Pound for pound football

Football is a game often associated with big, strong athletes. Physical play and bone crushing hits are what drive most to watch or play the game. But not everyone is built at 6’3”, 230 pounds and runs a 4.5 40.

The game of football has transcended the stereotype of big athletes for decades—you just may not have heard about it.
In 1934 the Collegiate Sprint Football League was formed to focus more on the game of football rather than the weight room aspect. Athletes were (and still are) required to weigh less than 172 pounds in order to compete. The games rules were not changed and the play is virtually the same with a little more kick—hence the name Sprint.

The Collegiate Sprint Football League is still in existence and there are currently five teams that compete: Army, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Princeton and Navy. The league never really branched off the East Coast. Until now.

The Rocky Mountain Sprint Football league is loosely based off the original sprint league, but with a few updated rules. The concept is the same; your typical football-sized athlete isn’t allowed and the game moves at a sprint pace.

Entering its inaugural season, League Commissioner Josh DeSanti hopes to give the “little guys” a chance to compete beyond their prep days.

“Most of us are considered undersized to play at the higher levels of football,” he explains, even referring to himself. “Maybe its genetics or guys are a step too slow.”

The league is considered sprint football, not necessarily because the game is faster, but rather quicker. Just consider offensive and defensive linemen under 200 pounds. But one thing DeSanti wants to clear up is that contact is still very much a part of the game.

“We encourage hitting because it’s a big part of the game,” he says. “Football is a contact sport and we want to continue to honor that. We want it to be a very physical league.”

The sprint game has been played by such notable athletes as President Jimmy Carter and Robert Kraft (owner of the New England Patriots) and continues to thrive today out east. When DeSanti decided to put together this league, he looked at a lot of the original rules and wanted to make the game more inclusive. So instead of a 172 pound league, athletes can weigh as much as 185. As the RMSF Web site explains, “over time the average American male has become increasingly bigger. The 185 pound limit takes this development into consideration.”

Like all football leagues, this one stresses the importance of sportsmanship, camaraderie and competition. The goal in this league, like the CSFL, is to encourage university athletes to compete. Colorado, CSU, Wyoming and Northern Colorado students (but of course this league is in no way limited to them) have all been invited to compete. Fielding teams from each university can offer the chance for the little guys to represent their university on the gridiron. 

“There are lots of guys out there like myself that played prep football and want to keep competing, DeSanti says.”
Pound for pound, this league should be one worth competing in.

Find out more at RockyMountainSprint.com