NCAA

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was formed in 1910, and has since grown into a non-profit association of 1,281 institutions that organizes the athletic programmes of most colleges in the United States and Canada.

The NCAA is pivotal to American sports, as well as being a novel idea for society. Unlike sport in European countries, most players in America attend college (university) before becoming a sports star. It is here that players hone their skills and start to reach prominence. The NCAA also enforces a strict grade point average rule, meaning that if you don't get the grades in high school, you are not eligible for a scholarship. The NCAA is the ultimate shop window for sports in America; if you impress at your college then you will be offered a lucrative contract by a professional team, and if you don't get offered a contract then at least you leave with a degree.

The association covers all major sports. With the main team sports, like soccer, American Football or basketball, they separate the colleges into three different leagues, which are then divided into sub conferences.  However, unlike in conventional leagues you do not get automatically promoted. For example, Northern Kentucky won the 2010 NCAA Soccer Division II but were not moved up a league until 2012. This is where things get slightly murky, as teams are placed in conferences (regions) and it is up to the conference to decide which of their teams is the conference champion. This is usually done by an inter-conference tournament so, as is often the case, you can win your division but still not move up the ladder. 

Sporting success warrants financial rewards for colleges, meaning that there is an added emphasis on victory. As a result, colleges embark on a very vigorous recruitment process as they try to sign up the best talent on scholarship deals. For example, current Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle and the inspiration behind Oscar-winning movie The Blind Side, Michael Oher, was heavily recruited by colleges. 

He chose to play for his guardian's former university in Mississippi but complaints from other teams interested in the star saw the NCAA investigate his move, as they believed that his guardians had coerced him into joining Ole Miss. The NCAA found that Oher and Ole Miss had not done anything wrong.

The influence of the NCAA is incredible and so is its support. There are 15 college American Football stadiums that are bigger than the MetLife Stadium, the biggest NFL ground.

In terms of success the UCLA in California leads the way with 110 NCAA Division I titles.

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