Football competition
Most organized football games in the United States are played by high school, college, and professional teams. But there are also many programs for students too young to play on school-sponsored football teams. One of the most successful of these "pee wee" programs is the Pop Warner League for boys and girls from the ages of 7 to 16. It organizes competition according to players' ages. Games in the Pop Warner League follow almost the same rules used in high school and college games.
High school competition. More than 14,000 U.S. high schools have football teams. The National Federation of State High School Associations oversees most high school athletic programs, including football. In addition, each state has an organization that sets rules and policies for high school sports teams.
Most high school teams compete in classifications determined by school enrollment. They play in districts or leagues made up of schools of similar size in the same general area. Nearly all states have a play-off schedule that ends with two teams competing for the state championship in their classification.
College competition. More than 700 colleges and universities in the United States sponsor football teams. Most of the schools belong to one of over 60 conferences. Officials of each conference set standards and rules for competition among the member teams. Each season, the teams in a conference play one another for the conference championship. Some teams, called independents, do not belong to a conference. They play other independents as well as conference teams.
Conference and independent teams belong to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). These organizations set rules and supervise competition among member teams. Teams from two-year schools, called junior colleges or community colleges, also compete against one another. They are governed by the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Most major college teams play 11 games in the regular season. After each season, some of the teams with the best records are invited to play in bowl games. Most college bowl games are played in late December or on January 1. There are also postseason all-star games. Players who have ended their college careers may be invited to play in one or more all-star games.
Professional competition. The National Football League has been in operation as a professional league since 1920. The NFL consists of 30 teams, each of which represents a city or region in the United States. The teams are divided into the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.
Teams in the NFL play a regular season schedule of 16 games. The division champions and the next three teams in each conference with the best won-lost records advance to the play-offs. A series of play-off games determines the two conference champions. These teams then play for the National Football League title in a game called the Super Bowl.
Each year, NFL teams obtain college players through a system known as a draft. Most of the players the teams choose are seniors who have completed their college playing careers. However, juniors and underclassmen who declare their eligibility for the draft may be selected. The first choice goes to the team that ended the preceding season with the worst record in the league, unless that team trades the draft choice. The Super Bowl winner picks last. No team may sign a player drafted by another team unless the player is released by the drafting team. If a college player is not drafted, he may sign with any professional team.