sprint football in the NYTimes

[Ben Rocky '04]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/sports/ncaafootball/15sprint.html

Half the country must be shaking their heads at how zany this is.

[Beeeej]

I've known about Cornell's sprint football program for a long time, but are there really only five programs in the country?!

[Lauren '06]

[quote Beeeej]I've known about Cornell's sprint football program for a long time, but are there really only five programs in the country?![/quote]
Well I certainly thought they played more than that in a season, but looking at their schedule, I guess not.  I know VMI only started their program last year.

[ugarte]

The Wikipedia entry doesn't mention any programs other than the six in Cornell's league.

[Ben Rocky '04]

VMI isn't in any of the schedules, which confuses me.  Yet wikipedia couldn't be wrong....:-}

[David Harding]

My interest has been piqued.  

My 1972 yearbook lists the schedule as Navy, Rutgers, Penn, Army, Columbia, and Princeton, and they called it "Lightweight Football."  A 4-2 record waas good for 3rd in the Eastern League.

A Princeton web page ( http://www.princeton.edu/~sprintfb/sprintHistory.html ) lists the original (1934) league members as Cornell, Lafayette, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Rutgers, Villanova and Yale.  

A Washington Times article from three years ago notes the drop from seven founding teams to five.  http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030917-114947-1057r.htm  They say Michigan once had a team.

[RichH]

[quote David Harding]My interest has been piqued.  

My 1972 yearbook lists the schedule as Navy, Rutgers, Penn, Army, Columbia, and Princeton, and they called it "Lightweight Football."  A 4-2 record waas good for 3rd in the Eastern League.[/quote]

It was certainly known as "lightweight football" during my first few years on the hill.  Maybe my Junior or Senior year, it was known as 150 (which contradicts the current limit of 175).  I think the term "Sprint football" came into being in the late '90s.

And the only teams I remember playing were Army, Penn, Navy, and Princeton.  The word in bold because of the various "activities" happening in West Stands whilst getting band priority points for hockey.  We my have visited the QB's frat brothers and their keg at some point after running after our fine fortified wine products.

*cough*  good times.

[David Harding]

The weight limit has crept up over the years.  150 -> 162-> 175.

[jtwcornell91]

[quote Ben Rocky 04]VMI isn't in any of the schedules, which confuses me.  Yet wikipedia couldn't be wrong....:-}[/quote]

The correct statement is that Wikipedia shouldn't wrong.  If you know it is, you should fix it. ;-)