MacArthur Trophy

The MacArthur Trophy is a trophy awarded annually by the National Football Foundation to the NCAA Division I-FBS college football team or teams determined to be the national champion. There is only one trophy itself, much like the Stanley Cup, and it is kept by the winning institution for one year. The trophy itself is made of 400 ounces of silver and is fashioned in the shape of a football stadium 25 inches by 18 inches on its base and 10 inches tall. The trophy is one of many national championship trophies awarded in NCAA Division I-FBS college football, due to the fact that the NCAA itself does not sanction a championship tournament as it does in most other sports. It is a separate award from the AFCA National Championship Trophy, the Crystal football, awarded at the conclusion of the BCS National Championship Game. The 2007 award was presented to the 2007 LSU Tigers football team in a ceremony the day after the 2008 BCS National Championship Game. [http://www.footballfoundation.com/news.php?id=1423 MacArthur Trophy Claimed by Louisiana State Tigers] ]

History

The trophy was the gift of an anonymous donor in honor of General Douglas A. MacArthur, a founder of National Football Foundation. The trophy features his famous quote: "There is no substitute for victory." MacArthur was known to have a keen interest in college football, Army Cadet football in particular.*Citation
last=Manchester
first=William
title=
publisher=Laurel
year=1983
isbn=0-440-30424-5] MacArthur had served as student manager of the Army team during his cadet days. During World War II, he sent a telegram congratulating Army on an undefeated 1944 College football season and defeat of Navy in the Army-Navy game. The telegram read, "The greatest of all Army teams. We have stopped the war to celebrate your magnificent success." [*Whittingham, Richard. (December 1985). "Saturday Afternoon: College Football and the Men Who Made the Day": Workman Pub Co. ISBN 0894809334] [Michael Mandelbaum. (2005). "The Meaning Of Sports: Why Americans Watch Baseball, Football, and Basketball and What They See When They Do." PublicAffairs publishing ISBN 1586483307]

The trophy was first presented in 1959 [ [http://www.footballfoundation.com/Macarthurhist.php National Football Foundation - History of the MacArthur Trophy] ] , and has been presented annually since then. Since its inception, there have been occasions where the MacArthur trophy winner differed from the AP Poll winner, UPI Poll winner or both. Since 1998, with the advent of the Bowl Championship Series, the trophy has been awarded to the winner of the BCS National Championship Game.

Past winners

ee also

*AFCA National Championship Trophy
*Grantland Rice Award
*BCS National Championship Game
*NCAA Division I-A national football championship

External links

* [http://www.footballfoundation.com/ National Football Foundation Official Site]

References