Flag football is a variant of gridiron football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. In flag football, contact is limited between players. The sport has a strong amateur following with several national and international competitions each year sponsored by various associations but is most popularly played in America where it was invented. The international governing body for the sport is the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). In 2022, flag football was shortlisted as a proposed discretionary event for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with inclusion being accepted on October 16, 2023.
William Stephen Belichick is an American sports analyst and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the New England Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, for a record eight combined total Super Bowl victories as coach and coordinator. A renowned American football historian, Belichick is often referred to as a "student of the game" with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of each player position. During his tenure with the Patriots, Belichick was a central figure as the head coach and de facto general manager during the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
Saratoga High School is a grade 9–12, public high school located in Saratoga, California. In 2021 it was ranked No. 1 Best College Prep Public High School in California according to Niche.
Troy Darnell Vincent Sr. is an American sports executive and former professional football player. He played as a cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Dolphins as the seventh overall pick in the 1992 NFL draft. He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023. On September 28, 2011, Vincent was named as one of the preliminary nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2012 in his first year of eligibility and each year since.
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its dedicated national sports cable channels. Formerly operating as "a service of NBC News", it broadcasts a diverse array of sports events, including the Premier League, the IndyCar Series, NASCAR, the National Football League (NFL), the NBA, Notre Dame football, Big Ten football and basketball, the Olympic Games, professional golf, the Tour de France, Thoroughbred racing, and the WNBA among others. Other programming from outside producers – such as coverage of the Ironman Triathlon – is also presented on the network through NBC Sports. With Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, its own cable sports networks were aligned with NBC Sports into a part of the division known as the NBC Sports Group.
William James O'Brien, nicknamed "the Teapot", is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Boston College. Previously, he was the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020, and at Penn State from 2012 to 2013. Prior to Boston College, O'Brien was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama and for the New England Patriots. After the Patriots parted ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick at the end of the 2023 season, O'Brien was not retained by the team.
Brian Michael Daboll is a Canadian-American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Buffalo Bills. Daboll has also served in various capacities as an assistant coach for the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2006 and again from 2013 to 2016.
Denver Johnson is an American football coach and former player. Johnson was the head football coach at Murray State University from 1997 to 1999 and at Illinois State University from 2000 to 2008, and Missouri Southern State University from 2015 to 2018 compiling a career college football record of 72–99. Formerly, he was the offensive line coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2011 to the end of the 2014 season. Johnson was let go when head coach Bill Blankenship was fired on December 1, 2014.
The Legends Poll was a poll that rated the Top 25 teams weekly during the college football season. Its aim was to identify the two best teams in its opinion by the end of the season who should compete in a national championship game. The voters were a group of retired coaches, most of whom were in the College Football Hall of Fame. The Legends Poll was founded by Andy Curtin in 2005 as the Master Coaches Survey, but changed its name in 2008 to better reflect the make-up of its voting members. Curtin and his partner, Pete Wolek implemented the original plan and operated the Legends Poll since its inception. The Legends Poll was published by ESPN and the Sporting News.
Division 1-A Rugby is the highest level of college rugby within the United States and is administered by USA Rugby. Division 1-A rugby is modeled after NCAA athletic competitions, with the 40 D1-A rugby schools divided into seven conferences: East, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, California, Big Ten, Lonestar River, and Independent.
Stefon Marsean Diggs is an American professional football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft.
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of college football competition in the United States. It culminates in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The inaugural tournament was held at the end of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season under a four-team format. The CFP Board of Managers voted in 2023 to expand the playoff to twelve teams beginning in 2024, an arrangement that will last at least through the end of the 2025 season. After 2025, the current contract between all major players expires and a new contract will be drawn up, with indications that additional expansion may take place as soon as 2026.
Suzette Maria Taylor is an American sportscaster for NBC Sports. She has worked for ESPN and the SEC Network. She has covered college football, college volleyball, National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and men's and women's college basketball.
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II is an American professional football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Mahomes has led the Chiefs to six consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances and four Super Bowl appearances since becoming the team's starting quarterback in 2018. He is one of five quarterbacks in NFL history to win three or more Super Bowls as a starter. Mahomes' career accolades through seven seasons in the NFL have earned him widespread praise from sports journalists, and he is considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
Joshua Patrick Allen is an American professional football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys and was selected seventh overall by the Bills in the 2018 NFL draft.
William Trevor Lawrence is an American professional football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospects, he won the 2019 National Championship Game as a freshman with the Clemson Tigers and set the school's record for quarterback wins. Selected first overall by the Jaguars in the 2021 NFL draft, Lawrence had a breakout season in 2022 when he led the Jaguars to their first division title and playoff win since 2017.
Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones is an American professional football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Jones played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he set the NCAA season records for passer rating and completion percentage as a junior en route to winning the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. He was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Ja'Marr Anthony Chase is an American professional football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, where he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship as a sophomore. Selected fifth overall by the Bengals in the 2021 NFL draft, Chase was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a second-team All-Pro after setting the rookie record for single-game receiving yards en route to an appearance in Super Bowl LVI.
Gabriel Davis is an American professional football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCF and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft. Davis has been nicknamed "Big-Game Gabe" due to his performance in important games.
The 2023–24 College Football Playoff was a single-elimination postseason tournament that determined the national champion of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the tenth edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP) and involved the top four teams in the country as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll playing in two semifinals, with the winners of each advancing to the national championship game. Each participating team was the champion of its respective conference: No. 1 Michigan from the Big Ten Conference, No. 2 Washington from the Pac-12 Conference, No. 3 Texas from the Big 12 Conference, and No. 4 Alabama from the Southeastern Conference. Significant media criticism arose from the exclusion of Florida State, the first undefeated Power Five conference champion to be left out of the CFP.
