A4751

An Act designating football as the State sport, and supplementing chapter 9A of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

Whereas, Football as played in the United States traces its roots to the Rutgers University campus in New Jersey, where on November 6, 1869, a game was played between Rutgers and Princeton University, with the home team winning by a score of 6 to 4; and

Whereas, The game played by the two teams was a mix of rugby and soccer, both of which were imported by students from Europe, and it was a game of strength, courage, and cunning; and

Whereas, From the late 19th century to World War I, the Princeton University Tigers was the best college football team in America; and

Whereas, In the years since then, football has remained an important sport in New Jersey, with strong college teams at Princeton and Rutgers, and competitive teams established at many colleges and universities in the State, including Fairleigh Dickinson University, Monmouth University, Montclair State University, Rowan University, the College of New Jersey, and William Paterson University; and

Whereas, Between 1889 and the present, 68 athletes playing football at New Jersey colleges and universities have been designated as All-American players, an important athletic honor; and

Whereas, As collegiate football grew in popularity, professional and semi-professional football teams were organized in New Jersey municipalities, with major teams in Newark and Jersey City; and

Whereas, Over time, more than 400 professional football players have either been born in New Jersey or played for Garden State teams; and

Whereas, The two most important and popular professional teams came to New Jersey first in 1976, when the New York Giants of the National Football League moved to the Meadowlands and played in what was then christened as Giants Stadium, and then in 1984 when the New York Jets moved to the stadium as co-tenants; and

Whereas, Following in the wake of collegiate and professional football have been numerous football leagues in municipalities and school districts across New Jersey; and

Whereas, There are 357 high schools in New Jersey with a boys football team, most of which are varsity, and some of these schools also have junior varsity and freshmen teams; and

Whereas, Thousands of young residents of the State have enjoyed participating in the sport and learned important life lessons about teamwork, perseverance, fair play, and athletic excellence; and

Whereas, Given the involvement of New Jersey in football from its inception to the present, it is fitting and proper to designate football as the State sport; now, therefore,

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Football is designated as the State sport of New Jersey.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill designates football as the State sport of New Jersey.

The bill is inspired by the fourth grade class at Sunnybrae Elementary School in Hamilton, New Jersey, which took the initiative in researching football’s history in New Jersey.