Spiral Revolutions - Steven Donohue

College football fans were drawn to their televisions in June 2010, captivated by the events unfolding. Those fans were not watching a game, or at least not a game played on any football field. Instead, those fans tuned in as the major conferences waged war upon one another. Schools switched allegiances. Conferences spread misinformation to reporters while jockeying for position amongst one another. Television networks encouraged dissention amongst programs. Historic teams were threatened with irrelevancy, or in some cases, extinction. Yet while the events of that week in June changed college football forever, few appreciated that this revolution began decades ago; indeed, that that revolution was rooted in the very beginnings of the sport.
Spiral Revolutions: College Football's Conference Warfare by Steven Donohue recounts the history of the college football, focusing particularly on the creation of the NCAA and the athletic conferences that rule the sport today. In so doing, Spiral Revolutions tells stories unfamiliar even to diehard football fans: the safety and amateurism crises of the early 20th century; the antitrust litigation that nearly tore the NCAA apart; the football scandals that brought down a Texas governor and killed a major conference; and the realignment of the 1990s. In recounting this history, Spiral Revolutions puts into perspective the mayhem within the college football world since 2010. Anyone curious about college football - both where the sport has been and where it is headed - will want to read Spiral Revolutions: College Football's Conference Warfare.