Books for the Football Fan in Your Life

More Than Just a Game tells the story of the 100-year football rivalry between NCA&T and NCCU through never-before-seen photographs and images. The work seeks to honor the many coaches, players, and participants in this storied rivalry. These vintage images illustrate the importance of the schools’ rare and special rivalry, something students and alumni already know. Written with the fans of both institutions in mind, this book seeks to recount the jubilant victories and heartbreaking losses of each school. It is the story of HBCUs at their best and documents their contributions to the state of North Carolina and the nation. It is a story of perseverance, accomplishment, and pride.

In Texas, high school football is king. If pigskin passion is no less intense among college and professional fans, enthusiasm for the schoolboy sport is more democratically spread throughout towns and communities, small and large. Almost any young man can play if he's willing to pay the price, work hard, and bring a bit of local, regional, or statewide glory to his hometown. Stephenville High School is one among an elite group of Texas football schools that has achieved at the highest level. The traditional rivalry games against Dublin and Breckenridge in the 1920s through the 1940s have evolved into heavily attended matchups with seven-time state champion Brownwood and, most recently, three-time state champion Aledo. From Joe Brown and Jim Mobley's powerhouse teams of the 1930s to Mike Murphy's 1952 regional qualifying squad, the Yellow Jackets have contended with the best in Texas. With four state championships, Art Briles made the 1990s a "Decade of Dominance" for Stephenville High School. Yellow Jacket football fever remains alive and well, promising to remain so long into the indefinite future.

Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known as Pop Warner, began in the suburbs of Philadelphia as a four-team league called the Junior Football Conference. Sports enthusiast Joseph Tomlin established the league in 1929. The organization was renamed in 1934 in honor of legendary football coach Glenn S. "Pop" Warner and has blossomed into the largest national youth football and cheerleading organization in the United States. Pop Warner has rejuvenated participation in youth sports by instilling lifelong values of teamwork and dedication with an emphasis on academic excellence to complement and enhance the athletics.

Pop Warner Little Scholars offers an inside look at the history of one of America's oldest youth sports organizations. Approximately sixty-five percent of National Football League players and coaches were at one time involved in the Pop Warner program. Important moments in the organization's history are depicted throughout the book, including the first national championship game in 1947, the beginning of the scholastic recognition program in 1960, and the official organization of its cheerleading program in 1973, although it was a part of Pop Warner for decades. The organization's two major national events, the Scholar All-American Program and the Pop Warner Super Bowl, Cheer, and Dance championships, serve as the highlights of the year for young scholar-athletes.