ABSTRACT
In 1888 the teacher training colleges of England and Wales had been subjected to a thorough examination and had been found wanting. One significant omission from their educational provision was the absence of any conversion to the playing of team games. Within a generation, however, athleticism was to dominate college life. For the first time in the academic community, the reasons why, and ways in which this ideological transformation took place, will now be considered. This chapter, in general, focuses on the process of diffusion and, in particular, on the way in which rituals were used to underpin the diffusion process.
