Yale, Harvard started college sports

[bulldog10jw]

On Aug. 3, 1852, the crew teams from Harvard and Yale met in a two-mile race on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire — the first intercollegiate athletic competition of any kind in the United States, predating the Harvard-Yale football rivalry by 23 years.

http://nhregister.com/articles/2012/12/08/sports/doc50c4237b93844899699158.txt?viewmode=fullstory

[OhioHen]

And both schools are still somewhat relevant in the sport.