Product Description
John Gerdy offers a critical analysis of how athletic programs can contribute to the mission of a college or university in meaningful ways beyond their roles in providing revenue and entertainment. He explores the history of athletic programs and then offers a philosophical rationale for setting a new standard against which the success of college athletic programs should be measured. Rather than focusing on the level of funds generated, or on the number of championships won, this new standard offers a basis for determining how successful a college athletic program is in helping the institution meet its many challenges and educational goals. ... Read more

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Filled with scholarship opportunities for Women's Soccer. Includes the academic and athletic overview with the coaches name, address, email, phone and other valuable information to help student-athletes find the perfect college or university. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Amazon Shipping
I bought a book and Amazon said 3-5 days to ship...well it's over 2 weeks later and the item is still not shipped.Oh by the way..it is one day past the first estimated delivery date.Probably the worst performance I've ever experienced in delevery and customer service.Perhaps they don't need additional customers...My recommendation is to ONLY order from Amazon as a last resort....Oh yeah....I also emailed their customer service...haven't heard anything....guess they have enough customers already. ... Read more

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This book takes a one of a kind look at what it means, and what it takes to be a head coach in the college arena of the new millennium. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Extremely insightful to every aspect of the game
As I saw in other reviews, the book doesn't always flow within chapters and there are some grammatical errors. However, if you have ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of big-time college basketball programs, this book is a must. The following of each team through their season took a back seat for me. What stood out was how coaches had to stay on top of their game, their players, their team, and their program on a daily basis. After reading this book you will have a much better understanding, and respect, for what coaches go through from year to year. You really get the sense that you are there, in the locker room, and you feel like the coaches are your next door neighbors. I definitely recommend this book to coaches, hoops fans, and sports fans in general.

Really, two books in one
I must be getting old...all the guys who were playing basketball when I was in college are now coaches! I was a college classmate of one of the coaches profiled in this book, so from that perspective I found it interesting, but not terribly well-written. This is really two books in one. First, Curtis profiles the "inside stories" of the coaches and teams at Iowa, Illinois, Notre Dame, and UCLA. But then, he drops in all sorts of little essays on the state of the college game today: how recruiting works, how coaches really make all their money, how influential Dick Vitale is, how the coaches network among themselves to recommend each other for jobs. Each of these could have been a decent book; both together is just a little too much. There also were a number of spelling errors and a few factual errors.

great information -- uninspiring tale
Some very interesting material told in mundane & uninspiring fashion.Either he had his facts wrong or there was sloppy editting on some occasions.Some of the sidebar explanations of refereeing and recruiting covered ground that has been covered by a variety of authors in much better fashion.We learned about the four coaches, but there was never a real emotional attachment for the most part.College hoops junkies will like it, but as another reviewer mentioned, I would definitely recommend John Feinstein's a "Season Inside", "A March to Madness" and "The Last Amateurs".Perhaps the first for insight into Alford, but I would recommend the last two the most .Especially in "The Last Amateurs" I believe that a reader will gain much more emotional attachment to the players & coaches.

If this book caused a reader to break up with a girlfriend... the girlfriend may be better off!

Really good read
This was a really terrific read.The anecdotes about players, coaches, recruiters, officials, and sports reporters are all interesting and some really funny.It's a pretty big book but it reads very fast.The politics of college basketball, from race conflicts, to academics, to the often nasty seduction of recruits, opened my eyes in a big way to these issues that usually get only brief treatment from the media.The coaches that the author followed are pretty stunning characters.I had no idea of the extent of their day-to-day obligations, or their perks.I strongly recommend this book for anybody with even a causual interest in sports.What'll stick with me most for a long time are incredible individual and group moments of pain, and victory, and laugh-out-loud humor.Definitely a good book.

A great look into the NCAA world
This is a great read, even for the not so avid basketball fan...the stories behind the story, the humanization of these high-powered coaches makes for fascinating reading...you need not have an in-depth knowledge of the game...Curtis relays many situations in which the coaches find themselves...It's unbelieveable how he had access to all this information and the insights one gets from this book is just amazing...After reading Curtis" book, I have a greater appreciation for the people connected to the game. ... Read more

Product Description
In this collection of essays, leading national sport authorities including journalists, coaches, athletic directors, and varsity and professional players themselves, talk about what is wrong with sports education today and how it can be improved. Each contributor considers whether public expectations - that sport promotes character development, physical fitness and positive educational and social values - are being met in today's reality. By exploring these long unchallenged notions, the writers ask tough questions like: is a coach or parent screaming at a 6-year-old for missing a fly ball a healthy way in which to introduce a youngster to sport?; just how does an athletic scandal or the low graduation rate of student-athletes positively contribute to the image and educational mission of a university?; what does sport really represent in the age of television, corporate sky boxes and "sneaker deals"?; and how has organized sport become more about the egos of those who coach and administer the programmes than about the personal development of those who participate in them? ... Read more

Product Description
Now, with this book fans can find out whos on top as a team of blue ribbon athletes, coaches, and journalists in the field come together to choose their favourites. With the tremendous increasing popularity of college football a devoted and large audience of college football lovers are sure to embrace this book for themselves and give as a gift to friends and family alike.Amazon.com Review
As the leaves turn to gold, so do thoughts turn from summer games to--you guessed it--football. Perhaps Chris Schenkel said it best: "What a way to spend an autumn afternoon!"

ABC Sports began covering a full season of college football in 1966. Since then many Americans have spent autumn Saturdays gathered around the television listening to Schenkel, Keith Jackson, Bob Griese, Brent Musberger, and more as they call the play-by-play. These broadcasters--along with 25 of their colleagues--made up a blue-ribbon panel to select the greatest college players from 1966 to 1999. The result is ABC Sports College Football All Time All-America Team, a visually stunning, lavishly illustrated book. It opens with two chapters on the history of the game, from the afternoon at Rutgers where football was born to the rise, demise, and resurgence of the two-platoon system and the effect World War II had upon college ball (for example, 31 players took the oath of enlistment into the Naval Air Corps at halftime of the 1942 Cotton Bowl). Then comes the heart of the matter: their picks for the All-America Team, first string, second string, and third string. Number one QB? John Elway. First team RBs? O.J. Simpson, Herschel Walker, and Archie Griffin. Wanna fight about it? Good--debate is welcomed.

Old-schoolers may be put off by the graphically heavy layout (the ESPN generation will love it), but there's plenty of substance behind the style. This book is a handsome addition to the football fan's coffee table. --M. Stein ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The pictures are the only good thing.
I love Keith Jackson. He's one of the top play by play guys to ever do it if not the best. He should have looked around and done some more homework because he is wrong in a lot of places in this book.

I couldn't believe Keith kept with the media favorite Big 10 and Pac 10. Over half of the people on their three all american teams are from this confrence. The favortism is ridiculos. There are also some guys on this team because they were popular with the media. It's a shame they put a lot of guys on this team because of it.

This really is a hard book to try to right because of the favorites people have. It's also a hard book to write because of all the players and all the players from the different decades. There are no way guys from the 50's and 60's could stay with the young men who play in college football today. It's hard to make comparisons.

The pictures in the book are fantastic. It's pretty easy to find this book cheap and pick it up for the pictures alone. There are some great shots and a lot of the quotes in the book are great. They are the only thing that made me able to stomach this.

This book play favorites a lot. It's worth buying for the pictures. Don't buy it to read it. Buy it look at it.

Great walk down memory lane for college football fans
This book is a must-have for the die-hard college football fan.Very well laid-out, lots of good information; and something to interest anyone with an interest in college football.Lots of lists, stories, and pictures.

Younger fans will appreciate the perspective from some of the all-time great players, coaches, and broadcasters; and older fans will appreciate the historical soundness of this book.My only nit to pick with this book is that they insisted on mis-spelling ABC analyst Tim Brant's last name (it's not "Brandt")

All in all, very well done.

All-Time Football Team After 1966
A listing of great football players and teams from 1966 onward is just the tip of the iceberg.The reviewers have to eliminate such greats as Red Grange, Tom Harmon, Knute Rockne, Jim Thorpe, Don Hutson, Dixie Howell, Johnny Mack Brown, Doc Blanchard, Glenn Davis, Bobby Layne, Harry Gilmer, Vaughn Mancha, Shorty McWilliams,Barney Poole and hundreds more football greats who played the game merely for the love of it.The book is fine for those who think football began in 1966, but for those of us who remember the real greats it leaves a lot to be desired.

i love the game
if you like diversity this is the thingits a great book for people whoenjoy the historyand present of the sport

Outstanding!Keith Jackson does not disappoint!
Although not deep in terms of specific stats, games, etc., the context ofthe book, and the overall selection of all-stars from years past are areminder of the true legends of the game.With the growingcommmercialization of the college game, it's refreshing to look back to theguys who played because they loved the game. ... Read more

Product Description

Featuring a new introduction by the author, the paperback edition of Games Colleges Play chronicles the history of intercollegiate athletics from 1910 to 1990 -- from the early, glory days of Knute Rockne and the Gipper to the modern era of big budgets, powerful coaches, and pampered players. John Thelin describes how sports programs -- although seldom accorded official mention with teaching and research in the university mission statement -- have become central to university life. As administrators search for a proper balance between athletics and academics, Thelin observes, this peculiar institution grows increasingly powerful and controversial.

Thelin examines the 1929 Carnegie Foundation Report, the formation of major athletic conferences, the national college basketball scandals after World War II, the dissolution of the Pacific Coast Conference in the 1950s, and the Knight Foundation Report of 1991. He finds disturbing patterns of abuse and limited reform and explores the implications of these patterns for today's college presidents, faculty, and students.

"Games Colleges Play provides historical background that will inform current policy discussions about the proper place of intercollegiate athletics within the American university.

"A welcome book on an important subject. -- "American Historical Review

"An important historical analysis of college sport placed in the broader setting of American higher education. Thelin provides a helpful, if dispiriting, perspective for not only thinking about current problems plaguing college sport but also for understanding why college sport has survived and why university leadership and the sports establishment have resisted major reform efforts". -- Academe

Customer Reviews (2)

A view of college athletics.
Great look into the world of college athletics that you don't see on ESPN.

Gives the readers a real look at what goes on; what's really involved in the world of college sports and the "student athlete".

Great reading.

You think that college athletics have become more show than competition? Well, read this book and come away with what really goes on. Excellent read.

Great college sports book
The book offers a great read on the history of intercollegiate athletics.The specific stories about universities and conferences allow the reader to connect to what is current in the world of college athletics.It is gives a good story of what was going on behind the scenes.It is a good book for policies concerning college athletics. ... Read more

Product Description
SI.com "College Football Mailbag" author Stewart Mandel tackles the ten issues that confound college football fans--with a new chapter on the 2007 season

"An intricate tour through the ills of the college football world (and there are many), but still manages to take on a breezy, airy tone."
----The Quad, NYTimes.com

"Stewart Mandel writes about college football's major controversies with a wit and depth of knowledge that will impress even the most obsessed fans. And because he's both fair and objective, there is something in this book to infuriate nearly everyone."
----Warren St. John, author of the bestselling Rammer JammerYellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania

"In a book dripping with sarcasm, Stewart Mandel plays tour guide on an interesting ride through the college football nuthouse."
----Bruce Feldman, author of Meat Market and senior writer for ESPN the Magazine

"If you're confused by the world of college football, particularly the BCS and how the present polls are conducted, then I will recommend to you Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls."
----Football Outsiders

"Presents history and insights on all aspects of the sport, from recruiting to the bowl system to why certain teams play in certain conferences. A great read for fans with thirty days or thirty years of experience."
----Orlando Sentinel

If your heart beats faster on Saturday afternoons as your team takes the field, this book will give you new insight into the fanaticism and chaos that characterize college football today. Stewart Mandel takes a provocative, hard-hitting look at the hot-button issues: the controversial BCS; the polls and their largely arbitrary rankings; the ego-inflating recruiting craze; cheating and recent scandals; the huge pressures and salaries heaped on coaches; the Heisman hype-fest; the NFL draft; the clunky conference expansions; privileged Notre Dame, college football's greatest juggernaut; and the proliferation of bowl games. You'll get behind-the-scenes insights on how the issues evolved and why some are almost impossible to resolve in a book that's as entertaining, passionate, and thought-provoking as the game itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

A Little Outdated, but a Great Read
This was another book I read for fun.Everyone needs some of these titles, and it was read a little after college football season started.It just made the love for college ball even greater.The book is really good, though a little outdated, but most of the material is still relevant.It is interesting to see some of the predictions or the future not play out as the author describes.He states that Charley Weiss is going to bring the glory back to Notre Dome.As you all know, that was not the case.He talks about the BCS, and the alignment of the divisions, and even states that he did not see any more realignment happening in the near future.Once again, he was dead wrong as this summer, it seemed everything blow up again.The chapter about recruiting was great, as this is one of the areas I am most interested in, and his talk about the Heisman award was interesting.He mentioned the ESPN affect which robbed Peyton Manning of the award.If you love college ball, this is a fun read, and it is interesting after a few years to see how much things have changed, and how little we know about the shifting forces in this game.Great reading for relaxation.

Must Have for an College Football Fan
It is an excellent read.I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the innerworkings and politics of college football.

Fantastic read
Mandel is a terrific writer probably best in college football. A must read for all cfb fans.

Good introductry book
I am a foreigner to the sport of Football but became a fan at my College when I was doing my grad studies. I used to read a lot of websites to keep up with what was happening in the world of College Football & the authors weekly column on SI.com is one of my favorites. However, after seeing his plugs one too many times in the Mailbag about this book I decided to buy it during the off season.

I have to be honest that it really helped me clear up some of the reasons on why the college football world is the way it is. To an outsider a lot of stuff in College Football just does not make sense especially a lack of playoff. [Personally, I dont care about a playoff cause my team does not figure in National Championship talks]

Anyway to cut a long story short, to someone new to the world of college football this serves as a good starting point in describing the history and traditions of the sport. It is written in a humorous & entertaining manner which is characteristic of the author in his Mailbag column on SI.com.

A must-read for all fans of college football, and its detractors as well.
Stewart Mandel draws on his many years of covering college football and lays out all of the sport's flaws as well as why it continues to endear so many of us Saturday after Saturday. His chapters on proliferation bowl games and the inact science of the NFL draft are classics. And it's fun reading. ... Read more

Product Description
For the last eight years, Dan Doyle,founder and executive director of the Institute for International Sport, and parenting expert Deborah Doermann Burch have researched The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting. The Encyclopedia offers prescriptive advice on virtually every issue that confront parents of young athletes of all ages. The research has encompassed an extensive array of surveys with a wide variety of individuals and groups, including present and former athletes; parents and grandparents; non-athletes - and a special survey conducted with 500 highly successful individuals on their views of sport. In his capacity as Distinguished Lecturer for the NCAA Foundation, Doyle has interacted with thousands of student-athletes at the nearly 100 schools at which he has spoken over the last eight years.

Subjects include detailed chapters on issues such as "Playing for a Demanding Coach," "The Unparalleled Value of Team," and "Should My Child Play on a Travel Team?" The text has been reviewed by over 60 distinguished individuals, all of whom have experience in either sports parenting or education. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Must Have Sports Bible
Dan Doyle has written an amazing sports bible for everyone from the parents of youngsters approaching sports for the first time, to the parents of talented Division I prospects. Along the way meticulously researched advice and factual examples abound for everyone. As a teacher I loved the clear instructions and the ethics espoused for parents,coaches, and children alike. As a parent I only wish that I could have gotten his invaluable advice twenty years earlier when my children first went through all the issues he expands upon from good/bad coaches to parental input to sportsmanship to balancing numerous sports to, in our case, college advice for the Division III student-athlete and parent. Kudos to Dan Doyle and to this great book- a must read!

The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting -- A Slam Dunk
Whether you're a student athlete, the parent of an athlete, a sports fan, a fitness-conscious individual, a guidance counselor, a coach, or an armchair athelete, The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting teems with information for all levels and interests of sports.With great insight and near-reverence for the power of sport not only to change lives, but even more importantly, to change the world, Dan Doyle treats readers to an insider's view of the world of sports, a world to which he's devoted his life.
In conducting the research, Doyle plumbed the minds and expertise of hundreds of renowned and respected coaches as well as student athtletes for information about the college recruiting process, the pros and cons of playing Division I or Division III sports, how and when to talk to your child's coach, sports cmap, and so much more.Open to any page and you will be rewarded with advice, statistics, web information, and a host of resources for athletes playing at all levels in this essential sports guide for parents.
The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting makes you feel as if you have your own personal sports consultant at your disposal, 24-7, at a fraction of a sports consultant's fee.Don't miss out.

Lynn Hoffman
Mother of a High School 2-Sport Varsity Athlete, Guidance Counselor

Great book for sports parents and anyone else
Although the title might suggest that this is book is written solely for parents who love sports, that's far from the truth.This is a really good book for parents who are crazy about sports, but also for those who don't know a basketball from a soccer ball.The book covers all of the basics of being a "sports parent," like how to sign your child up for little league and what type of summer camp to enroll them in.For those parents whose kids get more serious, there's plenty of information and advice on navigating high school sports, college scholarships, etc.But most of all, this is a book about parenting.There's a lot of helpful advice on using a kid's sporting experience to teach him or her about hard work, about success and failure, and about competing hard while still treating people fairly.The book is both a practical how-to guide, but also a rich trove of common sense wisdom on raising good kids.

Essential for any parent of a potential sports mega star.
Child Athletes need a brand of special care to be the best they can be - and "The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting" is here to help parents do the best that they can for their young athletes so they get the most they can out of their hobbies. Covering youth sports of all ages - from little league baseball to college football, nothing is left uncovered. Providing advice on encouraging ones children, and giving them the little extra special things they need in their adolescence to do well in youth sports, "The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting" is essential for any parent of a potential sports mega star. ... Read more

Product Description
Despite the increased popularity of professional basketball, college basketball still has a firm grip on most basketball fans. This book looks back at the game that evolved from a set of peach baskets nailed to a wall to today's slam-dunk, in-your-face, trash-talking version, touching on the all-time great players, coaches, teams, and moments along the way. Photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Definitive Book on College Hoops
This is indeed the definite book on college basketball, replacing the now-dated "All the Moves" by Neil Isaacs. "Hoopa" contains the complete story of college basketball across its first full century, with all the necessary rich historical detail, plus the colorfuloncourt and sideline figures who made the game one of the nation's leadingsports spectacles. Detailed accounts of important games and vital rulechanges flesh out the sport's evolution. I highly valuable andnowhere-else-available year-by-year timeline chronicles all of NCAAbasketball's highlight moments. There is also an informative chapter on theevolution of increasingly popular women's college hoops. Perhaps all thatis lacking in this attractive book is an index which might have furtherenhanced an already first-rate effort. This book is an absolute must readfor any dedicated or casual college basketball fan.

Definitive Volume on College Hoops
This is indeed the definite book on college basketball, replacing the now-dated "All the Moves" by Neil Isaacs. "Hoopa" contains the complete story of college basketball across its first full century, with all the necessary rich historical detail, plus the colorfuloncourt and sideline figures who made the game one of the nation's leadingsports spectacles. Detailed accounts of important games and vital rulechanges flesh out the sport's evolution. I highly valuable andnowhere-else-available year-by-year timeline chronicles all of NCAAbasketball's highlight moments. There is also an informative chapter on theevolution of increasingly popular women's college hoops. Perhaps all thatis lacking in this attractive book is an index which might have furtherenhanced an already first-rate effort. This book is an absolute must readfor any dedicated or casual college basketball fan. ... Read more

Product Description
The result of fifteen years of exhaustive research, The USA TODAY College Football Encyclopedia is without question the most comprehensive resource on college football ever set to type.Authors Bob Boyles and Paul Guido love college football with a passion, and undertook to pore through more than 4,000 media guides, watch thousands of hours of game films and read through just about every book ever published on the game to bring this massive reference to fruition.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

College Encyclopedia
Beautifully done and exciting!
Very good action-packed format.
Easy reading and digesting of the facts.
GREAT item for a college football fan.
Steve Gilbert
Denver

Use it as kindling!!!
The book starts out with inaccurate statistics. This has to be on the part of the authors. It is easy to find the winningest teams of all time the list should be accurate. Coverage of the selected teams is poor. For 15 years of research this is garbage. The selection of teams is poor. The top teams are included as they should be. Some of the teams included should rarely be mentioned in the discussion of college football; while some of the of the teams that have been at the heart of the college football discussions over the last ten years are excluded. If you need kindling here you go. If you are interested in college football DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!

As summer yields to fall
...the USA Today College Football Encyclopedia replaces the weathered Baseball Prospectus on my coffee table.

As it's the most comprehensive and up-to-date college football encyclopedia commonly available, it's great that it's so well done. The writing is solid and the information is well-organized and easy to use, whether you are reading for hours at a time or just grabbing it to quickly settle a bet. This year, Boyles and Guido have even developed an advanced statistic called the College Football Performance Formula, providing a useful tool for comparing teams across different eras.

Starting with the 1953 season, each chapter contains a brief summary of the season as a whole, followed by "milestones" such as rule changes, conference reconfigurations, and coaching changes. Next comes a week-by-week analysis of the season (focusing on 10 or 12 games each week), including poll results and BCS standings as applicable, followed by the final standings of the major conferences, summaries of the major bowl games, and year-end stats leaders. Finally there are profiles of a few of the most interesting college football "personalities" of each year, a list of award winners, and the first seven rounds of the NFL draft. After the "Year" chapters comes nearly 600 pages of individual team profiles, including all-time stats leaders, historical records, and scores and lineups for each season.

Whether you're a sabermetrics-loving stats geek or just an old school fan, no college football book belongs on your shelf more than this one.

Awesome if you're a stats junkie like me!
This is an awesome reference book if you are a stats Junkie like me.I love going back and looking at how different college teams did way back when.Baylor and Vanderbilt's futility and Michigan's dominance.What is truly great about this reference source is that they list all the starters by position and take you back to some of the best games college football had to offer.It's like a "little" time machine.A must have for any Saturday afternoon football watcher; and the price can't be beat. ... Read more

Product Description
In college football circles, the first Wednesday in February is New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July, and Christmas all rolled into one. It’s payoff time for a year spent screening miles of videotape and probing mountains of data, balancing the promise of a dazzling 40-yard-dash time against the perils of a putrid GPA, and text-messaging high schoolers 50 times a day. It’s the day when coaches across the country camp out in front of their fax machines waiting for their football futures to be decided by a bunch of 18-year-olds.

It’s National Signing Day.

In this surprising and unprecedented dissection of college football’s secret season, author Bruce Feldman takes you deep inside the war room of Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron, the combustible Cajun who built national championship teams at the University of Miami and USC before setting up shop in the Deep South. In a blow-by-blow account of the year leading up to National Signing Day 2007, Feldman reveals the inner secrets of Orgeron’s success, recounting every step along the way as Orgeron and his Ole Miss staff pick 25 winners from a list of 1,000 names.

Meat Market makes the actual football season—the one that runs from September through January—read like a postscript. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Not very well thought out
I read this book because I'm a big sports fan and am interested in the topic.And, I mildly enjoyed reading it and felt like I learned a little about the subject; but, my primary feeling about it is that it's not a well thought out way to address the subject.Maybe the author wrote it this way because it was easier - he had good access to Coach O.And, I don't mind him using his inside access to glean information, but I wonder how realistic the picture he saw and wrote about is.He presents Coach O as a very hard worker who toes the line on recruiting rules.I wonder if his competitors see him this way?I doubt it, but maybe the author could have expended the effort to find out and present that view.In other words, did he just get worked by Coach O?

Also, I think the book would have been a lot better if the author had placed the most emphasis on the process from the recruit's standpoint.This way the reader could see how the process is carried out by various schools, coaches, etc.In other words, if the author had just kind of alternated chapters between Coach O and his staff and the recruit being pursued by them and others, it could have been a lot better.And, that's the real problem with this book - it's just not a lot better.

Very good book
Ton of insight into the building of a program. Feldman is a good author who covered this subject well.

Inside The war Room
Truely enjoyed the inside look at Ole Miss recruiting. A great account of college football in the Deep South.

Snooze fest
As a casual sports fan I thought this book would provide some insight into the world of big time college football recruiting. Instead I was subject to page after page of mind numbing details about watching game film, making phone calls and moving players names around a board. This book could have lost 90% of the 320 pages and still have been too long.

Like college football? You'll enjoy this book!
This was a great read--spent a couple of days of my Spring Break on it and found it thoroughly enjoyable. Coach O was a better recruiter than he was a call-player. Otherwise, he might still have a job at Ole Miss. ... Read more

Product Description
12th Edition to Women's Soccer - this guide is the most comprehensive guide to sports colleges and sports scholarships available.

Learn how to be proactive in your college search and how to communicate your interest to college coaches across the USA. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive step-by-step "how-to" guide to thecollege selection process. Learn how to utilize your academic andathletic accomplishments to obtain a college scholarship, how toeffectively communicate with college administrators and coaches.Findout how to select a college or university that best fits youracademic, athletic, finaicial and geographic needs.

Not sure how to apply to a college or university program?The collegeworkbook will guide you each step of the way and help you find aprogram that will fit your short and long term needs. ... Read more

Product Description
A thorough examination of the sport's "Golden Era," a time when factors both on and off the field combined to transform the game.

Shaping College Football is the story of the intercollegiate gridiron sport in the years immediately after World War I when the game underwent monumental changes that transformed it into one of America's fundamental sporting attractions and a commercial entity that would be recognizable to any twenty-first century fan.

Raymond Schmidt examines the many factors that were a part of college football's reshaping in the 1920s as universities became dependent upon the revenue being generated by football, and the sport increasingly became identified as a commercialized, big business activity. Offering the most detailed examination ever undertaken of college football's "Golden Era," Schmidt covers issues ranging from the shift of power away from the game's pioneering schools, through the real evolution of forward passing, to stadium building and the decade-long struggle over the game's growing over-emphasis that culminated in the legendary Carnegie Report of 1929. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Oh What a Game They Played
Looking for a good read? Hooked on college football? Interested in knowing how college football matured into today's national spectacle?
If so, you have to read Raymond Schmidt's history of football in the 1920s (college football because the NFL was still in its infancy). Whether it's the Haskell Indians, traditionally African-American schools, or the rising Catholic powers, Schmidt ranges far and wide. He portrays a gridiron landscape no longer dominated by the traditional eastern schools (think Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, and Army). The Midwest flanked by the South and West Coast now became the regions that produced big-time coaches,teams,and star players.
Schmidt's research is truly remarkable. No doubt most of us know something of the Golden Age of Sport--the age of prosperity and consumerism that produced sports legends like Knute Rockne and Red Grange. Yet how many are familiar with the bitter controversies that raged after Grange quit college to join the Chicago Bears? Or the national football machine created by Knute Rockne consisting of former players turned coaches who fed him insider information. Or the forward passes (just legalized in 1906) like burgeoning aircraft that filled the gridiron stratosphere.
Not that there weren't controversies and scandals. Schmidt airs the endless disputes and the conniving by teams for whom winning had become obsessive. The University of Iowa, a flagrant example, accumulated a slush fund that brought the wrath of today's Big Ten down on its head--not a conference team, many of them also tainted, would play the Hawkeyes. In 1929, the Carnegie Commission catalogued the numerous sins against the "amateur ideal." Unfortunately for the Commission, the report was released the same week as the stock market crash.
By 1930, the world of football, as Schmidt views it, was far closer to today's game, practices, and strategy than the pre- or immediately post-World War I version. As if to bookmark the end of an era, Knute Rockne died in an airplane crash after the 1930 season. Schmidt shows how Rockne personified the myth and reality of big-time football--and how the outpouring of tributes to Rockne illustrates the enormous power of its transformation.
"Indeed, that period from 1919 to 1930," Schmidt writes," had served to radically reshape the sport and lay the groundwork for most of what has transpired within intercollegiate football since that time, and it was truly the game's age of Transormation." ... Read more