In the United States, football has been a popular sport for decades. In Canada, it was introduced in 1969 as a replacement for hockey and became a major source of revenue for Canadian Universities and Canadian Football Clubs. In the United States, many college and high school football programs have spread to other countries, making football a sport with international appeal.
American football is primarily gridiron football, played by professional teams of player players fielded by high schools, universities, and other colleges, or by Canadian clubs field by university athletes. Canadian football, on the other hand, is played in the Canadian Football League (CFL), which is governed by the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and is affiliated with the Canadian Football League (CFL). CIS and CFL teams are each part of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and play in the four tier, fourteen-game season. In the CFL, Canadian teams play against NFL teams in regular season games and in the playoffs.
College football is played in eleven conferences and four divisional divisions. The national championship game is called the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which consists of the National Championship, four automatic bids to the Superbowl and one from the BCS. The three conference championships play in different weekends, with the Conference Championship Game (CCG) played in January. Each team that finishes the regular season with a winning record makes its way into the C-USA Championship game and the winner goes on to play in the C-USA Bowl.
The Bowl game also features two teams from the same conference playing for the C-USA title. The BCS bowls are named after the two conferences from which the conference champion was selected. The Orange Bowl is an all-star game and was first played in 1960.
Both college and football have a major part in high schools, with students taking part in the practices and games of both sports. Sports like basketball, baseball, soccer, track and field, and softball have all become major sports in high schools across the country and are often played before or after school during the school year ends. Many high school athletes play college football, although the number of Division I athletes on high school athletic teams has declined over the years.
Major college and NFL schools are located throughout the nation and there is plenty of competition between these schools. It is important for you to find a college and NFL program that fits your needs and meets your expectations, but be sure to research each of the programs to ensure that are available.