Page "College football" Paragraph 15

College football increased in popularity through the remainder of the 19th century.

It also became increasingly violent.

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to ban the sport following a series of player deaths from injuries suffered during games. The deaths and injuries were a result of the mass formations and gang tackling that characterized the sport in its early years.

The response to this was President Roosevelt calling a conference of thirteen school leaders to come up with a solution to the problems that the game of football was facing.

Resulting from this conference was the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States in 1906.

The IAAUS was the original rule making body of college football, but would go on to sponsor championships in other sports.

The IAAUS would get its current name of National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ), in 1910 which still sets rules governing the sport.

The rules committee considered widening the playing field to " open up " the game, but Harvard Stadium ( the first large permanent football stadium ) had recently been built at great expense ; it would be rendered useless by a wider field.

The rules committee legalized the forward pass instead.

The first legal pass was thrown by Bradbury Robinson on September 5, 1906, playing for coach Eddie Cochems, who developed an early but sophisticated passing offense at Saint Louis University.

Another rule change banned " mass momentum " plays ( many of which, like the infamous " flying wedge ", were sometimes literally deadly ).