Sprint Football - Competition

Competition

As of 2012, there are seven teams in the CSFL, plus one (Franklin Pierce University) probationary expansion team whose games will not count toward league standings; of the eight, five are private universities (three being schools in the Ivy League) and two are national military academies; currently Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is the only state university or college playing sprint football. All eight teams are located in the northeastern United States. Three teams have been added since the 2008 season; none of the new additions have full-size varsity football teams. The other five teams (all of which have been in the CSFL since 1957) have full-size football teams that compete in NCAA Division I—the service academies in the top-tier FBS, and the Ivy League schools in the second-level FCS. Each team plays a seven game season. It is not uncommon for the CSFL teams to play against full-size junior varsity squads from other schools (in 2012, for instance, the Army sprint team scheduled a game against SUNY Maritime); this was generally more common before the CSFL began expanding in 2008. In addition, Army, Cornell, Princeton, and Penn all hold alumni games in which sprint football alumni return to campus for a full-contact scrimmage against the varsity squad. The alumni games serve the dual purpose of raising funds to support the team and maintaining alumni interest in the program. Typically, the alumni have to donate a monetary weight penalty (e.g., $2 per pound) for weighing above the 172-pound limit.