The history of collegiate football lies in the Ivy League, where the forward pass was invented and the first 43 national champions crowned.

The future of the sport, though, lies elsewhere.

In June, the Council of Ivy Group Presidents agreed to a reduction in football recruits from 140 players over a four-year period to 120, or 30 per season. It was a sour ending to a sweet year for a Harvard football program that posted a 9-0 record in 2001.

“Since 1994, the Ivy League has cut the collegiate football programs almost in half, in terms of number of football recruits,” said Harvard Coach Tim Murphy. “As I have mentioned to our President and Director of Athletics, this is certainly a concern to all of us in athletics in general, and Ivy League football in particular.”

Two other rule changes were decided on at the annual spring meeting: the reduction of football coaches from six full-time and six part-time to seven full-time and three part-time; and the establishment of a seven-week span free from all athletic activity in every sport.

The reduction to 30 represented a compromise by the athletic directors. The original directive by the Ivy League presidents had asked the athletic directors to consider a reduction all the way to 25.

“While we strongly advocated for 35, we feel that 30 is a far better outcome than 25,” said Director of Athletics Bob Scalise. “I’m not sure whether the intent of the presidents was to de-emphasize athletics, or to see if there was an opportuity for more efficiency.”

Even with the reduction, the Ivy League’s number of football admits remains high relative to other conferences.