The 1871 college football season is the only year since the first season in
1869
Events
January–March
* January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan.
* January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional Soccer, football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded.
* January 20 & ...
in which no games were played.
Princeton did play several games against a
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...
team in 1871, although the Tigers considered these "practice" (or exhibition) games, and the general convention is not to count these as official games.
[Mel Smith]
"We're Not That Kind of School"
, ''College Football Historical Society Newsletter'', May 2003, p. 12-13.
Only two
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
games had been played in each of the previous seasons (1869 and
1870
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England.
** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed.
* January 3 – Construction of the Br ...
) by only three teams (,
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...
, and ).
Because no games were played, 1871 is the only year since college football play began in which no
college football national champion has been named, retroactively or otherwise.
References
{{NCAA football season navbox