200 Fun Facts About College Sports

Which president's White House conferences led to the founding of the NCAA?

Repeated injuries and deaths in college football prompted them. The body still governs about 1,100 schools.

Which NCAA tier may not offer athletic scholarships at all?

Divisions I and II can. Division III schools compete without them entirely.

Roughly how many student athletes compete under NCAA rules each year?

They are spread across about 1,100 member schools. One of those schools is in Canada.

Where is the NCAA headquartered?

It moved there in 1999. The men's Final Four is often played nearby.

What did the Supreme Court's 2021 ruling in NCAA v. Alston allow?

The ruling was unanimous. It opened the door to the name, image and likeness era.

Which team won the first NCAA men's basketball tournament in 1939?

The field has grown enormously since. It stayed at 64 teams from 1985 until recent expansions.

In which year did the men's tournament expand to 64 teams?

Before that the field had varied from as few as eight teams to as many as 53. The bracket stayed stable for four decades.

Which university has won the most men's basketball championships?

Eleven titles, most of them under one coach. Seven of them came in a row.

Which round of the men's tournament comes immediately before the Elite Eight?

The tournament is branded as March Madness, or the Big Dance. The semi-finals are the Final Four.

How many NCAA championships did John Wooden win at UCLA?

They came in a twelve-year period, including a record seven in a row. His teams also won 88 consecutive games.

How long was UCLA's record winning streak under John Wooden?

It remains an NCAA men's basketball record, set under a coach who won ten titles in a dozen years.

What did John Wooden call his framework of motivational principles?

He used short, simple messages with his players. It was meant to apply to life as much as basketball.

What is John Wooden's well-known nickname?

He disliked it. His teams won ten titles in a dozen years.

After whom is college football's most famous individual award named?

He was the athletic director of the Downtown Athletic Club, and the award took his name after his death in 1936. The first winner was Jay Berwanger.

Who won the first Heisman Trophy, in 1935?

He played for the University of Chicago. He later became the first player ever picked in the NFL draft.

Who is the only player to win the Heisman Trophy twice?

He won in 1974 and 1975 at Ohio State. Nobody has repeated it since.

Who is the youngest Heisman winner?

He was 19 years and 338 days old when he won in 2016 for Louisville. He later became an NFL most valuable player.

Who was the model for the figure on the Heisman Trophy?

His name was Ed Smith. Frank Eliscu designed the statue.

In which season was the first College Football Playoff held?

It replaced the Bowl Championship Series. A 13-member committee selects and seeds the teams.

How many teams did the College Football Playoff expand to for the 2024 season?

The previous format had used four since 2014. The new bracket runs through the 2027 season.

Which system did the College Football Playoff replace?

It had brought the major conferences and bowls together from 1998. Before that, champions were decided by polls.

Which postseason game is nicknamed 'The Granddaddy of Them All'?

Broadcaster Keith Jackson gave it the name. It was the first postseason football game ever established.

What was the score of the first Pasadena bowl game game?

Michigan crushed Stanford in a game so one-sided the fixture was not repeated for years. Stanford conceded with time remaining.

On which date is the Pasadena bowl game traditionally played?

It is played in Pasadena, in a stadium seating over 92,000. For decades it matched the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions.

Which two conferences traditionally supplied the Pasadena bowl game teams from 1947 to 2024?

Their predecessors filled the slots before then. The playoff has since reshaped the arrangement.

In which year was the first Army-Navy football game played?

Navy won it 24-0. The two academies have met almost every year since.

What happens at the end of every Army-Navy game?

The winning team stands alongside the losers and faces the losing academy's students. It is one of the most respected traditions in American sport.

How is the annual meeting of the two service academies branded?

It is one of the oldest rivalries in college football. Through 2025, Navy led the series 64-55-7.

Which side leads the all-time series between the two service academies?

Through the 2025 meeting the record stood at 64-55-7. Ten years have passed without a game since 1890.

In which city has the College World Series been held since 1950?

It moved to Charles Schwab Field in 2011 from Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Eight teams contest it each June.

How is the College World Series decided?

Eight teams are split into brackets of four. USC leads the all-time title count.

In which year was the first NCAA women's basketball tournament held?

It began with 32 teams. Only one programme has appeared in every edition.

Which programme has won the most NCAA women's basketball championships?

Twelve national titles. Tennessee, meanwhile, has appeared in every tournament since 1982.

What was notable about the 2024 women's basketball championship game?

It was the first time the women's final had higher viewership. The semi-finals share a weekend with the men's Final Four.

Which programme has appeared in every women's tournament since 1982?

That is more than forty consecutive appearances.

Which two universities played the first intercollegiate football game in 1869?

Princeton was then known as the College of New Jersey. The game bore little resemblance to modern football.

Who is considered the most important figure in the development of American football?

He cut teams from fifteen players to eleven and introduced the line of scrimmage. The snap from centre was his idea too.

How many college football stadiums seat more than 100,000 people?

They belong to the highest division of the sport. The record single-match crowd is 156,990.

What is the record attendance for a single college football game?

It was set at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016, when Tennessee beat Virginia Tech. A racetrack made the crowd possible.

How many members sit on the committee that selects the College Football Playoff field?

They both select and seed the teams. The system replaced a formula-driven ranking.

What sport did the first intercollegiate contest in the US involve, between Harvard and Yale in 1852?

Rowing stayed the country's leading college sport into the late 1800s.

What was the NCAA originally called when it was established in 1906?

It adopted the NCAA name in 1910 after 62 institutions became charter members.

Which NYU chancellor organised the 1905 meeting of 13 colleges that led to the NCAA?

The follow-on meeting at New York's Murray Hill Hotel drew 62 institutions.

What was the first NCAA national championship, held in 1921?

A basketball championship did not follow until 1939.

Who became the NCAA's first executive director in 1951?

Critics called him 'power-mad' and 'a petty tyrant'; he set up headquarters in Kansas City in 1952.

Where was the NCAA's first national headquarters established in 1952?

The association later moved to Indianapolis.

In what year did the NCAA adopt its three-division structure?

Division I football split into I-A and I-AA five years later.

What were Divisions I-A and I-AA renamed in 2006?

Programs without football were known as I-AAA.

Roughly what share of the NCAA's 2022-23 revenue came from men's basketball tournament TV rights?

That amounted to $945 million of $1.28 billion.

Which body governed women's college sports before the NCAA took over in the early 1980s?

The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women had nearly 1,000 members.

What did the NCAA's failed post-war 'Sanity Code' attempt to regulate?

Its failure helped prompt the hiring of full-time leadership.

How many teams did the NCAA approve for the men's tournament starting in 2027?

The format had been largely unchanged since the 1985 expansion to 64.

In which state was the entire 2021 men's tournament played as a pandemic precaution?

The 2020 tournament had been cancelled outright.

Whose idea was the first NCAA basketball tournament in 1939?

The National Association of Basketball Coaches ran that first event.

The March Madness TV deal running through 2032 carries what annual rights fee?

The contract runs through 2032 across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, held as of 2026 by Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery.

How many schools have won the men's basketball tournament?

UCLA leads with 11 titles, Kentucky has eight, UConn and North Carolina six.

Which team won both the NIT and NCAA tournament in 1950, before that was banned?

The NCAA soon barred teams from entering both events.

In which year were at-large bids first extended in the men's tournament?

Full seeding of the field followed in 1979.

How many brackets did Sports Illustrated estimate are filled out each March Madness?

Bracket contests have made the tournament part of American popular culture.

Which school has won the most Heisman Trophies, with eight?

Ohio State, Oklahoma and Notre Dame each have seven.

Which university had six different players win the Heisman?

Archie Griffin's double win keeps Ohio State's total at seven trophies.

Which two players fought out the closest Heisman vote ever, in 2009?

Ingram became Alabama's first Heisman winner.

Which Heisman winner became an Army brigadier general instead of playing pro sports?

Dick Kazmaier, the other non-pro winner, went to Harvard Business School.

Who sculpted the Heisman Trophy?

The bronze weighs 45 pounds and stands 13 inches tall.

How much does the Heisman Trophy weigh?

It is 13 inches tall and 14 inches long in cast bronze.

Who was the first freshman to win the Heisman, in 2012?

Winston followed a year later; both were redshirt freshmen.

Which two primarily defensive players have won the Heisman?

Both won as defensive backs, in 1997 and 2024.

Which accounting firm tabulates the Heisman vote?

Voting moved almost entirely online after 2007.

How many media voters take part in the Heisman ballot?

They are split into 145 from each of six regions, plus former winners and one fan vote.

Who won the 2025 Heisman Trophy and then went first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft?

The Indiana quarterback capped the Hoosiers' mid-2020s rise.

Which two tight ends have won the Heisman?

Four wide receivers have also won, but never an interior lineman.

Which carmaker's fan survey counted as one Heisman vote as of the 2025 ballot?

ESPN ran the fan poll for the sponsor.

Which six bowls make up college football's 'New Year's Six'?

They rotated as CFP semifinal hosts from 2014 to 2023.

Which independent program is guaranteed a CFP at-large bid if ranked in the top 12 from 2026?

The Power Four champions are also each guaranteed a bid.

Which trophy had been presented to the national champion since the 1990s before the CFP commissioned its own?

The AFCA was contractually obliged to name the BCS champion as Coaches Poll champion.

Which company still owns all CFP trademarks despite the BCS brand being retired?

The playoff itself is run by CFP Administration, LLC.

In the 12-team CFP used in 2024 and 2025, which seeds met in the first round?

First-round games were played at the home fields of the better seeds.

Which sport do the most US schools sponsor, with 2,197 men's and women's teams?

The average university sponsors at least twenty sports.

Under what name was the Big Ten founded in 1896?

It predates the NCAA and is the oldest Division I conference.

How many members did the Big Ten grow to in August 2024?

Four former Pac-12 schools gave it a West Coast presence.

Which is the only full member ever to permanently leave the Big Ten?

Chicago left in the 1940s after dropping big-time football under Robert Hutchins.

Which two Big Ten universities are private?

All other members are public research universities.

Where is the Big Ten headquartered?

The conference's members share $9.3 billion in annual funded research.

The SEC was established in 1932 by 13 members of which older league?

It reached 16 members in 2024 with Oklahoma and Texas.

Which was the first Division I conference to stage a football championship game, in 1992?

The SEC dropped its divisions when Oklahoma and Texas joined in 2024.

Where is the SEC headquartered?

The conference distributed $721.8 million to its schools in 2022.

Which two schools joined the SEC in 2024, taking it to 16 members?

Missouri and Texas A&M had arrived in 2012.

Where is the ACC headquartered?

Its 18 members now stretch from Boston College to Stanford and California.

Which original ACC member left the conference in 1971?

Maryland later left for the Big Ten; Georgia Tech joined in 1979.

On what date was the ACC founded by seven universities?

Virginia joined that December to make eight.

The Big 12 was formed in 1994 from the Big Eight and half of which dissolved league?

Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech made the move; play began in 1996.

Where is the Big 12 headquartered?

Brett Yormark became commissioner in August 2022.

Which four schools joined the Big 12 for the 2023-24 season?

Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado followed a year later as Texas and Oklahoma left.

Which coach coined the Pac-12's nickname 'Conference of Champions'?

The conference has won more NCAA team titles than any other, over 500.

Which two schools were the Pac-12's only full members in 2024-25 and 2025-26?

Seven schools including Gonzaga and Boise State joined for 2026-27.

Which school's 2017 women's crew title was the Pac-12's 500th NCAA championship?

The conference holds a 200-plus title lead over its nearest rival.

What was the Pac-12's earlier name before Colorado and Utah joined in 2011?

It had also been the Big Five, Big Six and Pacific-8.

In which football subdivision do Ivy League teams compete?

The Ivies did not take part in postseason football until 2025.

In which year did the Ivy League officially form as an athletic conference?

The term had been used informally since 1933.

Which Ivy League school was not founded during the colonial period?

The other seven make up seven of the nine colonial colleges.

Where is the Ivy League headquartered?

The eight schools are sometimes called the 'Ancient Eight'.

Which senator wrote the 37 opening words of Title IX?

Representatives Edith Green and Patsy Mink championed it in the House.

After whom was Title IX renamed following her death in 2002?

The Hawaii congresswoman led efforts to protect the law from being weakened.

What percentage of US college students were female when Title IX passed in 1972?

The law bans sex discrimination in any federally funded education program.

Which 2019 California law let college athletes profit from their name, image and likeness?

It prompted similar legislation nationwide and the NCAA's interim NIL policy in 2021.

Which settlement allowed schools to share revenue directly with athletes?

It signalled a shift toward treating athletes as economic participants.

Where was the first College World Series held, in 1947?

It moved to Wichita in 1949 and Omaha from 1950.

At which venue was the College World Series played from 1950 to 2010?

Charles Schwab Field Omaha took over in 2011.

How many teams enter the first round of the Division I baseball tournament that leads to Omaha?

Eight survivors reach the College World Series.

Who holds the trademark on the name 'College World Series'?

MLB licenses it to the NCAA.

Which school won the Division I Directors' Cup 25 straight years until 2020-21?

Texas broke the streak and has traded the cup with Stanford since.

What was the Directors' Cup called under its original sponsor before 2003?

The physical prize is a Waterford Crystal trophy.

How many points does a first-place finish earn in Directors' Cup standings?

Second place earns 90, third 85 and fourth 80.

Which Division II school has won 17 of 20 Directors' Cups since UC Davis moved up?

UC Davis had won six of the first eight before joining Division I in 2003.

Who won the first NIT, in 1938?

The Owls beat Colorado at Madison Square Garden.

Which organisation founded the NIT in 1938?

The NCAA bought the tournament in 2005.

Until 2022, where were the NIT semifinals and finals always played?

Since 2023 the rounds rotate among sites chosen annually.

Which 'Catholic Seven' schools split from the old Big East to form the current conference in 2013?

Butler, Creighton and Xavier joined at launch; UConn rejoined in 2020.

Who founded the original Big East Conference in 1979?

The Providence coach's league became a basketball powerhouse.

Who became commissioner of the Big East Conference in 2013?

The conference is headquartered in New York City.

Which coach won seven claimed national titles, the most in college football history?

His first came at LSU in 2003 before six at Alabama.

Which NFL team did Alabama's future coach lead before returning to college in 2007?

He also led Toledo, Michigan State and LSU.

How did Paul Bryant earn his famous nickname?

His mother wanted him to be a minister; he said coaching was a lot like preaching.

What headwear was Bear Bryant's trademark, even though he usually wore plaid?

He also famously leaned against the goal post during warmups.

How many wins did Bear Bryant retire with in 1982, then a college record?

He also coached Maryland, Kentucky and Texas A&M before Alabama.

How many national titles did Mike Krzyzewski win at Duke?

Only John Wooden has more men's championships.

Under which coach did Krzyzewski play point guard at Army?

He later coached his alma mater from 1975 to 1980.

Which team did Duke beat in November 2011 for Coach K's record-setting Division I win?

The 74-69 game was at Madison Square Garden.

How many career wins did Pat Summitt record, then a college record?

She never had a losing season in 38 years at Tennessee.

What honour did Pat Summitt receive from President Obama in 2012?

She had retired at 59 after an early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis.

At what age did Pat Summitt retire from coaching?

Her 1984 US Olympic team won gold after she took silver as a player in 1976.

How many NCAA titles has Geno Auriemma won at UConn?

He has coached the Huskies since 1985 and led six perfect seasons.

From which Italian town did Geno Auriemma emigrate as a boy?

His family settled in Norristown, Pennsylvania when he was seven.

In which two years did Bobby Bowden's Florida State win consensus national titles?

His Seminoles finished in the AP top five for 14 straight seasons.

Whom did Bobby Bowden beat in his final game, the 2010 Gator Bowl?

He had coached the Mountaineers before Florida State.

How many wins does Joe Paterno hold, the most in FBS history?

His career ended with his dismissal in November 2011.

At which Ivy League school did Joe Paterno play quarterback and cornerback?

He planned on law school before Rip Engle brought him to Penn State in 1950.

Which HBCU did Eddie Robinson coach for 56 years?

He retired in 1997 with a 408-165-15 record.

Which NFL championship game, played in San Diego, was dedicated to Eddie Robinson?

It was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

At which university did Bo Jackson play football and baseball, winning the 1985 Heisman?

He later became the only athlete named All-Star in two major sports.

Which musician co-starred with Bo Jackson in Nike's 'Bo Knows' campaign?

The ads promoted a cross-training shoe named for Jackson.

For which university did Caitlin Clark become Division I's all-time leading scorer?

She led Iowa to two straight national title games.

Which team drafted Caitlin Clark first overall in 2024?

She won WNBA Rookie of the Year and All-WNBA First Team honours.

What did Caitlin Clark achieve as a sophomore at Iowa that nobody had before her?

She repeated the feat as a senior.

What Heisman milestone did Tim Tebow achieve in 2007?

He led Florida to BCS titles in 2006 and 2008.

What did Tim Tebow pursue in the New York Mets organisation from 2016 to 2021?

He returned to the NFL as a Jaguars tight end in 2021 for one preseason game.

Which university's basketball program did James Naismith found in 1898?

He coached Phog Allen, who coached Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith.

Where did Naismith design basketball in 1891?

He earned a medical degree in Denver seven years later.

Where did Amos Alonzo Stagg coach football from 1892 to 1932?

His 1905 and 1913 Maroons were recognised as national champions.

What was Stagg's distinction in the College Football Hall of Fame's 1951 charter class?

He also entered the Basketball Hall of Fame's first class in 1959.

In which country was Knute Rockne born?

He immigrated to Chicago at five and helped popularise the forward pass.

How did Knute Rockne die in 1931?

He was 43 and had won three national titles at Notre Dame.

What is Michigan Stadium's official capacity?

It has hosted crowds above 115,000 and is the largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere.

Which president outlined his Great Society program at Michigan Stadium in 1964?

The stadium hosts the university's main graduation ceremonies.

Which NHL game at Michigan Stadium set the ice hockey attendance record of 105,491?

The Maple Leafs met the Red Wings; a 2014 soccer match drew 109,318.

Which broadcaster nicknamed the Rose Bowl 'The Granddaddy of Them All'?

It was first played in 1902 as the Tournament East-West football game.

What prize do Rose Bowl winners receive?

It honours two former Tournament of Roses presidents.

Which is the only year since 1918 that Michigan and its Columbus rival did not play?

A COVID-19 outbreak on Michigan's team forced the cancellation.

Which coach coined the name 'Iron Bowl' in 1964?

He said Auburn had its bowl game every year in Birmingham.

At which Birmingham stadium was the Iron Bowl played for many years?

Birmingham's iron and steel industry gave the game its name.

What trophy goes to the winner of the Red River Rivalry?

The gold ten-gallon hat was once made of bronze.

Where has the Red River Rivalry been played since 1932?

It is held during the State Fair of Texas at Fair Park.

Why was 'Red River Shootout' renamed 'Red River Rivalry' in 2005?

SBC Communications sponsored the 100th game.

Along which highway, also called Tobacco Road, are Duke and North Carolina about ten miles apart?

They are eight miles apart in a straight line.

After the 2025 edition of The Game, who led the Harvard-Yale series and by what record?

The Game is the third most-played Division I rivalry.

What is the seating capacity of Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium?

It opened in 1940 as Duke Indoor Stadium and was renamed in 1972.

Which architect designed Cameron Indoor Stadium?

He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

What is the official capacity of Rupp Arena?

It opened in 1976, a year before Adolph Rupp's death, and hosted the 1985 Final Four.

Which network has televised the Fighting Irish's home football games since 1991?

The Irish are one of two FBS independents.

How many national championships do the Fighting Irish officially claim?

It has been credited with 22 by various selectors.

Which coach's 'Point-a-Minute' Michigan teams began a 56-game unbeaten streak in 1901?

Michigan claims twelve national titles including 1948, 1997 and 2023.

Who was Alabama's first Heisman winner, in 2009?

Henry, Smith and Young followed in 2015, 2020 and 2021.

Since what year has Nebraska sold out every home game at Memorial Stadium?

Bob Devaney was hired that year and built the Huskers into a power.

Which three Nebraska players have won the Heisman?

The Huskers claim five national titles, including 1994, 1995 and 1997.

Which organisation presents the Wooden Award?

The women's award was added in 2004.

At which university was John Wooden the 1932 national player of the year?

He was the first man in the Naismith Hall as both player and coach.

In which city did the College Football Hall of Fame open in August 2014?

Rutgers had been chosen as the site in 1949 as home of the first game.

Which organisation founded the sport's Hall of Fame in 1951?

It honours players voted first-team All-American by the media.

Where was the Sugar Bowl temporarily moved after Hurricane Katrina?

It has been played in the Superdome since 1975.

Which conference did the Orange Bowl have a strong relationship with from the 1950s to mid-1990s?

The 1979 game even had two Big Eight teams.

Since 1996 the Orange Bowl has been played at which venue?

It began at Miami Field in 1935.

Where did the Cotton Bowl Classic move in 2010?

Goodyear has sponsored the game since 2014.

Which league's champion did the Cotton Bowl host from 1941 to 1995?

After the SWC dissolved it hosted a Big 12 runner-up against the SEC.

Where was the Fiesta Bowl played from 1971 to 2006?

For its first nine editions it invited the WAC champion.

Which snack brand sponsored the Fiesta Bowl from 1996 to 2014?

Vrbo took over sponsorship in 2022.

Since which year has Gonzaga appeared in every NCAA tournament?

That year's Cinderella run reached the Elite Eight.

Which Gonzaga player was co-national player of the year in 2006, averaging 28.1 points?

Frank Burgess had led the nation in 1961 with 32.4 per game.

Kentucky is the only school with how many different coaches winning NCAA titles?

Rupp, Hall, Pitino, Tubby Smith and Calipari all won championships.

How many NCAA titles did Adolph Rupp win at Kentucky?

The program totals eight and holds the best all-time winning percentage.

What NCAA record do the Jayhawks hold with 28 in a row?

They have not missed on performance grounds since 1983.

Who became Kentucky's men's basketball coach in 2024?

The program claims 'The Greatest Tradition in the History of College Basketball'.

How many laterals did California use on the 1982 kickoff return known as 'The Play' against Stanford?

Stanford had just kicked a field goal to lead 20-19 with four seconds left; the Stanford band wandered onto the field mid-return.

The Little Brown Jug of the Michigan-Minnesota rivalry was originally used by which Michigan coach?

The earthenware jug is painted with each team's victories; it is the oldest trophy game in FBS football, dating to 1892.

Floyd of Rosedale, the bronze pig trophy of the Iowa-Minnesota game, began as what in 1935?

Minnesota's Floyd Olson wagered a prize hog with Iowa's Clyde Herring amid tensions over the rough treatment of Iowa star Ozzie Simmons.

Texas A&M's '12th Man' tradition dates to E. King Gill leaving the stands at which 1922 game?

A&M faced top-ranked Centre College; coach Dana X. Bible was short of players, and Gill stood ready on the sideline.

In 2018, which 16th seed became the first to beat a No. 1 seed in the men's NCAA tournament, routing Virginia?

The Retrievers, coached by Ryan Odom, won by 20 points after taking the America East automatic bid.

Which coach's 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers remain the last undefeated men's NCAA basketball champions?

Indiana went 32-0 with three All-Americans for the school's third national title.

Before Paul Bunyan's Axe, Minnesota and Wisconsin played for which trophy that vanished after the 1943 game?

The Axe tradition began in 1948 in what is the most-played rivalry in FBS football, with 135 meetings.

The Florida-Georgia game earned which boozy nickname from a 1958 Florida Times-Union editor?

Bill Kastelz coined it after seeing a tipsy fan cheerfully offer a drink to an on-duty police officer.

Which Minnesota governor offered the live prize pig of the 1935 Iowa bet in a statewide essay contest?

Fourteen-year-old Robert Jones won, though the pig ended up on the Gjerdrum family farm.