List of historically significant college football games

Here is a list of college football games of great historical significance. The games featured in this list are individual contests in the realm of college football that have left a lasting mark on the sport.

To be featured on this list, a game must boast notable historical "firsts" or have had a substantial influence on the sport. This influence might stem from significant rule alterations or the introduction of enduring traditions. Historically significant games should hold a prominent place in comprehensive historical narratives of college football. Games that might be significant exclusively to the fan base of a specific team should be excluded from this list.

Games are arranged in chronological order, with the name of the victorious team displayed in bold.

Game	Home	Visitor	Location	Final score	Notes
1869 College of New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game	Rutgers	College of New Jersey	College Avenue Field, New Brunswick, New Jersey	6–4 [1]	The first intercollegiate football game. [2]
1873 Eton Alumni at Yale	Yale	Eton Alumni	New Haven, Connecticut	1-2	The Eton Alumni convinced the Yale team to play with eleven players, rather than the conventional fifteen to twenty. Henceforth, Yale would lobby for eleven-man teams, a rule ultimately adopted by the Intercollegiate Football Association in 1880. [3]
1874 Harvard vs. McGill football game	Harvard	McGill	Jarvis Field, Cambridge, Massachusetts	0–0	First rugby football game in the United States and the game that led to the predominance of rugby over Association Football in America. [4] Harvard played three games against McGill in 1874. [5] The first was May 14 and played under the Boston Rules, which were essentially modified Association rules that allowed the circular rubber ball to be carried in some limited circumstances. The second, this game, was May 15 and played under rugby rules with a rugby-style ball. As a result of the second game, Harvard switched from its Boston Game to rugby using Rugby Union rules. [6]
1875 Tufts vs. Harvard	Harvard	Tufts	Jarvis Field, Cambridge, Massachusetts	0–1g, 1td	First rugby football game between US colleges. [7]
Concessionary Rules Game	Yale	Harvard	Hamilton Park, New Haven, Connecticut	0-4	November 13, 1875 - First meeting between Harvard and Yale. Like Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers, Yale played football by Association football rules; i.e., soccer, while Harvard played rugby. Compromise rules resulted in a game more of rugby than of Association. Convinced that rugby is a superior game, Yale switches to it next year. In the audience were two members of the College of New Jersey (Princeton) team, who were also convinced of the superiority of rugby. They lobby for, and in 1876 succeed, in having Princeton switch to rugby. With the three most influential football colleges all playing rugby, it becomes the dominant form of American football by 1877. [8]
1879 Michigan vs. Racine football game	Michigan	Racine College	White-Stocking Park, Chicago, Illinois	1g, 1td–0	First college football game in the Midwest.
1880 Kentucky University vs. Centre football game	Kentucky University	Centre	Lexington, Kentucky (Stoll Field)	13¾–0	First rugby-style game in the South. [9]
Princeton-Yale Block games, 1880-81	neutral	neutral	Polo Grounds, New York City	0-0	Taking advantage of a loophole in the new rules of 1880, Princeton maintains possession of the football for the entire game, resulting in a 0-0 tie. The following year, both Yale and Princeton use the same strategy, with another scoreless tie the result. These games force a rule change in 1882, the downs-and-yards to go system, thereby defining the critical distinction between rugby and American football. [10]
1881 Harvard vs. Michigan football game	Harvard	Michigan	Boston, MA	1t-0	First intersectional game. [11]
1884 Lafayette vs. Lehigh football game	Lafayette	Lehigh	Easton, Pennsylvania	56–0	First game of the Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry, the most-played rivalry in American college football history. [12]
1884 Dartmouth vs. Yale football game	Dartmouth	Yale	Hanover, New Hampshire	113–0	First game where one team scored over 100 points. [13]
1889 Wofford vs Furman football game	Wofford	Furman	Spartanburg, South Carolina	5-1	First football game in the Deep South.
1890 Navy vs. Army football game	Army	Navy	West Point, New York	0–24	First Army–Navy Game
1892 Wyoming Seminary vs. Mansfield State Normal football game	Wyoming Seminary (high school)	Mansfield State Normal	Mansfield, Pennsylvania	0–0	First nighttime football game played under lights. [14]
1892 Biddle vs. Livingstone football game	Livingstone	Biddle	Salisbury, North Carolina	0–5	First black college football game. [15]
1893 Army vs. Navy football game	Navy	Army	Annapolis, Maryland	6–4	First documented use of a football helmet by a player in a game. [ citation needed ]
1897 Virginia vs. Georgia	Georgia	Virginia	Atlanta, Georgia	4–17	The game in which Richard Von Albade Gammon sustained the injuries which killed him, and nearly caused the banning of the sport in Georgia.
1902 Tournament East-West football game	Stanford	Michigan	Pasadena, California	0–49	First bowl game [16]
1905 Michigan vs. Chicago football game	Chicago	Michigan	Chicago, Illinois	2–0	Ended Michigan's 56-game unbeaten streak.
1906 Saint Louis vs. Carroll football game	Carroll (Wisconsin)	Saint Louis	Waukesha, Wisconsin	0–22	First regular season game with the first legal forward pass. [17]
1907 Chicago vs. Illinois football game	Illinois	Chicago	Champaign, Illinois	6–42	First game to have a halftime show featuring a marching band. [18]
1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game	Missouri	Kansas	Columbia, Missouri	3–3	First homecoming football game. [19] The game was "broadcast" play-by-play over telegraph to at least 1,000 fans in Lawrence, Kansas. [20]
1913 Notre Dame vs. Army	Army	Notre Dame	West Point, New York	13–35	Brought national attention to the use of the forward pass as a viable weapon. [21]
1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game	Georgia Tech	Cumberland	Atlanta, Georgia	222–0	Most lopsided victory in college football history and most lopsided American football game that has a well documented result. [22]
1921 West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh football game	Pittsburgh	West Virginia	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	21–13	First live radio broadcast of a college football game, October 8, 1921. [23]
1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game	Harvard	Centre	Boston, Massachusetts	0–6	Widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history. [24]
1922 Michigan vs. Vanderbilt football game	Vanderbilt	Michigan	Nashville, Tennessee	0–0	Michigan coach Fielding Yost and Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin were brothers-in-law, and the latter the protege of the former. The inaugural game at Dudley Field featured the season's two best defenses. Michigan was a heavy favorite to win but Vandy managed a goal line stand to preserve a tie. The game's result was "a great surprise to the sporting world." [25] It features prominently in Vanderbilt's history. [26] Commodore fans celebrated by throwing some 3,000 seat cushions onto the field.
1922 Princeton vs. Chicago football game	Chicago	Princeton	Chicago, Illinois	18–21	First game to be nationally broadcast on radio and considered a hotly contested game. Had Princeton dubbed the "Team of Destiny." [27]
1922 Alabama vs. Penn football game	Penn	Alabama	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	7–9	Alabama, a southern school, upset an Eastern power, one of the 'big four', in Penn.
1926 Rose Bowl	Washington	Alabama	Pasadena, California	19–20	The game is commonly referred to as "the game that changed the south." Many historians recognize it as the most important game in southern football history. [28]
1929 Rose Bowl	California	Georgia Tech	Pasadena, California	7–8	The decisive moment in the game came when Cal's All-American center Roy Riegels scooped up a Georgia Tech fumble and ran in the wrong direction towards his own goal line, earning him the dubious nickname, "Wrong Way".
1939 Waynesburg vs. Fordham football game	Fordham	Waynesburg	New York, New York	34–7	First televised football game. [29]
1940 Cornell–Dartmouth football game	Dartmouth	Cornell	Hanover, New Hampshire	3–0 (3–7)	Game is known for an officiating error that resulted in a postgame reversal of the outcome. Referees inadvertently allowed Cornell to attempt a "fifth down" play on which Cornell scored a game-winning touchdown. After the error was discovered during postgame film review, Cornell forfeited. Compare to 1990 Colorado-Missouri game. [30]
1941 Oklahoma City vs. Youngstown football game	Youngstown State	Oklahoma City	Youngstown, Ohio	48–7	First use of the penalty flag by game officials. [31]
1943 Notre Dame vs. Michigan football game	Michigan	Notre Dame	Ann Arbor, Michigan	12–35	First college football game between the #1 (Notre Dame) and #2 (Michigan) teams in the nation, as determined by the AP Poll (since its inception in 1936). [32]
1947 Harvard vs. Virginia football game	Virginia	Harvard	Charlottesville, Virginia	47–0	Harvard tackle Chester Pierce became the first African-American player to play against an all-white team in a game south of the Mason–Dixon line. [33]
1948 Cotton Bowl Classic	SMU	Penn State	Dallas, Texas (Cotton Bowl)	13–13	The first interracial bowl game played in the United States (January 1, 1948). [34]
1951 Duke vs. Pittsburgh football game	Pittsburgh	Duke	Pittsburgh, PA	14–19	The first nationally televised college football game and the first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast. [35]
1952 Rose Bowl	Stanford	Illinois	Pasadena, California	7–40	The first nationally televised college football bowl game. [36]
1956 Sugar Bowl	Georgia Tech	Pittsburgh	New Orleans, Louisiana	7–0	First African American player, Pitt's Bobby Grier, to break the color barrier in the segregated Deep South. [37]
1957 Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma football game	Oklahoma	Notre Dame	Norman, Oklahoma	0–7	Notre Dame's victory ended Oklahoma's 47-game winning streak, which remains the longest winning streak in NCAA Division I-A/FBS history. [38]
1962 Rose Bowl	UCLA	Minnesota	Pasadena, California	3–21	First nationally televised college football game in color. [39]
1963 Rose Bowl	USC	Wisconsin	Pasadena, California	42–37	First college football bowl game between the #1 (USC) and #2 (Wisconsin) teams in the nation, as determined by the AP [32] and UPI polls.
1963 Maryland vs. North Carolina State football game	Maryland	North Carolina State	College Park, Maryland	14–36	Maryland receiver Darryl Hill became the first African-American to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the first to play in any of the "big" Southern conferences (ACC, SEC, Southwest Conference). [40]
1963 Army vs. Navy football game	Army	Navy	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	21–15	First time any sports broadcast used instant replay. [41]
1967 Kentucky vs. Indiana football game	Indiana	Kentucky	Bloomington, Indiana	12–10	Kentucky running back Nathaniel "Nate" Northington became the first African-American scholarship athlete to play any sport in the Southeastern Conference. [42] [43] [lower-alpha 1]
1967 Ole Miss vs. Kentucky football game	Kentucky	Ole Miss	Lexington, Kentucky	13–26	A week after Northington made his overall debut, he became the first African-American scholarship athlete to play in a game involving two SEC teams. [45]
1967 UCLA vs. USC football game	USC	UCLA	Los Angeles, California	21–20	National live network color television broadcast of a conference championship for a Rose Bowl appearance, the two top candidates for the Heisman Trophy (UCLA's Gary Beban and USC's O. J. Simpson) facing each other in a conference rivalry game, which also was the de facto college national championship. [46] [47] [48]
1968 Alabama vs. Miami (Fla.) football game	Miami (Fla.)	Alabama	Miami, Florida	6–14	First regular-season college football game nationally televised in prime time. [49]
1968 Yale vs. Harvard football game	Harvard	Yale	Allston, Massachusetts	29–29	Both teams entered their season-ending rivalry game undefeated and untied, with the Ivy League championship on the line. Down 22–0 in the first half, Harvard made an improbable comeback and tied the game — including 16 unanswered points in the final minute. The game is the subject of the documentary film Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 , a reference to the Harvard Crimson headline. [50]
1969 Florida A&M vs. Tampa football game	Tampa	Florida A&M	Tampa, Florida	28–34	The first interracial football game in the South. It was the pivotal game in the desegregation of college football. Before a sellout crowd of 46,000, A&M won the game, in what may well have been the largest mass act of desegregation since emancipation. It pitted the Florida A&M Rattlers, long one of the dominant teams among black colleges, against the Tampa Spartans, a rising power that was overwhelmingly white. [51] [52] [53]
1970 USC vs. Alabama football game	Alabama	USC	Birmingham, Alabama	21–42	USC opened the season visiting the University of Alabama under legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and became the first fully integrated team to play in the state of Alabama. [54] The game, scheduled by Bryant, resulted in a domineering 42–21 win by the Trojans. More importantly, all five touchdowns scored by USC team were by African-American players, two by USC running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham, against an all-white Crimson Tide team. [55] The game hastened the racial integration of football at Alabama and in the South. [56]
1971 TCU vs. Baylor football game	Baylor	TCU	Waco, Texas	27–34	On October 30, 1971, TCU coach Jim Pittman collapsed on the sideline in Waco shortly after the annual game between the Horned Frogs and Bears began. The game was continued after Coach Pittman was taken by private car to the hospital as the ambulance had already taken a dizzy school official to the hospital and had not yet returned. Coach Pittman was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The TCU and Baylor players were informed at halftime, and it was decided to honor Coach Pittman's memory by finishing the game, which TCU rallied to win 34–27. This remains the first, and to date only, time in college football history that a coach died on the field during a game. [57] [58] [59] [60]
1975 Ohio State vs. Minnesota	Ohio State	Minnesota	Columbus, Ohio	38–6	In a game that saw the Ohio State Buckeyes win 38–6 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, eventual two-time Heisman trophy winner Archie Griffin rushes for 124 yards, [61] setting the current NCAA record for Most Consecutive Games Gaining 100 Yards or More in a Career
1976 Pioneer Bowl	Morgan State	Grambling	Tokyo, Japan (Korakuen Stadium)	16–42	First college football game played in Asia. [62]
1982 Northwestern vs. Northern Illinois football game	Northwestern	Northern Illinois	Evanston, Illinois	31–6	Northwestern ends its 34-game losing streak, [63] which remains the longest losing streak in FBS/1-A history.
1982 California–Stanford football game	California	Stanford	Berkeley, California	25–20	Game is well known for its final play, known simply as "The Play" – a kickoff return in which California used a series of laterals to score the game-winning touchdown as time expired. Thinking that the game was over, Stanford's marching band had come out onto the field before the play had concluded. The picture of California's Kevin Moen plowing into oblivious Stanford trombone player Gary Tyrrell upon scoring the game-winning touchdown remains one of the most iconic images in college football. "The Play" is recognized as one of the most memorable plays in college football history. [64] In addition, it denied Stanford quarterback John Elway and the rest of the team a chance to play in a bowl game. Stanford and California fans continue to dispute the results.
1987 Fiesta Bowl	Penn State	Miami (Fla.)	Tempe, Arizona	14–10	Game is known for changing the landscape of college football bowl games. Due to the bidding war that began, and both Penn State and Miami being independent, the Fiesta Bowl won out and then became a high-profile bowl. It is also the highest rated championship game in history, recording a 24.9 Nielsen rating (more than 70 million viewers); no college football game has gotten that kind of ratings, before or since. This game was billed as the classic good versus evil matchup. Highlighted by Penn State's defense intercepting Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde five times, including one with 18 seconds left near the end zone. [65]
1990 Colorado–Missouri football game	Missouri	Colorado	Columbia, Missouri	31–33	Game is known for an officiating error that had far-reaching implications. On the game's final drive, the referees inadvertently allowed Colorado to attempt a "fifth down" play on which the Buffaloes scored the game-winning touchdown as time expired. Aided in part by the controversial victory, Colorado completed a 10-win season and was awarded the AP National Championship. Compare to 1940 Dartmouth-Cornell game. [66]
1992 SEC Championship Game	Florida	Alabama	Birmingham, Alabama	21–28	After the SEC expanded to 12 schools, it became the first college football conference to host a so-called "exempt" championship game—i.e., one which did not count against NCAA limits on regular-season contests. [67] [lower-alpha 2]
1994 Whammy in Miami	Miami (Fla.)	Washington	Miami, Florida	20–38	The loss ended Miami's NCAA-record 58-game home winning streak. [68]
1995 Illinois vs. Wisconsin football game	Wisconsin	Illinois	Madison, Wisconsin	3–3	Last tie game in NCAA Division I-A. [69]
1995 Las Vegas Bowl	Nevada	Toledo	Whitney, Nevada	37–40	First overtime game in NCAA Division I-A. [70]
1997 Linfield vs. Willamette football game	Willamette	Linfield	Salem, Oregon	27–0	Kicker Liz Heaston becomes the first woman to play and score points in a college football game [71]
1998 Bethune-Cookman vs. Virginia State football game	Bethune-Cookman	Virginia State	Daytona Beach, Florida	63–57 (8OT)	Bethune–Cookman finally defeats Virginia State after 8 overtimes, the longest college football game. [72]
1998 Prairie View A&M vs. Langston football game	Langston	Prairie View A&M	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	12–14	Prairie View's win ended the Panthers' NCAA all-division record 80-game losing streak. [73]
2001 Cumberland vs. Jacksonville State football game	Jacksonville State	Cumberland	Jacksonville, Alabama	72–10	Ashley Martin becomes the first woman to play and score in an NCAA football game and the second woman to play and score in a college game in any division. [74]
2002 Las Vegas Bowl	New Mexico	UCLA	Whitney, Nevada	13–27	Katie Hnida becomes the first woman to play in a Division I-A bowl game, kicking an extra point attempt that was blocked. [75]
2003 New Mexico vs. Texas State football game	New Mexico	Texas State	Albuquerque, New Mexico	72–8	Katie Hnida becomes the first woman to score in a Division I-A game when she kicks two extra points against Texas State University in the fourth quarter of a 72–8 New Mexico win. [76]
2003 Stillman vs. West Alabama football game	West Alabama	Stillman	Livingston, Alabama	24–17	Tonya Butler becomes the first woman to kick a field goal in an NCAA football game. [77] [78]
2005 Fiesta Bowl	Pittsburgh	Utah	Tempe, Arizona	7–35	Utah becomes the first non-BCS Conference team to appear in and win a BCS Bowl game by blowing out Big East champion Pittsburgh 35–7. The performance of Utah QB Alex Smith propelled him to becoming the #1 overall draft pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Utah would eventually become a member of the Pac-12 Conference in 2011.
2006 Michigan State vs. Northwestern football game	Northwestern	Michigan State	Evanston, Illinois	38–41	The 2006 Michigan State vs. Northwestern football game featured the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I FBS history. The Spartans rallied to score 38 unanswered points to beat the Wildcats 41–38 after falling behind 38–3 with 9:54 left in the 3rd quarter.
2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game	Michigan	Appalachian State	Ann Arbor, Michigan	32–34	First win for an NCAA Division I-AA/FCS team over a ranked Division I-A/FBS opponent. As a result of the loss, #5 ranked Michigan dropped out of the Top 25 AP poll, marking the first time a team had dropped from the top five to out of the poll in one week. In the aftermath of the game, the Associated Press amended their polling policy to make FCS teams eligible for the AP Poll, which had previously been limited to FBS teams. [79]
2007 Navy vs. Notre Dame football game	Notre Dame	Navy	Notre Dame, Indiana	44–46 (3OT)	Navy's triple-overtime victory over Notre Dame ended the Fighting Irish's 43-game winning streak over the Midshipmen, which is still the NCAA FBS record for most consecutive victories against one opponent. [80]
2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game	Millsaps	Trinity	Jackson, Mississippi	24–28	Commonly called "Lateralpalooza" – Trinity threw 15 laterals and scored a 60-yard touchdown to win a game against the Millsaps Majors as time expired in the game, producing "the longest play in college football history." [81]
2009 SEC Championship Game	Alabama	Florida	Atlanta, Georgia	32-13	First and so far, only conference championship game that featured two undefeated teams, and second conference title game to feature top two-ranked teams. Game has also been often considered the beginning point of the Alabama dynasty.
2010 Fiesta Bowl	Boise State	TCU	Glendale, Arizona	17–10	First BCS bowl game played between two non-BCS, or non-AQ, teams, as well as the first BCS bowl game where both teams were undefeated heading into the game. Boise State won the game when Doug Martin got a two-yard touchdown with 7:21 left in the fourth quarter to make it 17–10.
2011 Kilimanjaro Bowl	Drake	Mexico all stars	Moshi, Tanzania	17–7	First college football game played on the continent of Africa. [82]
2012 St. John's (MN) vs. Hamline football game	Hamline	St. John's (MN)	Saint Paul, Minnesota	10–55	In his final season, St. John's (MN) head coach John Gagliardi won his 489th career game, the most by any college football coach in history. [83] [84]
2014 Virginia Tech vs. Wake Forest football game	Virginia Tech	Wake Forest	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	3-6 (OT)	The most recent regulation scoreless tie in Division I college football. The two teams missed field goals during the game, but scored the first points of the game in the first extra period. In the second overtime, the Hokies lost 11 yards and missed a 53-yard field goal attempt, and the Deacons responded with three rushes for a total of four yards before the 38-yard field goal to win the game. [85]
2015 Portland State vs. North Texas football game	North Texas	Portland State	Denton, Texas	7–66	Portland State's 59-point win is the largest margin of victory of a FCS/I-AA team over a FBS/I-A opponent since NCAA Division I football split into two subdivisions in 1978. [86]
2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol	Tennessee	Virginia Tech	Bristol, Tennessee	45–24	Largest single-game attendance in American football history, with 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway. [87]
2016 Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh football game [88]	Pittsburgh	Syracuse	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	76–61	Most points scored in a game involving Division I-A/FBS opponents during the regulation four quarters of play since the NCAA began keeping records in 1937. [89]
2017 Howard vs. UNLV football game	UNLV	Howard	Whitney, Nevada	40–43	FCS school Howard was a 45-point underdog to UNLV, making the Bison's 43–40 victory the largest point spread upset in college football history. [90] [91]
2017 Western Michigan vs. Buffalo football game	Western Michigan	Buffalo	Amherst, New York	71–68 (7OT)	Set new combined scoring record in an FBS game (139 points) and tied the record for most overtime periods (7). [92]
2018 Texas A&M vs. LSU football game	Texas A&M	LSU	College Station, Texas	74–72 (7OT)	Set the combined scoring record for any FBS game (146 points); tied the most overtime periods in FBS history (7). [93]
2019 North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech football game	Virginia Tech	North Carolina	Blacksburg, Virginia	43–41 (6OT)	The first college game to fully implement overtime rules newly adopted in 2019, in which the fifth and all subsequent overtime procedures consist of two-point conversion attempts (and, if successful, are scored as such). [94] [lower-alpha 3]
2021 Illinois vs. Penn State football game	Penn State	Illinois	State College, Pennsylvania	20–18 (9OT)	First FBS game to reach 9OT. [95]
2022 Houston vs. SMU football game	Houston	SMU	Dallas, Texas	77–63	The score established an NCAA record for the most total points scored during regulation. The game equaled the record for the most touchdowns thrown by a single quarterback in a single half. [96]
2023 College Football Playoff National Championship	Georgia	TCU	Inglewood, California	65–7	Georgia set a new record for most points scored in a national title game and the record for the largest margin of victory in any FBS postseason game. [97] [98]
2023 Eastern Washington vs. Fresno State football game	Fresno State	Eastern Washington	Fresno, California	34–31 (2OT)	This was the first FBS game to be broadcast over linear television exclusively in Spanish. [lower-alpha 4] [99]
2023 Juniata vs. Shenandoah football game	Shenandoah	Juniata	Winchester, Virginia	48–7	In the first quarter, Haley Van Voorhis came on to the field as a safety for Shenandoah, becoming the first woman ever to play a non-kicking position in NCAA football. [100]

See also

• History of American football
• Game of the Century (college football)
• AP Poll#No. 1 vs. No. 2
• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of college bowl games
• College football on television
• College Football Hall of Fame
• List of NCAA football records
• Bowl Championship Series
• List of NCAA conferences
• List of college athletic conferences in the United States
• List of the first college football game in each US state

Footnotes

1. The "scholarship" distinction is important here because Northington was not the first African-American athlete to play in the SEC. In March 1966, more than a year before Northington's Kentucky football debut (and also nearly six months before Northington initially enrolled at Kentucky), Tulane baseball player Stephen Martin had become the first African American to play any sport in the SEC. However, Martin was then a walk-on who was attending Tulane on an academic scholarship. Another reason why Martin has been overlooked as an SEC integration pioneer is that Tulane left the conference immediately after Martin's first baseball season of 1966. ^[44] It should also be noted that Northington was not the only African-American SEC scholarship athlete to make his debut in the 1967–68 school year; Perry Wallace made his varsity debut for Vanderbilt basketball later in 1967.
2. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, an NCAA Division II league, had held a conference championship game before the SEC did, and was directly responsible for the NCAA rule change that allowed the SEC to hold its title game. However, the PSAC discontinued its title game prior to the 1988 season, the first in which "exempt" championship games were allowed, and did not reinstate its title game until 2008.
3. Many games earlier in the season had gone into overtime, but all had ended before a fifth overtime procedure was needed.
4. English-language TV coverage was exclusively via streaming, with audio being a simulcast of Fresno State's English-language radio coverage.

References

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