1886 college football season
Encyclopedia
The 1886 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Yale
and Princeton
as national champions
.
On Thanksgiving Day in Princeton, NJ, undefeated teams from Yale and Princeton met in a game that was expected to decide the 1886 college football championship. The game started late due to the absence of a referee, and heavy rain caused the game to be called on account of darkness with Yale leading 4-0 in the second half. Under the rules of the time, the game was declared "no contest" by the substitute referee, and the final score was declared to be 0-0. After a special meeting of the Intercollegiate Football Association held to review the game, the Association issued a two-part resolution - that (1) Yale should have been acknowledged the champion, but that (2) under their existing rules, the Association did not have the authority to award the game to them.
Yale Bulldogs football
The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1872...
and Princeton
Princeton Tigers football
The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
as national champions
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
.
On Thanksgiving Day in Princeton, NJ, undefeated teams from Yale and Princeton met in a game that was expected to decide the 1886 college football championship. The game started late due to the absence of a referee, and heavy rain caused the game to be called on account of darkness with Yale leading 4-0 in the second half. Under the rules of the time, the game was declared "no contest" by the substitute referee, and the final score was declared to be 0-0. After a special meeting of the Intercollegiate Football Association held to review the game, the Association issued a two-part resolution - that (1) Yale should have been acknowledged the champion, but that (2) under their existing rules, the Association did not have the authority to award the game to them.