---
title: "Intercollegiate Football Championship Established"
year: 1869
country: "United States"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1869/first-college-football-1869"
slug: "first-college-football-1869"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1869-01-01"
---

# Intercollegiate Football Championship Established

> The first American college football match between Rutgers and Princeton formalized the sport and launched collegiate athletics.

## Summary

College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football first gained popularity in the United States.

## Sources

- [Intercollegiate football](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_football) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1869/first-college-football-1869