Nihon Phoenix football

Last updated
Nihon Phoenix football
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2023 Nihon Phoenix football team
NihonPhoenix.jpg
First season1940 (1940)
Last season2023 (2023)
Location Tokyo, Japan
Conference Kantoh Collegiate American Football Association
DivisionDivision 1 (Top 8)
Claimed national titles4
Conference titles20
ColorsRed and White
   
Website NihonPhoenix.com

The Nihon Phoenix football program, established in 1940, represented Nihon University in college football from 1940 until 2023. A member of the Kantoh Collegiate American Football Association, Nihon Phoenix football was a powerhouse in Japan's college football along with the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters for four decades. [1]

Contents

In December 2023 Nihon University disbanded the team after several students from the team were arrested on suspicion of using cannabis. [2]

Features

Nihon has won the Koshien Bowl 21 times, [3] including 5 in a row when Mikio Shinokake was the team's head coach. Shinokake adopted the shotgun formation as the team's basic offensive formation. He often had played the team's best athlete as a quarterback in the formation, and the QB would play the dual role of both quarterback and tailback. The strategy worked very well because the size and the power of Japanese defenders had not been big nor strong enough to injure the QB, making the defenders confused whether the quarterback intended to pass the ball or keep the ball for qb draw. Nihon sometimes used the Dragonfly formation which is a variation of the shotgun formation where two quarterbacks are aligned at the same time in the formation. These QBs also play the dual role of QB and tailback, then it is almost the same as if four players were aligned in the backfield. Nihon scored two touchdowns using the formation against the College of William & Mary at the Ivy Bowl in 1993.

The Phoenix have also won the Rice Bowl four times. [3]

Controversies

2018: Dirty tackle

The Nihon University Phoenix has played friendly exhibition games against the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters for forty years, and during an exhibition match on May 6, 2018, a defensive player of Phoenix tackled a quarterback of Fighters from behind at least two seconds after throwing an incomplete-pass. [4] [5] The quarterback was forced to leave the game. [5] Also, the defender committed three fouls in the match. [4] However, he was in tears at the bench after substituted off. [5] Just after the match, the Phoenix head coach commented on the defender's plays as if he approved of the fouls or encouraged the players to commit them. [4] This dangerous illegal late-hit and the coach's comment stirred a national controversy. [4] [5] [6]

Ex-NFL line-backer Masafumi Kawaguchi pointed out that he'd never seen anything like the late-hit that became a problem. [5] The Kwansei Gakuin University formally protested to the Nihon University, [5] and accused Nihon of intentionally trying to hurt the quarterback. [6] Daichi Suzuki, the chief of the government's Japan Sports Agency, launched an inquiry and called the play into question. [7]

The quarterback was damaged in his spine. [6] The defender who injured him was obviously ordered to make dirty tackles by Nihon Phoenix coaches, [8] and later admitted it in public according to his conscience. [9] The head coach of Nihon, nevertheless, denied that he had ordered his players to play dirty and resigned as coach without giving veracity in explain. [7] [10] Anger spread in nation-wide. [1]

Reporters of New York Times speculated that this controversy related to deep-rooted cultural dynamics including what the Japanese call “power hara”. [8]

2023: Cannabis possession

In August 2023 police searched a dormitory linked to Nihon Phoenix on suspicion of possession of cannabis, after the university found pieces of a plant and pills there the previous month. [11] The university suspended the team's activities in September after a member of the team, 21-year-old Noriyasu Kitabatake, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a stimulant. [12] [13] The following month a second player, 21-year-old Akira Yabe, was arrested for allegedly violating Japan's special drug law. Around the same time, it was reported that notes from an August meeting of university executives suggested ten or more members of the team may have used cannabis. [14]

On November 22, 2023, the board of Nihon University recommended the resignation of President Takeo Sakai and Vice President Yasuhiro Sawada to take responsibility for the cannabis scandal, while Mariko Hayashi, chair of the Board of Trustees, agreed to a 50% pay cut. In their recommendation, the board cited an independent investigative report stating that the university waited twelve days between discovering the suspected cannabis products and contacting police, resulting in the loss of public trust in the university. [15] Sakai and Sawada's resignations were later formalized effective March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. [16] On November 27 police arrested a third player of the team, 21-year-old Rinto Fujitsu, on suspicion of purchasing illegal drugs. [17]

Disbandment

On November 29, 2023, two days after the third cannabis-related arrest, Japanese news sources reported that Nihon University was planning to disband its American football team after a history of 83 years. [3] [16] On December 15, in an extraordinary session of the board of directors, Nihon University formally announced the disbandment of the team. The decision came despite appeals from current members of the American football team, as well as petitions to reconsider the disbandment submitted both by them and their rivals from Kwansei Gakuin University. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Anger Spreads after College Football Violence". Nippon Hoso Kyokai. 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  2. 1 2 "Japanese university to disband scandal-hit American Football club". Kyodo News. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Japan university to disband scandal-hit American football club". Kyodo News. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Dangerous plays by Nihon University defender rock college football" . Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dangerous illegal tackle of university quarterback ordered by head coach: sources" . Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "Japanese college football coach resigns over controversial hit" . Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Nihon University coach Masato Uchida quits over controversial play" . Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "The Football Hit Felt All Over Japan". New York Times. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  9. ↑ "Nihon University player Taisuke Miyagawa says coach ordered dirty tackles". Japan Times. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  10. ↑ "Veracity lacking in explanation by coaches". Japan Times. 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  11. ↑ "Police search Nihon University gridiron team dorm over cannabis". Kyodo News. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Scandal for Nihon University as football player busted for drugs". The Asahi Shimbun. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Nihon Univ. suspends American football team again over cannabis allegations". Kyodo News. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "Drug scandal at Nihon University American football club seen spreading" . www.japantimes.co.jp. Jiji Press. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Nihon University Recommends President, Vice President Resign". Jiji Press. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  16. 1 2 "Nihon University formalizes resignation of president, vice president". NHK World-Japan. 30 November 2023. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "3rd Nihon Univ. Football Club Member Nabbed for Drugs". Jiji Press. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
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