Sprint football
Encyclopedia
Sprint football, formerly called lightweight football, is a varsity sport
played by United States
colleges and universities, under rules similar to American football
. The sport is currently governed by the Collegiate Sprint Football League.
Unlike conventional collegiate football which places a premium on body weight and strength, sprint football emphasizes speed and agility. Players must maintain a weight of 172 lbs or less and a minimum of 5% body fat to be eligible to play.
CSFL rules require that players must meet a 172-pound weight, that they also must have a minimum body fat content of 5.0% by weight and a urine specific gravity
of 1.020 or less. Players with a body fat of under 5% must weigh no more than 165 pounds. The body fat requirement exists to discourage players from losing excessive weight. League rules specify official weigh-ins four days and two days before each game with players allowed to gain back weight after meeting the weight limit. Body fat and urine are tested once during the preseason.
As of 2012, there are eight teams in the CSFL; of the eight, six are private universities (three being schools in the Ivy League
), and two are national military academies; currently Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is the only state university or college playing sprint football. Each team plays a seven game season. In addition, Army, Cornell, Princeton, and Penn all hold alumni games in which sprint football alumni return to campus for a full-contact scrimmage against the varsity squad. The alumni games serve the dual purpose of raising funds to support the team and maintaining alumni interest in the program. Typically, the alumni have to donate a monetary weight penalty (e.g., $2 per pound) for weighing above the 172-pound limit.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
played by United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
colleges and universities, under rules similar to American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
. The sport is currently governed by the Collegiate Sprint Football League.
Unlike conventional collegiate football which places a premium on body weight and strength, sprint football emphasizes speed and agility. Players must maintain a weight of 172 lbs or less and a minimum of 5% body fat to be eligible to play.
Competition
| School | Year joined |
|---|---|
| University of Pennsylvania Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 27 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing.-Men's crew:-Football:... |
1934 |
| Princeton University Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf... |
1934 |
| Cornell University Cornell University Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions... |
1937 |
| US Naval Academy Navy Midshipmen The United States Naval Academy sponsors 30 varsity-sports teams and 12 club-sports teams . Both men's and women's teams are called Navy Midshipmen or "Mids"... (Navy) |
1946 |
| US Military Academy Army Black Knights Army Black Knights is the name of the athletics teams of the United States Military Academy. They participate in NCAA Division I-A as a non-football member of the Patriot League, a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school, and a member of Atlantic Hockey, the Collegiate Sprint... (Army) |
1957 |
| Mansfield University | 2008 |
| Post University Post University Post University is a small university located in Waterbury, Connecticut. Post University was established in 1890. Prior to May 1990, it was known as Post College... |
2010 |
| Franklin Pierce University | 2012 |
CSFL rules require that players must meet a 172-pound weight, that they also must have a minimum body fat content of 5.0% by weight and a urine specific gravity
Specific gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance. Apparent specific gravity is the ratio of the weight of a volume of the substance to the weight of an equal volume of the reference substance. The reference substance is nearly always water for...
of 1.020 or less. Players with a body fat of under 5% must weigh no more than 165 pounds. The body fat requirement exists to discourage players from losing excessive weight. League rules specify official weigh-ins four days and two days before each game with players allowed to gain back weight after meeting the weight limit. Body fat and urine are tested once during the preseason.
As of 2012, there are eight teams in the CSFL; of the eight, six are private universities (three being schools in the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
), and two are national military academies; currently Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is the only state university or college playing sprint football. Each team plays a seven game season. In addition, Army, Cornell, Princeton, and Penn all hold alumni games in which sprint football alumni return to campus for a full-contact scrimmage against the varsity squad. The alumni games serve the dual purpose of raising funds to support the team and maintaining alumni interest in the program. Typically, the alumni have to donate a monetary weight penalty (e.g., $2 per pound) for weighing above the 172-pound limit.
Notable players and coaches
- The Cullen family has been sprint football's leading advocates. Robert Cullen revived the Cornell team as its coach in 1946 following a suspension for World War II. His son, Terry CullenTerry CullenTerry Cullen is the head sprint football coach at Cornell University.Cullen was raised in Ithaca, New York, where he played football and baseball in high school. He graduated from Hobart College with a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics in 1964. At Hobart, he was a four-year starter at...
became offensive coordinator in 1965 and co-head coach in the 1970s, and continues in that position. - George AllenGeorge Allen (football)George Herbert Allen was an American football coach in the National Football League and the United States Football League. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.-Early life:...
, the NFL Hall of Fame coach, most notably with the Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, was an assistant sprint football coach at the University of Michigan in 1947. - Donald RumsfeldDonald RumsfeldDonald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
, the former Secretary of Defense, played sprint football for Princeton and was a captain. - Jimmy CarterJimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, former President, played for the United States Naval Academy. - Robert KraftRobert KraftRobert K. Kraft is an American business magnate. He is the Chairman and was the Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio...
, businessman and owner of the New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
and the New England RevolutionNew England RevolutionThe New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada... - Jack CloudJack CloudJack Martin Cloud was an American football linebacker and fullback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990....
. College Football Hall of Fame in 1990, drafted in the sixth round of the 1950 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers and played two seasons in Green Bay (1950–51) and two seasons with the Washington Redskins (1952–53). Cloud served one year as an assistant football coach at William & Mary and was the head coach and athletic director at Naval Station Norfolk from 1955-58. Cloud came to the Naval Academy in 1959 and spent the next 32 years in Annapolis coaching football and teaching in the Physical Education Department. He served as the head lightweight (now called sprint) football coach from 1958–61, 1963–72 and 1980–82, compiling an impressive 83-13-3 (.854) record and eight league championships - Eric TiptonEric TiptonEric Gordon Tipton was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Cincinnati Reds...
- College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1965. Major League Baseball outfielder (1939–1945). Tipton was an assistant baseball and football coach at the College of William & Mary for 18 seasons, and then was the head baseball coach and Lightweight football coach at the United States Military Academy. In 20 seasons his Army baseball teams were 234-201-5 with 3 league titles. His Army Lightweight football teams were 104-14-1 - a .878 winning percentage - with 13 league titles - still unsurpassed. - Bill WagnerBill WagnerWilliam Joseph Wagner was an American baseball catcher. He was born in 1894 in Jesup, Iowa. Wagner played five seasons in Major League Baseball and was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1914–1917 and the Boston Braves in 1918. He played in 93 career games with 50 hits and 1 home run on a...
- Coach for over 40 years of the Penn Sprint Football team. During his tenure, Wagner was honored in 2002 when his name was put on the trophy that goes to the highest Ivy League finisher in the CSFL each year-the William R. Wagner Trophy. Wagner has had great success over the last few years capped by this past season, where his team went 6-1 and were named CSFL Co-Champions. The 2010 Quakers were also the recipient of the William R. Wagner Trophy, given to the highest placing Ivy League School. Prior to this season, he led the Quakers to a 4-3 mark in 2009 and 5-2 overall record in 2008-but achieved no greater accomplishment than an undefeated 6-0 season in 2000, the program's first perfect season since 1931. It was also the first time the Red and Blue defeated Army and Navy in the same season. Since 1996, Wagner has won over 70 percent of his games (66-28) and recorded a 41-26 CSFL (formerly Eastern Lightweight Football League) mark.
External links
- Official league website
- Official Cornell sprint football page
- Official Penn sprint football page
- Official Army sprint football page
- Official Navy sprint football page
- Official Mansfield sprint football page
- Official Princeton sprint football page
- New York Times article about Sprint Football
- Cornell Daily Sun article about Sprint Football
- Post University to Add Sprint Football Program for Fall 2010