The Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association
So, what is "IFRA?"
Well, the letters stand for the Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association.
Over the years, college football has become increasingly popular with the general public. In fact, it now may be the top sport in the United States in terms of fan support and interest. Only the NFL enjoys a comparable audience.
Just go to any major sports website, publication, or TV network and you will see that college football discussion is one of, if not the, most popular topic of discussion.
Much of the college football discussion centers around debates over which player, team, coach or conference is the best. Everyone has an opinion; but, relatively few fans have an informed opinion.
Informed, intelligent, opinions require facts to back them up. Facts are only obtained through research.
So, the rise of interest in college football has created a great demand for college football analysis, research and researchers.
Read this exclusive interview (by IFRA's own Tex Noel) with the late, great Slingin' Sammy Baugh at Sammy Baugh Q & A.
IFRA is the premier college football association for people who love to research college football information and statistics.
If you love college football and enjoy researching it � the Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association is made for you.
About once a month IFRA publishes The College Football Historian -- which is a newsletter containing college football articles written primarily by members of the association.
You can download, print out, and read (for free) prior PDF issues of The College Football Historian by right-clicking these links:
College Football Historian | |||||
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| 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
| June | December | December | December | December | December |
| May | November | November | November | November | November |
| April | October | October | October | October | Special Edition October |
| March | September | September | September | September | September |
| February | August | August | August | August | August |
| January | July | July | July | July | July |
| June | June | June | June | June | |
| May | May | May | May | May | |
| April | April | April | April | April | |
| March | March | March | March | March | |
| February | February | February | February | February | |
| January | January | January | January | January | |
Many of the members of IFRA are also proud members of the Football Writers Association of America.
You can view an index (updated quarterly) of the articles/authors published in the newsletters at CFH Newsletter Index.
Note: The December 2008 issue has an incorrect internet address for the book IFRA member Mel Smith has for sale. The title of the book is: EVOLVEMENTS OF EARLY AMERICAN FOOT BALL: THROUGH THE 1890/91 SEASON.
The correct link to order it is Melvin Smith's Book.
If you like what you read, feel free to forward a copy of the newsletter to your friends and encourage them to join IFRA too.
Here's some interesting early college football research on Pre-1937 College Football Leaders. And, ever wonder who was the worst college football team ever?
You can read about books written by IFRA members at On the Bookshelf.
Here's a link to Tex Noel's book Stars of an Earlier Autumn as well as another great historical college football book: The College Football Trilogy.
Check out the terrific College Gridiron 365 Blog published by the Orlando Sentinel. Its great -- at least daily blogs -- cover hot topics in college football every day of the year (hence the name "365 Blog").
If you are a fan of small college football (not covered in the major media) you'll definitely want to check out this new site being developed by Tex Noel and Mo Johnson with tons of resources related to Small College Football History. Here's an interesting pdf with Tex' Annual Small College National Championship Scoring Summary. Finally, if you really enjoy college football and especially thinking about and comparing its past and present, you should read College Football Yesterday and Today.
| Other Great College Football Blogs and Websites |
|---|
| Lone Star Football Network |
| Small College Football History |
| The Underdawg |
| Leatherheads of the Gridiron |
| Direct Snap Football |
| AFM College Directory (has info on all levels of CFB) |
| Gridiron Gazette |
| The World of Football |
| Arkansas Razorbacks Football Database |
| College Football Top Ten |
| Dixie Fried Sports |
| Pigskin History |
| The Campus Game |
| College Football Blog |
| College Football National Championship History Info |
| Fan Inc. (organization raising money for needy injured college athletes) |
| Victory Sports Network |
| College Football Top Ten |
| National Sports Rankings |
| Gridiron Greats |
| Past Time Sports |
| Oregon Football History |
| The Unbalanced Line Library |
| FootballGeography.com |
| Collectable Ivy |
| One Point Safety |
| College Football Results |
| Old Magazine Articles |
If you are interested in joining IFRA (it's free to join), or receiving a prior newsletter, please let us know by submitting the form below.
Also, if you'd like to submit your own article for possible publication in the IFRA newsletter or on this site, please use the form at the bottom of the page.Thanks.
After years and years of researching old newspapers; now available is the most accurate source of college football scores available anywhere--online or offline!
College football fans can now obtain all-time scores of their alma mater or favorite teams! Curious what school scored the most points in the year you were born...!
The answers to these and countless other inquiries can be answered by sending an email to IFRA member, Richard Topp at richardtopp [at] comcast.net.
For a reasonable fee, Richard can provide not only accurate scores but the exact date a game was played and its location.
SEC Sports Fan is proud to host the Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association on our web site. We are, of course, proud members of IFRA. However, IFRA is a separate and independent association of college football researchers. If you use the form on this page to communicate with IFRA, its Executive Director (Tex Noel), will reply directly to you.
Congrats to our Exec. Dir. Tex Noel who was recently recognized by the Rose Bowl for his help in researching Rose Bowl statistics. Here's the Rose Bowl Letter.
You can also listen to Tex on Blog Talk Radio with Bob Swick and Kevin McGuire. Here's a link to the audio:
Tex also has a new website, Small College Football History which specializes on the history of teams, players, coaches and accomplishments below the major college level.
In his unique way, the new site will contain much of his original StatResearch; as well as historical stories that were written about many outstanding teams and players below the major college level.
The site will have a number of original compilations--including all National Champions and total number of polls a team has appeared in; schools that have scored over 500+ points. In addition, it will have list of books that were written exclusively on small college football or has mentioned this level exclusively through the works of another.
The site covers 1AA, II, III, NAIA, College Division, HBCU, NCCAA and Mid-Major, which is no longer a college football division after the 2008 season. It's a work in progress, but if you went to a college below Div. 1A and have something interesting to share, let Tex know.
If you like this page, you should also check out College Football Statistics and SEC Football Statistics.
If you've not done so already, you should read these classic college football books
Check out the Weekly Updates of College Football Teams Scoring; Mount Union Establishes Another Scoring Standard and the AP College Football National Champions.
Your Article Here
The Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association (IFRA) would love to read your college football article. It will likely be published here, and/or, if good enough, in the monthly newsletter The College Football Historian. If you submit it here, other visitors can read it, rate it and comment on it. An e-mail address is not required.
If you would prefer to e-mail your article to IFRA instead, please use the form above to send us your contact info. Tex will back in touch.
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
First Recorded Use of a Football Helmet 
Tex,
I ran across this fact thought I'd share: As football began to evolve in the latter part of the 19th century, the absence of protective gear and …
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