began a quest in 1974
• The students wore the administration down
• Today it is the only Power 5 Stadium named after...

Ozzie Simmons

• Track and football star from Texas
• First day of practice, returns every single punt for a touchdown

Iowa vs. Minnesota 1934

• The color of his skin caused players of opposing teams to bear down on him

Johnny Bright

• Drake embraced students of any color, race, religion
• Became the first Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick, Justin Fields

Civil Rights Movement

• 1954: Brown vs. Board of Education
• 1955: Rosa Parks
• 1957: Little Rock Nine

The Meaning of Alabama

• Governor used this team to prop up white supremacy
• National Championships in 1961, 1964, and 1965
• 1962 Rose Bowl, Alabama wanted to get in
• In the 1980s, nearly half of Alabama's roster was black

Iowa Racial Discrimination Case

• The investigation by Blackwell, Husch found the "Iowa Way" philosophy
• The was the "Iowa Way" philosophy, mandating uniformity and discouraging individualism
• In December of 2020 the university was subject to a lawsuit
• The coaches were removed and they were settled in February 2021

Title IX: An Iowa Story

• Started 6 on 6 for girls basketball in Iowa in 1920
• The tournament was one of the first sporting events to broadcast

Before Title IX

• Women were considered to take care of secretarial matters

Bernice "Bunny" Sandler

• Considered the "Godmother" to Title IX
• Found an answer in Executive Order 12646

Edith Green and the Higher Education Act

• In 1965 the act aimed towards helping women gain equal rights to men

Title IX: 37 Words

• There will be no discrimination upon sex for federally funded events

The Fight Over Title IX

What is Equal?

• Should equality mean equal money among men and women or as proportional
• 58% of college students are female, and 42% are male

NCAA vs Title IX

• The NCAA immediately fought back against the new implementation of Title IX

Another Fight: 1976 Yale Protest

• Yale was very sexist