The Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA), also known as the American Intercollegiate Football Association, was one of the earliest college football rules-making and scheduling organizations in existence; it was active from the 1873 to 1893 seasons. The IFA teams, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, are now members of the Ivy League.
The 1869 game between Princeton and Rutgers, which has been called the first intercollegiate football game in America, was a version of association football, known in North America as 'soccer'. The rules were based on those first created by The Football Association in London, England. The first IFA was founded in 1873 by Princeton, Yale, and Rutgers to adopt common rules to replace the practice of playing under the home team's rules. Harvard refused to attend the founding meeting, preferring to keep the Boston game, a cross between association and rugby football.[1]
On November 23, 1876, representatives from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia met at the Massasoit House hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts to standardize a new code of rules based on the rugby game first introduced to Harvard by McGill University in 1874. The rules were based largely on the Rugby Football Union's code from England, though one important difference was the replacement of a kicked goal with a touchdown as the primary means of scoring (a change that would later occur in rugby itself, favoring the try as the main scoring event). Three of the schools—Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton—formed the second Intercollegiate Football Association as a result of the meeting. Yale did not join the group until 1879, because of an early disagreement about the number of players per team.[2] This was the first comprehensive effort to organize and standardize American football. This IFA lasted from the 1877 season until 1893.
Walter Camp, the "father of American football", was instrumental in creating the rules of American football. Camp became a fixture at the annual Massasoit House conventions where rules were debated and changed. He proposed a rule change at the first meeting he attended in 1878: a reduction from fifteen players to eleven. The motion was rejected at that time but passed in 1880. The effect was to open up the game and emphasize speed over strength. Camp's most famous change, the establishment of the line of scrimmage and the snap from center to quarterback, was also passed in 1880. At the 1882 rules meeting, Camp proposed that a team be required to advance the ball a minimum of five yards within three downs.[2]
^Oriard, Michael. "Gridiron football". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
^ ab(PDF). Professional Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
External links
Rules Adopted By The America Intercollegiate Football Association For 1893 at Chestofbooks.com
August 21, 2023
intercollegiate, football, association, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, sch. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Intercollegiate Football Association news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Intercollegiate Football Association IFA also known as the American Intercollegiate Football Association was one of the earliest college football rules making and scheduling organizations in existence it was active from the 1873 to 1893 seasons The IFA teams Columbia Harvard Princeton and Yale are now members of the Ivy League Intercollegiate Football AssociationSuccessorIvy LeagueFormation1873FounderPrinceton Yale RutgersDissolved1893 130 years ago 1893 TypeSports governing bodyLocationUnited StatesRegion servedUnited States Contents 1 From soccer to rugby 2 Massasoit House conventions 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksFrom soccer to rugby EditThe 1869 game between Princeton and Rutgers which has been called the first intercollegiate football game in America was a version of association football known in North America as soccer The rules were based on those first created by The Football Association in London England The first IFA was founded in 1873 by Princeton Yale and Rutgers to adopt common rules to replace the practice of playing under the home team s rules Harvard refused to attend the founding meeting preferring to keep the Boston game a cross between association and rugby football 1 Massasoit House conventions Edit Walter Camp pictured here in 1878 as the captain of the Yale University football teamOn November 23 1876 representatives from Harvard Yale Princeton and Columbia met at the Massasoit House hotel in Springfield Massachusetts to standardize a new code of rules based on the rugby game first introduced to Harvard by McGill University in 1874 The rules were based largely on the Rugby Football Union s code from England though one important difference was the replacement of a kicked goal with a touchdown as the primary means of scoring a change that would later occur in rugby itself favoring the try as the main scoring event Three of the schools Harvard Columbia and Princeton formed the second Intercollegiate Football Association as a result of the meeting Yale did not join the group until 1879 because of an early disagreement about the number of players per team 2 This was the first comprehensive effort to organize and standardize American football This IFA lasted from the 1877 season until 1893 Walter Camp the father of American football was instrumental in creating the rules of American football Camp became a fixture at the annual Massasoit House conventions where rules were debated and changed He proposed a rule change at the first meeting he attended in 1878 a reduction from fifteen players to eleven The motion was rejected at that time but passed in 1880 The effect was to open up the game and emphasize speed over strength Camp s most famous change the establishment of the line of scrimmage and the snap from center to quarterback was also passed in 1880 At the 1882 rules meeting Camp proposed that a team be required to advance the ball a minimum of five yards within three downs 2 See also EditEarly history of American football Ivy League NCAA Division I FCS conference home to the IFA s membersReferences Edit Oriard Michael Gridiron football Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved January 6 2018 a b Camp and His Followers American Football 1876 1889 PDF Professional Football Researchers Association Archived from the original PDF on September 29 2010 Retrieved January 6 2018 External links EditRules Adopted By The America Intercollegiate Football Association For 1893 at Chestofbooks com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Intercollegiate Football Association amp oldid 1158833464, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
