<P> College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities . It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States . </P> <P> Unlike most other sports in North America, no minor league farm organizations exist in American or Canadian football . Therefore, college football is generally considered to be the second tier of American football in the United States and Canadian football in Canada; one step ahead of high school competition, and one step below professional competition . However, in some areas of the country, college football is more popular than professional football, and for much of the early 20th century, college football was seen as more prestigious than professional football . </P> <P> It is in college football where a player's performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football . The best collegiate players will typically declare for the professional draft after three to four years of collegiate competition, with the NFL holding its annual draft every spring in which 256 players are selected annually . Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as an undrafted free agent . </P> <P> Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League (NFL), college football remained extremely popular throughout the U.S. Although the college game has a much larger margin for talent than its pro counterpart, the sheer number of fans following major colleges provides a financial equalizer for the game, with Division I programs--the highest level--playing in huge stadiums, six of which have seating capacity exceeding 100,000 people . In many cases, college stadiums employ bench - style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests (although many stadiums do have a small number of chairback seats in addition to the bench seating). This allows them to seat more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium, which tends to have more features and comforts for fans . (Only three stadiums owned by U.S. colleges or universities--Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville (Georgia State Stadium) at Georgia State University and FAU Stadium at Florida Atlantic University--consist entirely of chairback seating). </P>

When does the first college football game start