Although the honorees generally do not compete as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who national media members select.

Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889.

Both AP and USBWA choose three teams, while WBCA lists ten honorees.

This differs from the practice in men's basketball, in which the NCAA uses a combination of selections by AP, USBWA, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and Sporting News to determine a consensus All-America team.

Of note:[2] Honorable mention selections are those who did not make one of the first three teams, but received at least one vote from the media panel.