Logo of a college football team that plays in the Mid-American Conference, the University of Toledo Rockets. In existence since 1917, the program has been an independent in its’ early years and a member of various conferences, winning 14 conference titles and 10 bowl games. Rocket alumni who have gone on to pro careers include Bruce Gradkowski, Kareem Hunt, Emlen Tunnell, Chester Taylor, Mel Triplett, Lance Moore, Andy McCollum, John Greco, Brett Kern and Curtis Johnson.
Here is another logo of a team about to begin play in the new Alliance of American Football in the spring of 2019, the San Diego Fleet. The team will be coached by former NFL coach Mike Martz, and their roster includes players with NFL pedigrees like Bishop Sankey, Josh Johnson, Gavin Escobar and Ron Brooks. They also have the rights to linebacker A.J. Tarpley, who retired from the Buffalo Bills at age 23 citing concussion concerns and seems an unlikely candidate to actually play.
Logo of a football team set to play in the new Alliance of American Football, the San Antonio Commanders. The new team’s general manager is former Dallas Cowboy Darryl Johnston, and they will be coached by Mike Riley, a successful college coach. Some players they have procured for the inaugural 2019 spring season are Logan Woodside, Aaron Green, Cyril Richardson and Demarcus Ayers.
Logo of a college football team that plays in the Mid-America Conference, the Ohio University Bobcats. The school’s program started in 1894 and claimed a small college national championship in 1960. Notable Bobcat alumni who have had careers in pro football include Vince Costello, Dave Zastudil, Chet Adams, Landon Cohen and current players Mike Mitchell and T.J. Carrie.
Not exactly a “classic”, this is the logo of a football team that hasn’t yet played a game, the Orlando Apollos of the new Alliance of American Football, a spring developmental league that begins play in 2019. They will be coached by Steve Spurrier, a legendary college coach in Florida. Some of the players secured so far to begin play in February are quarterbacks Garrett Gilbert and Stephen Morris, backs Ryan Green and Storm Johnson, and defenders Will Hill and Reggie Northrup.
Logo of a defunct college football program, the Bradley University Braves, which began in 1897 but was dropped as a sport in 1970. A few Braves’ alumni had careers in pro football, including Harry Jacobs, Dick Jameison, Ray Ramsey, Marcus Pollard (who played basketball at the school but went on to an NFL career) and Billy Stone, who was the school’s last head coach before the program was disbanded.
Logo of a college football team that plays in the Mid-American Conference, the Northern Illinois University Huskies. The program came into existence in 1899 and has played as an independent and in various conferences over the years, winning 12 conference titles and a Division II national championship in 1963. Husky alumni who have gone on to play in the NFL include Doug Free, Randy Clark, Ryan Diem, Todd Peat, Hollis Thomas, Michael Turner and Kenny Golladay.
This is a secondary logo of a college football team that plays in the Southern Conference, the Furman University Paladins. Founded in 1889 and located in Greenville, South Carolina, the program has won 14 conference titles and has many alumni who have gone on to play professional football, including Jerome Felton, David Whitehurst, Sam Wyche, Stanford Jennings and Orlando Ruff.
A logo for the annual Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game. The team began hosting the annual game in 1966, adding an additional contest for the day to complement the one played in Detroit. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, for the 1975 and 1977 seasons, tried an experiment and had the game scheduled for St. Louis, but low television ratings and the popularity of the Cowboys as “America’s Team” convinced Rozelle to return the game, permanently, to Dallas.
Logo of the Tennessee State Tigers, a historically black college football team that plays in the Ohio Valley Conference. The program has been in existence since 1912, has won a total of 11 Black College national championships and boast an impressive 8-1-1 bowl record over the years. The list of Tiger Alumni who have gone on to play pro football is long, and includes Claude Humphrey, Richard Dent, Joe Gilliam, Mike Hegman, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Joe “Turkey” Jones, Larry Kinnebrew, Jim Marsalis, Dominique Rogers-Cromartie and Anthony Pleasant.