The Rowing Association of American Colleges (1870 to 1894) the first collegiate athletic organization in the United States, was a body governing
college rowing. Upon organization by the captains of the leading crews of the day, they devised a primary rule of eligibility: that only undergraduate students should be eligible to represent their college in the regatta. To this day, despite numerous amendments and additions, this rule remains the very foundation of the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
rules of eligibility.
Collegiate regatta
This table lists the winners of the marquee events of the championship regattas conducted by the RAAC from its founding through 1894.
On June 30, 1876 Harvard and Yale raced eight-oared boats with coxswains over a 4-mile course on the
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...
.Afterward "the Harvard six left for Saratoga. Yale does not row there, and Harvard will not after this year, but the eight-oared bout between Yale and Harvard, so successfully inaugurated to-day, will undoubtedly become an annual and permanent institution."
["College Regatta: Yale and Harvard Eight-Oar Crews Try Conclusions. The Contest Takes Place on the Old Connecticut River Course." ''Chicago Daily Tribune''. July 1, 1876.]
From 1871 to 1875 Harvard and Yale did not race head-on. Both participated in the RAAC university race from 1872 to 1875 (as Harvard did also in 1871 and 1876), and the
Harvard–Yale Regatta
The Harvard–Yale Regatta or Yale-Harvard Boat Race (often abbreviated The Race) is an annual rowing race between the men's heavyweight rowing crews of Harvard University and Yale University. First contested in 1852, it has been held annually s ...
recognizes Harvard–Yale varsity races to be incorporated in those RAAC championships.
Notes
See also
*
Intercollegiate Rowing Association
The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs intercollegiate rowing between varsity men's heavyweight, men's lightweight, and women's lightweight rowing programs across the United States, while the NCAA fulfills this role for women's ope ...
*
Poughkeepsie Regatta
The Poughkeepsie Regatta was the annual championship regatta of the U.S. Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) when it was held in Poughkeepsie, New York from 1895 to 1949.
History
The IRA was established by Cornell, Columbia, and Pennsylva ...
*
National Association of Amateur Oarsmen
The National Association of Amateur Oarsmen, organized in 1872, was the first national governing body of the sport of rowing in the United States, and the first American sports organization to publish a definition of "amateur". Before the NAAO, re ...
1872 National Association of Amateur Oarsmen. The Effect of New York's Elite Athletic Clubs
References
College rowing in the United States
1870 establishments in the United States
1894 disestablishments in the United States
{{Rowing-stub