Saturday, September 4, 2010

College Football Season Begins

Today, in USA, football season in all the universities begins. That is American College Football Season. There are lot of interests and enthusiasm with the Americans on College football games. Sometimes more than the professional games.

(Blue Uniform is Berkeley and White Uniform is Stanford)

I have already written that professional football in USA requires people to graduate from college before they are eligible to become professional. Therefore people start to watch college players with keen interest. Also, there are many die hard college alumni.

Tickets for these college games are not cheap. The stadiums can accommodate anywhere between 40,000 to 100,000 people. The average cost of a ticket is $80. They play 12 games. 6 at home and 6 away from home.

There is always the big rivalry between two teams. I will mention a few of them:

University of California, Berkeley vs Stanford University

Army (United States Military Academy at West Point) vs Navy (United States Naval Academy at Annapolis)

University of Texas at Austin vs University of Oklahoma

University of Alabama vs Auburn University

University of Michigan vs The Ohio State University

What do these universities do with the huge amount of money collected from football games? They use this money to award scholarship (full and partial) to deserving other students.

Next time, you or your relative or a friend get a scholarship at a U.S. university, please remember these college football players.
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30 comments:

  1. AparnaSeptember 4, 2010 at 12:47 AM

    That's nice of the universities to keep the money to give scholarships. :)

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  2. chitraSeptember 4, 2010 at 5:01 AM

    That was an informative post. Good work.

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  3. Latha NairSeptember 4, 2010 at 6:02 AM

    Liked the scholarship part of it!

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  4. NRIGirlSeptember 4, 2010 at 7:33 AM

    Thank you for the information SG! Wouldn't have come across it otherwise...

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  5. SanandSeptember 4, 2010 at 8:25 AM

    Very informative and interesting.

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  6. Emily, Ruby Slipper JourneysSeptember 4, 2010 at 8:52 AM

    Well, the scholarships are a good thing... shame the sport is so tedious!

    I taught English at a Mexican university last year and half the class was from the football team. They stood to lose their scholarships if they failed even one single course and guess what? Loads of them still managed to fail. Even the ones who spoke English. Sorry, this is unrelated, I think those kids ruined football for me--they certainly ruined English teaching!

    I was interested to read all the places you'd lived. The States is one place I hardly know at all! My boyfriend was offered a job in Saudi Arabia last year, but we didn't go on account of not being married...

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  7. shuchitaSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:21 AM

    quite informative I did not know you were required to be a graduate before becoming a professional, and awarding full scholarship is a very good thing

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  8. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:38 AM

    Thanks for your comments Aparna. Yes they do award scholarships to many students from this money. Some people complain more scholarships are awarded to foreigners than Americans.

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  9. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:38 AM

    Thanks for your comments Chitra. I am glad you found this post informative.

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  10. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:39 AM

    Thanks for your comments Latha. Yes it is nice that they award scholarships.

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  11. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:40 AM

    Thanks for your comments NRIGirl. I am glad you found this post informative.

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  12. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:40 AM

    Thanks for your comments sanand. I am glad you found this interesting.

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  13. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:45 AM

    Thanks for your comments Emily. I understand what you are saying. Many of the football playing students are not academically bright. They concentrate on football. They spend 4 years at a U because it is the requirement to become a pro. Not all can turn out to be a pro.

    You gave me an idea to write couple of posts. I will write one on Salt Lake City, Utah, and another one on living in Saudi Arabia. I would say you and your boy friend are lucky.

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  14. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:47 AM

    Thanks for your comments Shuchita. Yes, in USA to become a professional player, you have to have a 4 year college education. Of late, some people have successfully challenged that rule.

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  15. RahulSeptember 4, 2010 at 10:53 AM

    thats a nice insight..would like to know if football games are the only means to provide Scholarships?for eg: does university has grants to fund scholarships?

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  16. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 11:14 AM

    Thanks for your comments Rahul. Football games are not the only source of income for the universities. But it is a major source. Some of the others are: tuition fees, alumni, donations from big companies, donations from very rich private individuals. The universities invest these funds and grow them.

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  17. GeetaSeptember 4, 2010 at 7:58 PM

    The rivalry does not stop with the games.
    I know a few who would not send their kids to UofMichigan from Ohio, well knowing that former way better than later.

    These are the ones I love watching - TX and Oklahoma; Ohio and Michigan.

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  18. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 8:27 PM

    Thanks for your comments Geeta. Finally a blog friend who can "talk" football with me.

    Interested to know who you root for?

    Sooners or Longhorns?
    Fighting Woolverines or Buckeyes?

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  19. kiran sawhneySeptember 4, 2010 at 9:45 PM

    Intriguing and informative post. Got to know how the universities give scholarships.

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  20. SGSeptember 4, 2010 at 9:52 PM

    Thanks for your comments Kiran. I am glad you found this post useful.

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  21. SandhyaSeptember 5, 2010 at 6:01 PM

    I didn't know much about football. My son who is over there and the one who is here are crazy about football, just like they are/were(!) about cricket.

    Was interesting to read about it, here, SG!

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  22. SGSeptember 5, 2010 at 6:45 PM

    Thanks for your comments Sandhya. I am glad your sons are into American football. Now I know where to go for partying on Super Bowl day next year.

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  23. AmritSeptember 5, 2010 at 8:38 PM

    Very informative.

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  24. SGSeptember 5, 2010 at 9:01 PM

    Thanks for your comments A. I am glad you found this post informative.

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  25. SamvednaSeptember 5, 2010 at 11:52 PM

    Thyis is a good way of generating funds and supporting sports.

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  26. Felicity Grace TerrySeptember 6, 2010 at 4:46 AM

    Not a game I knew a lot about so thanks for educating me.

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  27. SGSeptember 6, 2010 at 9:28 AM

    Thanks for your comments Samvedna. I am glad you liked this post.

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  28. SGSeptember 6, 2010 at 9:29 AM

    Thanks for your comments Tracy. I know, coming from UK, you are not familiar with this game. This is almost like rugby.

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  29. M'Bai MadrasiSeptember 7, 2010 at 2:23 AM

    great to know about such games that also prove useful in something besides entertainment.....:-)
    great work!

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  30. SGSeptember 7, 2010 at 3:21 PM

    Thanks for your comments Revathi. And, welcome to my blog. I am glad you liked this post.

    Revathi, please visit here as often as possible. Thanks.

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