The Rowing Association of American Colleges (1870 to 1894), the first collegiate athletic organization in the United States, was a body governing college rowing. Upon organization by the captains of the leading crews of the day, they devised a primary rule of eligibility: that only undergraduate students should be eligible to represent their college in the regatta. To this day, despite numerous amendments and additions, this rule remains the very foundation of the NCAA rules of eligibility.
Collegiate regatta
This table lists the winners of the marquee events of the championship regattas conducted by the RAAC from its founding through 1894.
YearChampionEventYearChampionEventYearChampionEventYearChampionEvent1871Massachusetts Agricultural College6s18771883Cornell University4s1889Cornell8s1872Amherst College6s18781884University of Pennsylvania4s1890Cornell University 8s1873Yale College6s1879Columbia College4s1885Cornell University4s1891Cornell University8s1874Columbia College6s1880Cornell University4s1886Bowdoin College4s1892Cornell University 8s1875Cornell University 6s18811887Cornell University 4s1893Cornell University 8s1876Cornell University 6s1882University of Pennsylvania4s1888Yale University8s1894Cornell University8s
+ RAAC university race results Year Location Venue Entries Winner Harvard Yale 1871 (July 21) Ingleside MA Connecticut River 3 Massachusetts Agricultural College 2 — 1872 Springfield, MA Connecticut River 6 Amherst College 2 6 1873 Springfield MA Connecticut River ? Yale College (2) 1 1874 Saratoga, NY Lake Saratoga 9 Columbia College 3 9 1875 Saratoga NY Lake Saratoga 13 Cornell 3 5 1876 Saratoga NY Lake Saratoga? Cornell ? — 1877 (none) 1878 (none)
On June 30, 1876, Harvard and Yale raced eight-oared boats with coxswains over a 4-mile course on the Connecticut River.Afterward "the Harvard six left for Saratoga. Yale does not row there, and Harvard will not after this year, but the eight-oared bout between Yale and Harvard, so successfully inaugurated to-day, will undoubtedly become an annual and permanent institution.""College Regatta: Yale and Harvard Eight-Oar Crews Try Conclusions. The Contest Takes Place on the Old Connecticut River Course." Chicago Daily Tribune. July 1, 1876.
From 1871 to 1875 Harvard and Yale did not race head-on. Both participated in the RAAC university race from 1872 to 1875 (as Harvard did also in 1871 and 1876), and the Harvard–Yale Regatta recognizes Harvard–Yale varsity races to be incorporated in those RAAC championships.
See also Intercollegiate Rowing Association Poughkeepsie Regatta National Association of Amateur Oarsmen 1872 National Association of Amateur Oarsmen. The Effect of New York's Elite Athletic Clubs
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