1869 college football season

Modern folklore places the very first game of college football as a contest between teams from Rutgers College, now Rutgers University, and the College of New Jersey, commonly known as Princeton College. Rutgers won the game by a score of 6–4. The rules of the game were much different back then than in modern football. Rutgers was represented by the Queensmen and Princeton by the Tigers. ==Rematch==

A rematch was played at Princeton a week later under Princeton rules. One of the biggest differences in rules was the awarding of a "free kick" to any player that caught the ball on the fly. This rule seriously affected the speed advantage of Rutgers that had allowed them to win the first contest. Princeton won the second game by a score of 8 to 0. ==Aftermath==

The two schools had originally scheduled to meet three times in 1869, but the third 1869 game never took place, reportedly because of the officials at both programs who complained about more emphasis being put on the contests rather than academics and studying. Other sources claim that it may have been canceled due to disagreement over what set of rules to play under. Due to each team winning one game, the inaugural football season ended with Princeton and Rutgers each tied at 1–1, and therefore each received a partial share of the 1869 college football national championship awarded retroactively. Rutgers players from the first game were honored 50 years later in a ceremony at their homecoming. The last surviving member of this Rutgers team was George H. Large, who died in 1939. The last surviving member for Princeton was Robert Preston Lane, who died in 1938. ==Conference and program changes==