25 college football programs with the most tradition

21. Yale Bulldogs

Yale comes in ahead of Harvard due to the fact the Bulldogs have won close to 50 more games than the Crimson. Yale ranks third on the all-time NCAA list, and they began play in 1872.

While Harvard was a dominant team in the late 1800s, Yale was almost unstoppable. The Bulldogs won 26 titles between 1872 and 1909, a feat that will never be matched in the modern era of college football. Yale also has over 100 All-Americans and two of the first three Heisman Trophy winners were Bulldogs. Yale’s 71,000-seat Yale Bowl was also the first bowl-shaped stadium in the country, built in 1913.

One of Yale’s early coaches, Walter Camp, is referred to as “the father of American football.” Camp played at Yale from 1876 to 1882 (what I wouldn’t do for six years of college) and then became their head coach. It was Camp who successfully began transitioning football away from its rugby roots. He was instrumental in ending the scrum and starting each play with a snap from a line of scrimmage. Today, he is the namesake of one of the awards given to the nation’s best player.

Other famous names to come out of Yale include Amos Alonzo Stagg, an iconic coach, and Pudge Heffelfinger, the first professional football player. Yale and Harvard both have iconic histories, but they have faded from prominence. Their demise began in the 1950s with the creation of the Ivy League and the prohibition of postseason play. Being unable to participate in bowls pushed the schools further away from the spotlight.