Sure, the start of the 2014 college football season is still months away (93 days and counting to be precise, at least on the FBS level), but there was actually some college football played yesterday, for those paying extra close attention.
Southwestern University, a division 3 program in Georgetown, Texas, travelled across the Atlantic Ocean to play an exhibition game in Germany against the Stuttgart Scorpions, a semi-pro team in the German Football League. Southwestern won the game by a score of 48-7, an impressive feat for a team that went 0-10 last season, the first year playing football at the school since 1950 and full of underclassmen. This will likely prove to be a memorable event that will be remembered for years and could help build the football program as well.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, Austria, it was D3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps of Claremont, California taking on the Austrian national team in the Turkish Airways Charity Bowl. The D3 program lost a 21-14 decision.
These trips rarely happen but are allowed under NCAA rules for a foreign tour. Typically the rule only applies to non-scholarship programs, which is why you will never see a Big Ten, ACC, SEC team etc. make a trip of this magnitude. It is a great way to get exposure for programs that rarely get much attention, but more importantly it is a great way to help promote the game internationally. The games receive a good amount of media attention abroad, and the kids going to play in these games come away with an unforgettable experience.
Helmet sticker to Reddit.
