1.
2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
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The 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tides 117th overall and 78th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference, the team was led by head coach Nick Saban, in his fifth year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of wins and one loss. After the completion of the 2010 season, the Crimson Tide signed a highly rated recruiting class in February 2011, however, Alabama lost to the LSU Tigers in their regular season matchup, and as a result did not qualify for the 2011 SEC Championship Game. In the rematch against LSU, the Crimson Tide defeated the Tigers 21–0 to capture their second BCS Championship in three years. At the conclusion of the season, the Alabama defense led the nation in every statistical category. Additionally, several players were recognized for the accomplishments on the field. Also, seven players were named to various All-America Teams with Donta Hightower being a selection and Mark Barron, Jones. In April 2012, eight members of the 2011 squad were selected in the NFL Draft, however, they finished with a 49–7 victory in the 2011 Capital One Bowl against Michigan State, and secured Alabamas third straight ten-win season and their third bowl win in four seasons. In February 2011, Alabama signed the No.1 recruiting class according to Rivals, Spring practice began on March 21 and concluded with the annual A-Day game on April 16. Televised live by ESPNU, the Crimson team of offensive starters defeated the White team of defensive starters by a score of 14–10 before 92,310 fans in Bryant–Denny Stadium. For their performances, Barrett Jones earned the Dwight Stephenson Lineman of the A-Day Game Award, in the weeks after the conclusion of spring practice, a pair of tragedies occurred that directly impacted the team. On April 27,2011, an EF4 rated tornado devastated Tuscaloosa, as a result of the storm, long snapper Carson Tinker suffered a broken wrist with his girlfriend being one of the 43 fatalities attributed to the storm in Tuscaloosa. On May 12,2011, offensive lineman Aaron Douglas was found dead in Fernandina Beach, the cause of death was subsequently ruled accidental as a result of multiple drug toxicity. After transferring to Alabama from Arizona Western College, Douglas struggled with issues including a DUI charge following a December 2010 arrest. He started his career as a freshman All-America at Tennessee, before the Volunteers new head coach Derek Dooley granted him a release from the program in Spring 2010, by August, Alabama had a combined 31 players on 12 different preseason award watch lists. Between the conclusion of the 2010 season and the beginning of practice in August 2011. Those who transferred included Robby Green, B. J. Scott, Demetrius Goode, Petey Smith, Brandon Moore, Corey Grant, Alabama head coach Nick Saban entered his fifth year as the Crimson Tides head coach for the 2011 season
2.
2011 LSU Tigers football team
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The 2011 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by head coach Les Miles and played their home games at Tiger Stadium. They were a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference and they finished the season 13–1, 8–0 in SEC play to be Western Division champions. They represented the division in the SEC Championship Game where they defeated Eastern Division champion Georgia 42–10 be crowned SEC champions and they finished the season ranked #1 in the final BCS poll to earn a spot in the BCS National Championship Game vs #2 Alabama. The Tigers, who had defeated Alabama 9–6 in the regular season and it was the first time a team was ever shutout in a BCS game. Schedule source, This is only the 4th meeting of two teams. The win expanded LSUs lead in the series to 3-1-0, the win expanded LSUs lead in the series to 11-0-0. The series began in 1896 and LSU has played the Bulldogs more often than any other opponent, the win expanded LSUs lead in the series to 69-33-3. The win expanded LSUs lead in the series to 39-16-1, LSU currently trails in the series, but with the win makes it 25-30-3. LSU currently trails in the series, but with the win makes it 9-20-3 and this was also the largest margin of victory by either team in the series. The win expanded LSUs lead in the series to 25-20-1 and this was also the largest margin of victory by either team in the series. LSU still trails in the series, but with the win makes it 25-45-5 and this was the first meeting between the two teams. At halftime, soccer player Mo Isom was named Homecoming Queen at halftime in Tiger Stadium, Isom was the first athlete in LSU history to be recognized as Homecoming Queen. In this, the 100th meeting between the two teams, the win extended LSUs lead in the series to 57-39-4. This was also the largest margin of victory by either team in the series, with the win, LSU extends their lead in the series to 35-20-2 as well as winning the SEC West Division and thus their spot in the conference championship game against Georgia. This was the 2nd largest audience in Tiger Stadium history, behind the 2009 game against Florida which featured 93,129 fans, the last time these two teams played, #13 Georgia won over #3 LSU in 2005 34-15. #8 Georgia went on to lose the Sugar Bowl to #13 West Virginia 35-38, with the win in this game, LSU extended their lead in the series to 16-12-1 as well as winning the SEC and thus their spot in the national championship game against Alabama. For the first time in the BCS-era, the two teams in the championship game are from the same conference and division
3.
Nick Saban
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Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. His initial eight-year contract totaling US$32 million made him one of the football coaches, professional or collegiate. He appeared on the September 1,2008, cover of Forbes magazine as The Most Powerful Coach in Sports, Sabans career record as a college head coach is 205–61–1. He became the first coach in football history to win a national championship with two different Football Bowl Subdivision schools since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936. Saban and Bear Bryant are the coaches to win an SEC championship at two different schools. In May 2013, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Saban had not intended to enter coaching until Don James, his coach at Kent State, made him a graduate assistant while Saban waited for his wife to graduate. Saban was hired as coach at the University of Toledo on December 22,1989. Coming off of 6–5 seasons in both 1988 and 1989, the Rockets found quick success under Nick Saban, going 9–2, the two games the Rockets lost that season were by narrow margins, one point to Central Michigan and four points to Navy. With the 9–2 season, Toledo was co-champion of the Mid-American Conference, Saban resigned as Toledos head coach the following February after one season to become defensive coordinator of the National Football Leagues Cleveland Browns under Bill Belichick. 1995–1997—Beginning in 1995, Saban moderately improved Michigan States fortunes, taking the Spartans to minor bowl games in each of his first three seasons, from 1995 to 1997, Michigan State finished 6–5–1, 6–6, and 7–5. In comparison, MSU had finished 5–6, 6–6 and 5–6 in 1992–1994, 1998—On November 7,1998, the Spartans upset the No.1 ranked Ohio State 28–24 at Ohio Stadium. 1999—Saban led the Spartans to a 9–2 season that included wins over Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, however, the two losses were routs at the hands of Purdue and Wisconsin. Following the final game against Penn State, Saban abruptly resigned to accept the head coaching position with LSU. Sabans assistant head coach and successor, Bobby Williams, then coached MSU to a Citrus Bowl victory over Florida and it would be the best season in terms of wins for the Spartans since 1965, and it would see the Spartans reach their highest ranking since the 1966 team. Future NFL head coach Josh McDaniels served as an assistant on Sabans 1999 coaching staff. In November 1999, LSU named Nick Saban as their 31st head football coach, 2000—In 2000, the Tigers went 8–4 and won the Peach Bowl. The season was marred by several lopsided losses, including a 34–17 loss to the Auburn Tigers, a 13–10 loss to the UAB Blazers. 2001—Saban led LSU to a 10–3 record, including an SEC Championship and it was the first outright SEC championship for LSU since 1986, and the first time the Tigers had won the Sugar Bowl since 1968
4.
Les Miles
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Leslie Edwin Miles is an American football coach and former player. He served as coach at Louisiana State University from 2005 to 2016. Miles is nicknamed The Hat for his white cap, as well as The Mad Hatter for his eccentricities. Miles led the 2007 LSU Tigers football team to a win in the BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State, Miles was born the son of Bubba, a long-haul trucking broker, and Martha Miles. He earned all-state honors as a lineman in football as well as letters in baseball and wrestling at Elyria High School in Ohio and he attended the University of Michigan where he was a two-year letterman under Coach Bo Schembechler from 1974 to 75. In 1980, Miles returned to Michigan as an assistant coach to Schembechler and he left Michigan in 1982 to coach at the University of Colorado where fellow Michigan assistant Bill McCartney had just been named head coach. Coincidentally, one of his assistants on the Colorado staff was another future LSU head coach, Gerry DiNardo. In 1987, Miles returned to Michigan, which was still being coached by Schembechler, when Schembechler retired in 1990, Miles continued as OL coach under new head coach Gary Moeller. While Miles was an assistant at Michigan, the Wolverines had eight consecutive winning seasons and bowl appearances. In 1995, Moeller was forced to resign for non-football related reasons, at the same time, Miles had a rift with the University of Michigan, forcing him to seek employment elsewhere. Miles then accepted a promotion to offensive coordinator on former Colorado assistant Bob Simmons staff at Oklahoma State, during the 1998 through 2000 seasons he was the tight ends coach for the NFLs Dallas Cowboys under head coaches Chan Gailey and Dave Campo. Miles returned to Oklahoma State in 2001 as head coach, in the three years prior to Miles arrival in Stillwater, the Cowboys finished 5–6, 5–6, and 3–8. Oklahoma State posted another losing record in Miles first season at the helm and his last three seasons at Oklahoma State ended in invitations to the Houston, Cotton, and Alamo Bowls, respectively. During the last game of Miles first season as coach, OSU faced Oklahoma. Despite the fact that OSU was facing Oklahoma on the road, during Miles second season, OSU again ended the regular season with a game against Oklahoma. This time Oklahoma was ranked the No.3 team in the country, and yet again, Miles led his team to a 38–28 upset victory over the Sooners. As a result of his teams performance during his second year, in September 2013, Sports Illustrated published a series of articles as part of an investigation of his tenure at Oklahoma State from 2001 to 2005. The series alleged Oklahoma State used a system for players, orchestrated by then-assistant coach Joe DeForest, along with direct payments
5.
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
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The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, often referred to simply as the Superdome, is a domed sports and exhibition venue located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It primarily serves as the venue for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Plans were drawn up in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis and the building opened as the Louisiana Superdome in 1975. Its steel frame covers a 13-acre expanse and the 273-foot dome is made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet and it is adjacent to the Smoothie King Center. The Superdome gained international attention of a different type in 2005 when it housed thousands of people seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina, the building suffered extensive damage as a result of the storm, and was closed for many months afterward. It was eventually decided the building would be refurbished and reopened in time for the Saints 2006 home opener on September 25. On October 3,2011, it was announced that German automaker Mercedes-Benz purchased naming rights to the stadium, the new name took effect on October 23,2011. Atlantas Mercedes-Benz Stadium, set to open in 2017, will become the fifth stadium to bear the name of the German automaker, the Superdome is located on 70 acres of land, including the former Girod Street Cemetery. The dome has a space of 125,000,000 cubic feet, a height of 253 feet, a dome diameter of 680 feet. The Superdome has a listed seating capacity of 76,468 or 73,208. However, published figures from events such as the Sugar Bowl football game have exceeded 79,000. The basketball capacity does not reflect the NCAAs new policy on arranging the basketball court on the 50-yard line on the football field, in 2011,3,500 seats were added, increasing the Superdomes capacity to 76,468. The Superdomes capacity was 75,167 for WWE WrestleMania XXX, the actual capacity is 73,208 people. The team regularly draws capacity crowds, the NFL has hosted seven Super Bowls at the Superdome, most recently Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. The 1976 Pro Bowl was held at the Superdome on Monday and it was the NFLs 26th annual all-star game. Tulane University played their games at the stadium from 1975 to 2013 before moving to on-campus Yulman Stadium. The BCS National Championship Game was played at the Superdome four times, the College Football Playoff semifinal game is played every three years in the stadium. Two other bowl games are played there annually, the Sugar Bowl
6.
New Orleans
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New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
7.
AJ McCarron
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Raymond Anthony AJ McCarron Jr. is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bengals in the round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama, following the 2013 BCS National Championship Game against Notre Dame, McCarron became the first quarterback to win back-to-back consensus national championships in the BCS era. In addition, since his year, McCarron has been associated with three national title teams under coach Nick Saban,2009,2011, and 2012. McCarron was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama and he attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School from kindergarten to fourth grade before transferring to St. Pauls Episcopal School. At the age of five, McCarron was severely injured in a jet-ski accident and he first played football at Trimmier Park and then Langan Park in Mobile. He played on the same team as Mark Barron. During McCarrons junior season of high school, St. Pauls went 14-1, while attending St. Pauls, McCarron was recruited by several football programs in the Southeastern Conference, including Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, and Tennessee. He committed to the Crimson Tide on May 3,2008 and he capped off his high school football career at the 2009 U. S. Army All-American Bowl. In his first season at Alabama, McCarron accepted a redshirt, during his redshirt freshman year, he did see some playing time, appearing in nine games as the Crimson Tide finished 10–3. His first collegiate touchdown pass came during the season opener when he connected with wide receiver Julio Jones on a 29-yard pass and he passed for a total of 389 yards and three touchdowns during the season. In his first start in college, he passed for 226 yards and his first road start for Alabama came the following week, as the Tide traveled to State College, Pennsylvania. His performance of 163 yards with no turnovers helped Alabama defeat Penn State 27–11, another solid performance, alongside running back Trent Richardson, helped him get a victory in his first SEC start, a 38–14 win versus No.14 Arkansas. During the course of his season, McCarron led an 11–1 overall record during the regular season. Alabamas only loss of the season came during a 6–9 overtime defeat at the hands of #1-ranked LSU, during the game, he completed 16-of-28 passes for 199 yards with one interception. By remaining unbeaten during the rest of the season, Alabama again met LSU at the Superdome for the national championship. His performance of 234 yards passing earned him Offensive Player of the Game in a 21–0 rout of the Tigers, during his first season as starting quarterback, he passed for a total of 2,634 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions and a BCS National Championship. McCarron had a start in his second year as starting quarterback for Alabama as the Tide started off the season with a 9–0 record
8.
Courtney Upshaw
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Courtney Tremaine Upshaw is an American football defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama, Upshaw attended Eufaula High School, where he played for the Eufaula Tigers high school football team under head coach Dan Klages. In his junior season, Upshaw posted 96 tackles and three interceptions as he helped lead Eufaula to a 14–1 season record, including the Tigers first state championship appearances since 1981. As a senior, Upshaw had 95 solo tackles,65 assists, including 22 for loss and he also had 20 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns as a tight end. He was the Alabama Class 5A Lineman of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, Upshaw was ranked as the No.4 defensive end in 2008 by ESPN. com. After playing in all 13 games of his season, Upshaw saw his playing time increase in his second season at Alabama. He made one start and appeared in all 14 games for the Crimson Tide in 2009, Upshaw made the most of his first career start against Kentucky, as he tallied four solo tackles, one sack and returned a fumble 45 yards for a key against the Wildcats. In his junior season, Upshaw started 11-of-13 games for the Crimson Tide and he accounted for 52 total tackles,14.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and four forced fumbles. In his senior season, Upshaw started all 13 games for the Crimson Tide and he accounted for 51 total tackles,17 tackles for loss,9.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. For his on-field performance, Upshaw was named first team All-America by the Football Writers Association of America and he was also recognized as second team All-America by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Associated Press. In the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, Upshaw was named the defensive MVP with his seven tackle performance, Upshaw was taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the third pick of the second round in the 2012 NFL Draft. On May 10,2012, he signed a four-year, $5,296,698 contract with the Ravens. During his rookie year in 2012, Upshaw played 16 games with 55 tackles,1.5 sacks,2 passes defended,1 forced fumble, and 2 fumble recoveries. In Super Bowl XLVII, Upshaw recorded his first forced fumble against San Francisco 49ers running back LaMichael James, the Ravens won the Super Bowl by a score of 34-31, giving Upshaw his first championship title. In 2013, Upshaw played 16 games with 31 tackles,1.5 sacks, in 2014, he played 16 games with 46 tackles and 1 pass defended. In 2015, he played 16 games with 51 tackles,2 sacks,2 passes defended,2 forced fumbles, after the 2015 season, he became a free agent. On March 25,2016, Upshaw signed a contract with Atlanta Falcons worth $1.25 million
9.
The Star-Spangled Banner
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The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States of America. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, the poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a mens social club in London. To Anacreon in Heaven, with lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Keys poem and renamed The Star-Spangled Banner, it became a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one octave and one fifth, it is known for being difficult to sing, although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today. Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom, hail, Columbia served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. My Country, Tis of Thee, whose melody is identical to God Save the Queen, following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them The Star-Spangled Banner, as well as America the Beautiful. Beanes was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers, because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise and later back on HMS Minden. On the morning of September 14, the flag had been lowered. During the bombardment, HMS Terror and HMS Meteor provided some of the bombs bursting in air, Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had made by Mary Young Pickersgill together with other workers in her home on Baltimores Pratt Street. The flag later came to be known as the Star-Spangled Banner and is today on display in the National Museum of American History and it was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program. Aboard the ship the day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on September 16, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore and he completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and titled it Defence of Fort MHenry. Much of the idea of the poem, including the flag imagery and some of the wording, is derived from a song by Key. The song, known as When the Warrior Returns, was written in honor of Stephen Decatur, absent elaboration by Francis Scott Key prior to his death in 1843, some have speculated in modern times about the meaning of phrases or verses. Professor Mark Clague has stated that the two verses of Keys lyric vilify the British enemy in the War of 1812 and in no way glorifies or celebrates slavery. Clague asserts that the used to refer to British professional soldiers but also the Corps of Colonial Marines which Key viewed as scoundrels
10.
Official (American football)
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In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college games, seven officials operate on the field. Beginning in 2015, Division I college football conferences are using eight game officials, College games outside the Division I level use six or seven officials. Arena football, high school football, and other levels of football have other officiating systems, High school football played under the National Federation of State High School Associations rules typically use five officials for varsity and 3,4, or 5 for non-varsity games. Because the referee is responsible for the supervision of the game. American football officials generally use the equipment, Whistle Used to signal a reminder to players that the ball is dead. Penalty marker or flag A bright-yellow-colored flag that is thrown on the field toward or at the spot of a foul, for fouls where the spot is unimportant, such as fouls which occur at the snap or during a dead ball, the flag is typically thrown vertically. The flag is wrapped around a weight, such as sand or beans, so that it can be thrown with some distance and accuracy and to ensure it remains in place, Officials typically carry a second flag in case there are multiple fouls on a play. Officials who run out of flags when they see multiple fouls on a play may drop their hat or a bag instead. Bean bag Used to mark various spots that are not fouls, for example, a bean bag is used to mark the spot of a fumble or the spot where a player caught a punt. It is typically colored white, blue, black, or orange, depending on the league, college conference, level of play. Unlike penalty flags, bean bags may be tossed to a parallel to the nearest yard line. Down indicator A specially designed wristband that is used to remind officials of the current down and it has an elastic loop attached to it that is wrapped around the fingers. Usually, officials put the loop around their index finger when it is first down, the finger when it is second down. Some officials, especially umpires, may use a second indicator to keep track of where the ball was placed between the hash marks before the play. This is important when the ball is re-spotted after a pass or a foul. Game data card and pencil Officials write down important administrative information, such as the winner of the coin toss, team timeouts. Game data cards can be paper or reusable plastic
11.
Big 12 Conference
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The Big 12 Conference is a ten-school collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas. Its ten members, located in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, additionally, the Big 12 has ten affiliate members, six for the sport of wrestling, one for womens gymnastics, and 3 for womens rowing. The Big 12 Conference is a 501 nonprofit organization incorporated in Delaware, the Big 12 was formerly composed of 12 schools, hence its name, it was formed in 1996 when four schools from the collapsing Southwest Conference joined with the pre-existing Big Eight Conference. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were grouped with the four newcomers in the Big 12 South, TCU and West Virginia joined from the Mountain West and Big East Conferences respectively to offset two of the departing schools, bringing the conference to its current strength. Attempts to rename the Big 12 to reflect its current strength would lead to confusion with the current Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference commissioner is Bob Bowlsby. Full members Assoc. member Other Conference The Big 12 Conference sponsors championship competition in ten mens, nonetheless, it is an open coed sport in NCAA college athletics, with mens, womens, and coed teams in all NCAA divisions competing against each other. TCU and West Virginia both field coed teams, through 2017, West Virginia with 19 national titles and TCU with two, together have won over half of the NCAA titles awarded since the inaugural NCAA championship in 1980. West Virginia also won four national titles. The Big 12 began athletic play in the fall of 1996, from its formation until 2011, its 12 members competed in two divisions. Between 2011 and 2012 four charter members left the conference while two joined in 2013. The Big 12 is unique among the current Power Five conferences in that it only has 10 members, despite the name, causing some confusion. From 1987 to 2015,12 or more members were required for a championship game. Former Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds and former football coach Mack Brown, along with Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops, critics argued it was a competitive advantage over other contract conferences. Conferences with a game have their division champions typically play one of their toughest games of the year in the last week of the regular season. Unlike the other Power 5 conferences in which a team plays a portion of the other teams in the conference each season. This theoretically allows for the declaration of a de facto champion without the need for a rematch between the top two teams in the conference. On June 3,2016, the conference announced it would reinstate the football game in the 2017 season. This followed the passage of a new NCAA rule allowing all FBS conferences to hold football championship games regardless of their membership numbers, the Big 12 population base is centered on the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia and Iowa
12.
Halftime show
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A halftime show is a performance given during the brief period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions, the intermissions are usually given over to contests involving randomly selected audience members. The invention of the show is generally credited to Walter Lingo. Lingo was the owner of a dog kennel and sponsored an all-Native American football team, in addition to playing football, the Indians would provide various forms of entertainment, including exhibiting the dogs, players demonstrating their prowess. Dancing, and demonstrations of native culture, a modern halftime show can consist of cheerleading performances, majorette routines, marching bands playing music, or other spectacular performances. More common in times, especially in major games, is to reserve the entire halftime period for a short concert by a major recording artist. A halftime show is an element in an American football. During the interval between the second and third quarters some form of entertainment is presented on the field, the entertainment frequently consists of performances by marching bands. At high school and most college games, the bands of the two competing teams perform at halftime. Often, the cheerleaders and/or a dance team will perform, other activities may also take place, and these vary widely. During a professional game, a high school or college band may be brought in to perform. For the Super Bowl and Grey Cup games, a show involving world-renowned music stars, dancers, fireworks. Many football historians believe halftime shows originated with the Oorang Indians of the early National Football league, the team was a marketing ploy by Walter Lingo to sell and promote his airdales. He would lure audiences to his games with the promise of a halftime show. The team was called the Indians because they were made up entirely of Native Americans, the Indians players participated in helping the Oorang Airedales perform tricks for the crowd before and after the game. However, it was their halftime entertainment that made such a huge attraction in the early 1920s. There were shooting exhibitions with the dogs retrieving the targets, there were Native American dances and tomahawk and knife-throwing demonstrations. Indians player Nick Lassa, also called Long-Time-Sleep, even wrestled a bear on occasion, another show was a demonstration of the United States Indian scouts actions during World War I
13.
Allstate
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The Allstate Corporation is the second largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada, Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co. and was spun off in 1993. The company has had its headquarters in Northfield Township, Illinois and its current advertising campaign, in use since 2004, asks, Are you in good hands. The corporate spokesperson is Dennis Haysbert, in 1925, Sears held a national contest to decide the name of a new brand of car tires. After over two million submissions, Allstate was chosen as the winner, the trademark was adopted the very next year. The tires success in both the catalog and retail stores prompted Sears Chairman General Robert E. Wood to praise the Allstate tires contribution to Sears retail store success, the idea appealed to Wood, and he passed the proposal to the Sears board of directors, which approved it. Allstate Insurance Company, named after Sears’ tire brand, went into business on April 17,1931, offering auto insurance by direct mail and this was in line with one of the objectives of a company to sell automobile insurance in the same manner as Sears sold its merchandise. Lessing J. Rosenwald was Allstates first board chairman, and Odell was named vice president, in 1933, at the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago, Allstate’s Richard E. Roskam sold insurance at a booth in the Sears pavilion. In 1934, Allstate opened its first permanent sales office in a Chicago Sears store, in 1941, only about a quarter of U. S. drivers had auto liability insurance. This led to the state of New York passing a law established the financial responsibility of drivers for damage or injuries resulting from auto mishaps. That law inspired legislation in states, and by the mid-1950s nearly every state had some sort of financial responsibility law on its books. In 1949 the Allstate Headquarters Building was completed at 3245 W. Arthington Street in Chicago, the mid-rise building is currently vacant and in danger of demolition. The building is noted for its early post-war mid-rise construction and this location was vacated at some point when the company relocated in the post-war years. The company’s Youre in Good Hands with Allstate slogan was created in 1950 by Allstate’s general sales manager Davis W. Ellis, at the end of the decade, it was used in the companys first network television advertising campaign, which featured actor Ed Reimers. Allstate added products throughout the 1950s, including fire insurance in 1954 and homeowners, Allstate began selling insurance to Canadians in 1953. Allstate Insurance Company of Canada was incorporated in 1964, in 1967, the companys home office was moved from Skokie to Northbrook, Illinois. The brand itself expanded in the 1950s and 1960s and could be found on a variety of products like fire extinguishers, in 1952, an Allstate car was produced, but it was a flop, it was pulled from stores by 1953. The Allstate brand was limited to insurance, tires
14.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
15.
Television network
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Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast networks. Many early television networks evolved from earlier radio networks, such networks are commonly referred to by terms such as specialty channels in Canada or cable networks in the U. S. A network may or may not produce all of its own programming, if not, production companies can distribute their content to the various networks, and it is common that a certain production firm may have programs that air on two or more rival networks. Similarly, some networks may import television programs from other countries, some stations have the capability to interrupt the network through the local insertion of television commercials, station identifications and emergency alerts. Others completely break away from the network for their own programming and this is common where small networks are members of larger networks. The majority of television stations are self-owned, even though a variety of these instances are the property of an owned-and-operated television network. The commercial television stations can also be linked with an educational broadcasting agency. It is also important to note that some countries have launched national television networks, on the other hand, television networks also undergo the impending experience of major changes related to cultural varieties. The emergence of television has made available in major media markets. Such a diverse captive audience presents an occasion for the networks and this is explained by author Tim P. Vos notes that policymakers did not expressly intend to create a broadcast order dominated by commercial networks. In fact, legislative attempts were made to limit the networks preferred position, as to individual stations, modern network operations centers usually use broadcast automation to handle most tasks. A major international network is the British Broadcasting Corporation, which is perhaps most well known for its news agency BBC News. Owned by the Crown, the BBC operates primarily in the United Kingdom and it is funded by the television licence paid by British residents that watch terrestrial television and as a result, no commercial advertising appears on its networks. Outside of the UK, advertising is broadcast because the licence fee applies to the BBCs British operations. 23,000 people worldwide are employed by the BBC and its subsidiary, other networks are dedicated to specialized programming, such as religious content or programs presented in languages other than English, particularly Spanish. The largest television network in the United States, however, is the Public Broadcasting Service, some public television outlets, such as PBS, carry separate digital subchannel networks through their member stations. This works as each network sends its signal to many local affiliated stations across the country. These local stations then carry the feed, which can be viewed by millions of households across the country
16.
ESPN
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ESPN is a U. S. -based global cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc. a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Corporation. ESPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut, the network also operates offices in Miami, New York City, Seattle, Charlotte, and Los Angeles. John Skipper currently serves as president of ESPN, a position he has held since January 1,2012, as of February 2015, ESPN is available to approximately 94,396,000 paid television households in the United States. In 2011, ESPNs history and rise was chronicled by These Guys Have All the Fun, Bill Rasmussen conceived the concept of ESPN in late May 1978, after he was fired from his job with the World Hockey Associations New England Whalers. One of the first steps in Bill and his son Scotts process was finding land to build the channels broadcasting facilities, the Rasmussens first rented office space in Plainville, Connecticut. However, the plan to base ESPN there was put on hold because a local ordinance prohibiting buildings from bearing rooftop satellite dishes and this helped the credibility of the fledgling company, however there were still many doubters to the viability of their sports channel concept. ESPN launched on September 7,1979, beginning with the first telecast of what would become the flagship program. Taped in front of a live audience inside the Bristol studios. ESPNs next big break came when the acquired the rights to broadcast coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament. It first aired the NCAA tournament in March 1980, creating the modern day television event known as March Madness. The channels tournament coverage also launched the career of Dick Vitale. In April of that year, ESPN created another made-for-TV spectacle, the next major stepping stone for ESPN came over the course of a couple of months in 1984. During this time period, the American Broadcasting Company purchased 100% of ESPN from the Rasmussens, for years, the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball refused to consider cable as a means of broadcasting some of their games. However, with the backing of ABC, ESPNs ability to compete for major sports contracts greatly increased, later in 1984, the U. S. ESPNs Sunday Night Football games would become the highest-rated NFL telecasts for the next 17 years. In 1992, ESPN launched ESPN Radio, a sports talk radio network providing analysis. It became the fastest growing cable channel in the U. S. during the 1990s, ownership of ABC, and in effect control of ESPN, was acquired first by Capital Cities Communications in 1985, and then by The Walt Disney Company in 1996. In 2012, ESPN generated more revenue for Disney than any of its other properties combined, alongside its live sports broadcasts, ESPN also airs a variety of sports highlight, talk, and documentary-styled shows. 30 for 30 started airing in 2009 and continues airing to this day, each episode is through the eyes of a well known filmmaker and has featured some of the biggest directors in Hollywood
17.
ESPN 3D
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ESPN 3D was an American digital cable and satellite television channel that was owned by ESPN Inc. a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Corporation. The channel featured 3D telecasts of sports events that ESPN held broadcast rights, ESPN 3D launched on June 11,2010 with a 3D broadcast of the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup between South Africa and Mexico. Other programs broadcast on the channel in its first year included the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, early programming included 25 matches from the 2010 World Cup and the Summer X Games. Up to 85 live events were shown on the network in 2010, ESPN 3D produced 14 games from the National Basketball Association during the 2010-11 season, including seven playoff games. The first NBA game broadcast on ESPN 3D was a December 17,2010 match between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, on July 4,2011, it would also air a recorded broadcast of the ladies and mens finals. ESPN 3D also broadcast all of the games of the 2011 Little League World Series, originally operating as a part-time service, ESPN 3D began broadcasting 24 hours a day on February 14,2011. ESPN 3D was shut down on September 30,2013, citing limited viewer adoption of 3D services, direcTV, Comcast and AT&T U-verse carried ESPN 3D at its launch. Time Warner Cable reached an agreement to carry the channel a few months later, on August 1,2011, during that years X Games, AT&T U-verse abruptly stopped carrying ESPN 3D to its customers, citing high cost and low demand
18.
Xbox Live
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Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system in November 2002, an updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at the systems launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One. The service was extended in 2007 on the Windows platform, named Games for Windows – Live, Microsoft has announced plans to extend Live to other platforms such as handhelds and mobile phones as part of the Live Anywhere initiative. With Microsofts mobile operating system, Windows Phone, full Xbox Live functionality is integrated into new Windows Phones that launched since late 2010. The service shut down for the original Xbox on April 15,2010, as Microsoft developed the original Xbox console, online gaming was designated as one of the key pillars for the greater Xbox strategy. Downloadable content was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection, Microsoft, however, hoped that the Xbox would succeed where the Dreamcast had failed. Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates both had a vision of making premium download content and add-ons that would attract new customers. Critics scoffed at it, citing poor broadband adoption at the turn of the century, when the Xbox launched on November 15,2001, the as-yet unnamed online service was destined for a Summer 2002 deployment. Xbox Live was finally given a name at E32002 when the service was unveiled in its entirety, sound-dampened booths and broadband-connected Xbox consoles—featuring an early version of Unreal Championship—demonstrated the service on the show floor. The Epic title was one of the titles for the service. Microsoft announced that 50 Xbox Live titles would be available by the end of 2003, leading up to the launch, Microsoft enlisted several waves of beta testers to improve the service and receive feature feedback. The first wave of beta testers were given Revolt. and NFL Fever to beta test, once beta testing concluded, Microsoft sent these beta testers a translucent orange memory card, a headset carrying case, and a beta tester tshirt with the slogan I have great hands. Microsofts 5000th patent was Live-related and gave Xbox 360 users access to other gamers compete against each other over Xbox Live. The packaging for playable Xbox Live titles on the original Xbox console featured the trademark gold bar underneath the Xbox header, tom Clancys Splinter Cell and Brute Force sported a Live bubble design, as they only featured downloadable content. It was changed later, wherein all Xbox Live titles included the universal gold Live bar, by the time of the Xbox 360, all titles were required to provide at least a limited form of Xbox Live awareness. In July 2004, Xbox Live had reached 1 million online users, in July 2005, Xbox Live had reached 2 million online users. Increased demand from Xbox 360 purchasers was given as the reason for the downtime, on January 18,2008, Microsoft announced Undertow would be offered free to both Gold and Free members for the week starting January 23 through January 27 as compensation. On February 5,2010, Marc Whitten announced that Xbox Live had reached 23 million members, in August 2010, Microsoft announced an increase to the cost of Xbox Live Gold in several countries by 20%, for the first time since its inception
19.
ESPN3
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ESPN3 is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc. The use of the name ESPN3 was discussed as early as 1996 for the channel that would become known as ESPNews. The website began in 2005 as ESPN360. com, a mostly on-demand video website, in September 2007, ESPN360. com shifted away from on-demand content such as studio shows and shifted toward placing emphasis on live events. On April 4,2010, ESPN360. com re-launched as ESPN3. com, the following year, most programming from ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU that aired during the evening hours, or from 12,00 p. m. On November 1,2010, ESPN3 launched on Xbox Live and this service allows Xbox Live members to access live sporting events on ESPN3, among other offerings, at no additional cost. Some internet service providers have complained to the FCC that ESPN3 violates the principles of network neutrality, ESPN3 bundles its content into the fees of the participating ISP, regardless of whether or not users partake in accessing its content. If a particular ISP does not pay fees to ESPN. ESPNs only recommended solution in such a situation is to have the consumer lobby an ISP that is available in their area to add ESPN3. Time Warner Cable & RCN do not allow internet-only and basic cable subscribers to access ESPN3, thus, in these cases the cost of the service is bundled into the cable bill and not the Internet bill. In the United States, the network is available to individuals who receive their high-speed Internet connection or cable television subscription from a service provider. Since 2008, ESPN3 has also been available to approximately 21 million U. S. college students and U. S. -based military personnel via computers with college/university, ESPN3 is only available to Internet providers who pay fees to ESPN. As part of the distribution agreement that DirecTV and The Walt Disney Company announced. The nationwide rollout was completed in February 2017, ESPN3 on WatchESPN List of ESPN3 affiliated Internet Service Providers in the United States List of ESPN3 affiliated Video Service Providers in the United States
20.
Brent Musburger
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Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster, recently retired from the ESPN and ABC television networks. He has also performed postgame wrap-up segments and covered championship trophy presentations and he is a member of the Montana Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. Musburger was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Billings, Montana and he was an umpire for minor league baseball during the 1950s. He was also a friend of former Major League pitcher Dave McNally. His brother, Todd Musburger, is a prominent sports agent, Musburgers youth included some brushes with trouble, when he was 12, he and his brother stole a car belonging to their mothers cleaning lady and took it for a joy ride. His parents sent him to the Shattuck-St, educated at Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism, he was kicked out for a year for owning and operating a car without a license. Musburger began his career as a sportswriter for the now-defunct Chicagos American newspaper, in it he stated Smith and Carlos looked like a couple of black-skinned storm troopers who were ignoble, juvenile, and unimaginative. In a 1999 article in The New York Times, Musburger stated that comparing the two to the Nazis was harsh, but he stood by his criticism of the pairs action, Smith and Carlos aside, I object to using the Olympic awards stand to make a political statement. According to Carlos, Musburger never apologized, We are talking about someone who compared us to Nazis, here we are standing up to apartheid and to a man in Avery Brundage who delivered the Olympics to Hitler’s Germany. And here’s Musburger calling us Nazis and it hurt my wife, my kids. I’ve never been able to confront him about why he did this, every time I’ve been at a function or an event with Brent Musburger and I walk towards him, he heads the other way. In 1968, Musburger began a 22-year association with CBS, first as a anchor for WBBM radio. Beginning in late 1973, Musburger was doing play-by-play for CBS Sports and he started out doing regular season National Football League games. Musburger was paired with Tommy Mason or Bart Starr, who provided the color commentary, a year later, Wayne Walker would be paired with Musburger in the booth. By 1975 at CBS, Musburger went from doing NFL play-by-play to rising to prominence as the host of the networks National Football League studio show, suddenly, Musburger began to cover many assignments for CBS Sports. He would even lend his talents to weekend afternoon fare such as The Worlds Strongest Man contests, Musburger also called Major League Baseball games for CBS Radio. But it was Musburgers association with The NFL Today that made him famous, during his tenure, CBS NFL pregame show was consistently the #1 rated pregame show. One of the signatures of the program was Musburgers show-opening teases to the various games CBS would cover, Musburgers accompanying intro to each visual, You are looking live at
21.
Kirk Herbstreit
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Kirk Herbstreit is an American analyst for ESPNs College GameDay, a television program covering college football and a provider of color commentary on college football games on ESPN and ABC. He appeared annually as a commentator in EA Sports NCAA Football until the series was put on hiatus following NCAA Football 14 and he was a quarterback on the Ohio State football team. He saw action in several games his junior season and was the starting quarterback throughout his senior season, Herbstreit graduated from Centerville High School in Centerville, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. As a quarterback for the Elks, he was the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior and he also was a standout baseball player. Herbstreit was the first player to commit to the Ohio State Buckeyes after the hiring of John Cooper as head coach in 1988, Herbstreit was a four-year letter winner as a quarterback at Ohio State University from 1989 to 1993. After waiting his turn as a Buckeye starter behind Greg Frey and Kent Graham and that year he was a co-captain and was voted team MVP. Herbstreit passed for 1,904 yards that season, including four 200-plus yard games, herbstreits father, Jim Herbstreit, had been a co-captain of the 1960 Ohio State team, and was later an assistant coach at Ohio State under Woody Hayes. When Herbstreit was named co-captain in 1992, the two only the second father-and-son duo to have each been Ohio State captains. Herbstreit graduated from Ohio State in 1993 with a degree in Business Administration and he lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife and four sons. He also is known for a 2009 case in which he sued the IRS for changing an implied policy of allowing deductions for house donations to the department for training purposes. Herbstreit is actively involved in multiple charities including the 2012 Buckeye Cruise for Cancer and he has lent his name to the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic in Columbus, Ohio, and Arlington, Texas. According to the website, the Kickoff Classic pits high school teams from the states of Ohio, the games in Ohio are usually held at Ohio Stadium, while the games in Texas are held at AT&T Stadium. Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, and Lee Corso sit alongside Herbstreit on the ESPN College GameDay set, discussing the days college football games, every Saturday, College GameDay goes to colleges all around the United States to preview the schools upcoming football game. Herbstreit serves as an analyst for ABC Sports college football prime time series alongside play-by-play man Chris Fowler and he was nominated for a 1997 Sports Emmy Award as televisions top studio analyst, along with Cris Collinsworth, Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw and Steve Lyons. He is a frequent contributor to ESPN. com and ESPN The Magazine, in 1997, he wrote a weekly in-season column—Inside The Game With Kirk Herbstreit—for The Sporting News. Herbstreit previously worked Thursday night games for ESPN as a color commentator, Herbstreit is also a contributor to the Columbus, Ohio-based FM radio station 97.1 The Fan,97.1 is also an ESPN Radio affiliate. In July 2007, he served as a panelist for the series Whos Now alongside Keyshawn Johnson and it was announced on June 28,2010 that Herbstreit would host a weekly college football radio program on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus. Herbstreit met his wife, Allison, at Ohio State, where she was a cheerleader and they were married in 1998 and have four sons
22.
Erin Andrews
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Erin Jill Andrews is an American sportscaster and television personality. She hosts Dancing with the Stars for ABC and is a reporter for Fox NFL. Andrews was previously a co-host of College GameDay on ESPN and a contributor for Good Morning America on the ABC network and she also has an on-air presence at many major sporting events, including the Super Bowl and the World Series. Andrews was born in Lewiston, Maine, to Paula Andrews, a teacher, and Steven Andrews, Andrews describes herself as a tomboy as a youth, living a life that always revolved around sports, watching NBA games with her father growing up, particularly Boston Celtics games. Andrews cited Hannah Storm, Melissa Stark, Lesley Visser, Andrews attended Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Florida, where she was a member of the dance team, student government, and the National Honor Society. Also while growing up, she attended Brandon School of Dance Arts in Seffner, Florida. In high school, Andrews claimed that, as a tomboy, she did not have a lot of friends, opting to hang out with the boys. Following graduation from school in 1996, Andrews attended the University of Florida. While in college, she was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, and she has a younger sister, Kendra Andrews, who is a professional dancer and actress. In 2000, Andrews was employed by Fox Sports Florida as a freelance reporter, from 2001 to 2002, she served as a Tampa Bay Lightning reporter for the Sunshine Network. From 2002 to 2004, Andrews covered the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Thrashers, Andrews began working for ESPN in April 2004 as a reporter for ESPN National Hockey Night. She has also reported for the College World Series, Little League World Series, in 2010, Andrews appeared on the tenth season of ABCs Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. They placed third out of 11 couples, on January 13,2011, it was announced that Andrews signed an endorsement deal with Reebok to promote its ZigTech brand. Due to the conflict of interest, ESPN announced revised endorsement guidelines for its journalists that required Andrews to end her endorsement deal with Reebok by the end of 2011, on June 29,2012, it was announced that Andrews was leaving ESPN to join Fox Sports. She was the first host of Fox College Footballs studio show with Eddie George, Andrews would also contribute to daily studio show Fox Football Daily. On February 23,2014, it was announced that Andrews would replace Brooke Burke-Charvet as the co-host of Dancing with the Stars beginning with its 18th season in March 2014. On July 14,2014, it was announced that Andrews would be replacing Pam Oliver as the reporter on Foxs lead NFL broadcasting crew. Andrews became a spokesperson for the Kraft Foods Huddle to Fight Hunger campaign in 2010, in October 2011, Erin Andrews teamed up with StubHub, the world’s largest online ticket marketplace, to launch a new national campaign called Girls Night Out
23.
Tom Rinaldi
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Tom Rinaldi is a reporter for ESPN and ABC based in New York. He has contributed to ESPNs golf coverage, SportsCenter, Outside the Lines and he also did features for the horse racing telecasts. Rinaldi joined ESPN in May 2003 following a stint as a reporter for CNN/SI from 1998-2002. He has also worked as a reporter for KATU-TV in Portland, Oregon from 1996 to 1998 and for WNDU-TV in South Bend, Indiana from 1993 to 1996. Prior to his career in journalism, Rinaldi was a high school English and English as a Second Language teacher in addition to being a coach at Morris High School in the Bronx. Rinaldi has won three Regional Emmy Awards, three Associated Press Awards and a USA Today Feature-of-the-Year Award and he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania before going on to receive his graduate degree at Columbia University. Rinaldi grew up in Cresskill, New Jersey and lives in nearby Tenafly. In 2016, he wrote a book called The Man in the Red Bandanna, about Welles Crowther, since 2006, Rinaldi has been the lead interviewer and feature reporter for ESPN and ABCs coverage of golf. In this capacity, he has been praised for many of his essays, Rinaldi conducted the first interview of Tiger Woods after the incident on November 27,2009 which led to Woods public disclosure of his extra-marital affairs. He also was the first person to interview Manti Teo after he had been catfished
24.
BCS National Championship Game
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The participating teams were determined by averaging the results of the final weekly Coaches Poll, the Harris Poll of media, former players and coaches, and the average of six computer rankings. The methodologies of the BCS system and its selections proved to be controversial, 3-ranked team, the University of Oklahoma, over the No. 1-ranked team in that poll, the University of Southern California, the expanded format was called the Bowl Championship Series. The Bowl Alliance and its predecessor, the Bowl Coalition, featured games in the 1992–1997 seasons. However, these could not always ensure a matchup between the top two ranked teams because of the lack of participation by the Big Ten and Pac-10. The BCS National Championship Game was initially rotated among the four participating bowl games, the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, however, beginning with the 2006 season, the BCS National Championship Game was added as a separate contest, played after New Years Day. The game rotated its location among the Fiesta, Sugar, Orange, * The American Athletic Conference was known as the Big East during the 1991–2012 seasons. Because of a split between the schools and FBS schools, the conference adopted its present name for the 2013 season. * Miami and Virginia Tech moved to the ACC in 2004, * Nebraska moved to the Big Ten in 2011. ** LSUs loss in the 2012 BCS Championship Game was to fellow SEC member Alabama, *** Alabamas win in the 2012 BCS Championship Game was over fellow SEC member LSU. † USC vacated its win in the 2005 Orange Bowl, critics of the BCS National Championship argued against the internal validity of a so-called national championship being awarded to the winner of a single postseason game. The end of the 2010 season was one of the best examples of this, without any objective criteria for evaluation of the teams, the BCS forced voters to impose their own standards and tiebreakers. Critics noted that the system inherently fostered selection bias, and therefore lacked both internal validity and external validity, controversies surrounding teams inclusion in the BCS National Championship Game were numerous. In 2001, Oregon, ranked second in the AP poll, was bypassed in favor of Nebraska despite Nebraskas 62-36 blowout to Colorado in its regular season game. In 2003, USC was not included in the championship game, the following season, undefeated Auburn, Boise State, and Utah teams were left out of the national title game. In 2008, the University of Utah was excluded from the BCS championship for a time despite being the only undefeated FBS team. In 2010, three teams, Oregon, Auburn, and TCU, all finished the year with undefeated records, gee retracted his statement and apologized after TCU defeated Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl. On June 24,2009, the BCS presidential oversight committee rejected the Mountain West Conferences proposed eight-team playoff plan, in May 2011, the NCAA rejected all appeals of USCs penalties, which included Bushs ineligibility and a two-year bowl ban
25.
College football
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It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. No minor league farm organizations exist in American football and it is in college football where a players performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football. The best collegiate players will declare for the professional draft after 3 to 4 years of collegiate competition. Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as a free agent. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League, college football remained extremely popular throughout the U. S, in many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests. This allows them to more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium. College athletes, unlike players in the NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries, colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as football, by the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as Rugby football. The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges, the first documented gridiron football match was a game played at University College, a college of the University of Toronto, November 9,1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional mob football played in England. The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, when games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football, Princeton University students played a game called ballown as early as 1820. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes, in 1860, both the town police and the college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. The Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a figure called Football Fightum. The authorities held firm and it was a dozen years before football was again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were first published in 1871, all of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities
26.
Bowl game
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In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAAs Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in career totals. The term bowl originated from the Rose Bowl stadium, site of the first post-season college football games, the Rose Bowl Stadium, in turn, takes its name and bowl-shaped design from the Yale Bowl, the prototype of many football stadiums in the United States. The term has become almost synonymous with any major American football event. In professional football, the names of the National Football League s Super Bowl, the use of the term has crossed over into professional and collegiate Canadian football. A notable example is the annual Banjo Bowl between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, U Sports plays two semi-final bowl games before the Vanier Cup national championship game, the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. The matchups are determined on a rotation basis, with the Uteck Bowl being played at the easternmost host team. The history of the game began with the 1902 Tournament East-West football game. The Tournament of Roses eventually sponsored an annual contest starting with the 1916 Tournament East-West Football Game, with the 1923 Rose Bowl it began to be played at the newly completed Rose Bowl stadium, and thus the contest itself became known as the Rose Bowl game. The name bowl to describe the games comes from the Rose Bowl stadium. Other cities saw the value for tourism that the Tournament of Roses parade and Rose Bowl carried. The label bowl was attached to the name, even though the games were not always played in bowl-shaped stadiums. The historic timing of bowl games, around the new year, is the result of two factors—warm climate and ease of travel. The original bowls began in warm climates such as Southern California, Louisiana, Florida and Texas as a way to promote the area for tourism and business. Since commercial air travel was either non-existent or very limited, the games were scheduled well after the end of the season to allow fans to travel to the game site. As the number of games has increased, the number of games a team would need to win to be invited to a bowl game has decreased. With a 12-game schedule, a number of teams with only 5 wins have been invited to a bowl game, as of the completion of the 2016 season, the University of Alabama has played in more bowl games than any other school, with 64 appearances. Alabama also holds the record for most bowl victories with 37, the Florida State Seminoles have the longest active streak of consecutive bowl appearances with 35
27.
Bowl Championship Series
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The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff. The BCS was created to end split championships and for the champion to win the title on the field between the two selected by the BCS. The system also selected match-ups for four other prestigious BCS bowl games, the ten teams selected included the conference champion from each of the six Automatic Qualifying conferences plus four others. The BCS was created by agreement by those six conferences. For the 1998 through 2005 seasons eight teams competed in four BCS bowls and it had been in place since the 1998 season. The BCS replaced the Bowl Alliance, in place from 1995 to 1997, prior to the Bowl Coalitions creation in 1992, the AP Polls number one and two teams had met in a bowl game only 8 times in 56 seasons. The APs top two teams met 13 out of the 16 seasons the BCS was in place, in the 2014 season, the BCS was discontinued and replaced by the College Football Playoff, which organizes a four-team playoff and national championship game. The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision is the only NCAA-sponsored sport without an officially organized NCAA tournament to determine its champion, instead, the postseason has historically consisted of individual bowl games. The bowl system began in 1902 with the first ever East-West game in Pasadena, California and this game was an exhibition game pitting a highly rated team from the west coast against a team from east of the Mississippi River. This was a time for a postseason game, as fans could take off work or school during this holiday period to travel to the game. In the first game, the University of Michigan Wolverines represented the east, due to the lopsided victory the game did not resume until 1916. The game was renamed the Rose Bowl in the 1920s when play shifted to the Rose Bowl stadium, by the 1930s, the Cotton Bowl Classic, Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl were also held on January 1 to showcase teams from other regions of the country. By the 1940s, college football conferences began signing contracts that tied their team to a particular bowl. This system raised the possibility that the two top-ranked teams in the poll would not play each other in a bowl game. Under these circumstances, it was not uncommon to have the Coaches Poll crown a different national champion than the AP Poll and this situation arose a total of ten different seasons before BCS was formed. For example, in 1991, the University of Miami Hurricanes, since the Huskies were locked into the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 Conference champion against Big Ten champion Michigan, they could not play then-independent Miami, who played in the Orange Bowl. Both teams won their bowl games convincingly and shared the championship, Miami winning the Associated Press poll. A split national championship has happened on occasions since then as well
28.
2008 BCS National Championship Game
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The game featured No.1 Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes hosting No.2 SEC champion LSU Tigers. It also featured the second matchup between head coaches Jim Tressel and Les Miles in five years. The first occurrence was the 2004 Alamo Bowl, when Tressels Buckeyes defeated Miles Oklahoma State Cowboys, prior to the last weekend of the regular season, it looked like the national championship game would be played between Missouri and West Virginia. However, Missouri lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game and this threw the BCS and college football world into upheaval. By virtue of winning the Big Ten and having one loss. After much speculation, LSU was revealed to be the two team in the ratings, and therefore the Buckeyes opponent in the title game. Shortly thereafter, he agreed to an extension at LSU. Additionally, LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini accepted the coaching job at Nebraska the day after the SEC title game. With the blessing of Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne, Pelini returned to Baton Rouge to prepare for the BCS championship game, as for the Buckeyes, two cornerbacks, Donald Washington and Eugene Clifford, were reported to be suspended for this game for violating team rules. However, Ohio States athletic director said on December 27 that the suspension of Washington was erroneous. LSU won the toss and deferred to the second half. After receiving the kickoff, Ohio State started slowly on offense before Chris Wells broke off a 65-yard touchdown run for the first score of the game. LSU went three-and-out deep in their own territory and punted on their first possession, Ohio State quickly added a field goal by Ryan Pretorius to go up 10-0. LSU then marched efficiently down field, but their 14-play/65-yard drive stalled in the red zone, the first quarter ended with LSU on offense and trailing, 10-3. LSU scored early in the period with a 13-yard Matt Flynn touchdown pass to Richard Dickson, the drive was aided by two penalties totaling 28 yards by Ohio States defense. LSUs Ricky Jean-Francois then blocked a 38-yard Pretorius field goal attempt on Ohio States next possession, momentum appeared to be shifting to LSUs sideline. LSU began the drive from their 34. The Tigers marched 66 yards in 3,28, a 10-yard Brandon LaFell touchdown reception from Flynn culminated the drive, on the next Buckeye possession, quarterback Todd Boeckman was intercepted by cornerback Chevis Jackson who returned the ball 34 yards into Ohio State territory
29.
Tulane Green Wave football
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The Tulane Green Wave football team represents Tulane University in the sport of American football. The Green Wave compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the American Athletic Conference, the football team is coached by Willie Fritz, and plays its home games in Yulman Stadium on its campus in Uptown New Orleans. The Green Wave have played their games in Yulman Stadium on its Uptown campus since 2014. Prior to that season, Tulane played home games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for nearly 40 seasons, because Tulanes campus is landlocked within Uptown New Orleans, Yulman is tightly fit within its athletic footprint and directly abutting the surrounding neighborhood. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators and was constructed with the ability to expand, the Tulane University Marching Band was founded in 1920 as a military band. It dissolved shortly after the move to the Superdome in the 1970s. The TUMB performs at home games each fall and in Mardi Gras parades each spring, riptide the Pelican debuted in 1998 with the re-branding of Tulane athletics. Prior to that, the school used an angry wave nicknamed Gumby by fans, Tulanes biggest and oldest rival was LSU. It began in 1893 with a 34–0 Green Wave victory over the Tigers, the teams stopped meeting every year in the Battle for the Flag in 2009. Between 1979 and 1982, Tulane won three out of four games against the Tigers, the 1982 win was the last win to date, the two schools stopped playing annually after the 1994 game, however, they have met six times since. LSU lead the series 69–22–7 and won 45 of the final 50 games, as a condition of the broken series agreement made in 2006, a potential future game will be played in a future season in New Orleans. Known as the Battle for the Bell, Tulanes rivalry with Southern Miss was played yearly from 1979 until 2006, as a result of Conference USA splitting into East and West divisions in 2005, the game was played two out of every four years. The rivalry is paused indefinitely as a result of Tulanes move to The American Athletic Conference in 2014, Tulane has won nine conference football championships in four different conferences. Its three Southeastern Conference titles are more than seven current members of the SEC, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M, records current as of November 27,2015 Tulane has had 19 players named to first-team All-America teams. Of those 19, five were consensus selections, with one being a unanimous selection, the team has had 39 head coaches and 1 interim head coach since Tulane began playing football in 1893. While Tommy Bowden led the 1998 team to a perfect 11–0 regular season, six coaches led the team to conference championships, Clark Shaughnessy, Bernie Bierman, Ted Cox, Red Dawson, Henry E. Frnka, and Tommy Bowden. Clark Shaughnessy and Chris Scelfo are tied as the leaders in games coached at Tulane with 94 each. Clark Shaughnessy is the leader in years coached and total wins
30.
University of Georgia
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Its primary location is a 762-acre campus adjacent to the college town of Athens, Georgia, approximately an hours drive from the global city of Atlanta. The university has been labeled one of the Public Ivies, a publicly funded university considered to provide a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League. The university was founded in 1785 as the United States first state-chartered university and its historic North Campus is on the U. S. National Register of Historic Places as a designated historic district. The contiguous campus areas include rolling hills, gardens, and extensive green space including nature walks, fields, shrubbery, and large and varied arboreta. Close to the campus is the universitys 58-acre Health Sciences Campus that also has an extensive landscaped green space, more than 400 trees. The university offers over 140 degree programs in an array of disciplines. Consisting of thirteen separate libraries, the UGA Libraries rank among the nation’s largest and best research libraries containing 5.7 million volumes, the University of Georgia is one of 126 member institutions that comprise the Association of Research Libraries. The university is organized into seventeen schools and colleges, the university has three primary campuses. The largest one is the campus in Athens that has 460 buildings. The university has two campuses located in Atlanta and Lawrenceville, Georgia. The university operates several service and outreach stations spread across the state, the total acreage of the university in 30 Georgia counties is 41,539 acres. Varsity and intramural student athletics are a part of student life. UGA served as a member of the SEC in 1932. In their 121-year history, the varsity sports teams have won 39 national championships and 130 conference championships. The Georgia Redcoat Marching Band, the marching band of the university, plays at sports. The Senatus Academicus was composed of the Board of Visitors and the Board of Trustees with the Georgia Senate presiding over those two boards, the first meeting of the universitys board of trustees was held in Augusta, Georgia on February 13,1786. The meeting installed its first president, Abraham Baldwin, a native of Connecticut, Baldwin was a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and one of two Georgia delegates to sign the final document. Many features on the University of Georgia campus resemble the campus of Yale, on July 2,1799, the Senatus Academicus met again in Louisville, Georgia and decided that the time was right to open the university
31.
2011 SEC Championship Game
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The 2011 SEC Championship Game was played on December 3,2011, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, and determined the 2011 football champion of the Southeastern Conference. The game featured the Georgia Bulldogs of the Eastern division against the LSU Tigers of the Western division, LSU was the designated home team. This was Georgias 4th SEC Championship Game and LSUs 5th, LSU defeated Georgia in 2003 and Georgia defeated LSU in 2005. LSU defeated Georgia in the 2011 SEC championship game 42–10, the games MVP was LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. The game was televised by CBS Sports, for the eleventh straight season, LSU moved to 4–1 in SEC Championship Games and Georgia to 2–2
32.
2011 LSU vs. Alabama football game
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In a game dominated by defense and special teams, LSU won in overtime 9–6. LSU kicker Drew Alleman made all 3 of his goals, while Alabama kickers Jeremy Shelley and Cade Foster made only 2 out of their 6 attempts. LSU and Alabama first met on the field in 1895, and have met annually since 1964, when former LSU head coach Nick Saban was hired in the same capacity at Alabama, their annual contest became, arguably, an even more heated rivalry than before. Statistically, the game matched two of the top defenses in both the SEC and all of college football, Alabama received the ball to begin the game. Alabama took a 6–3 lead in the third, but LSU tied the game at 6–6 in the quarter to send the game into overtime. In the overtime period, Alabama missed a 52-yard field goal, LSU then connected on a 25-yard field goal to win the game 9–6. In the weeks after the game, both teams defeated their opponents, and LSU captured the SEC Championship, after they defeated Georgia 42–10. On December 4,2011, the final Bowl Championship Series standings were released with LSU ranked No.1, in the rematch, Alabama defeated LSU 21–0 and captured the 2011 national championship. LSU and Alabama first met on the field in 1895 and continuously since 1964, prior to their 2011 game, Alabama held an overall lead in the all-time series with 45 wins to only 24 for LSU and five ties. Historically, LSUs main rival was Tulane and Alabamas were both Auburn and Tennessee, however, when former LSU head coach Nick Saban was hired in the same capacity at Alabama in 2007 season, the Alabama–LSU game became a major rivalry game for each school. At the beginning of the 2011 season, both teams were ranked in the top five, after the week ten polls were released, the game officially became the first college football, regular season No.1 vs. No.2 matchup since the 2006 Michigan vs. Ohio State football game, No.2 matchup between SEC conference foes. No.2 rankings against conference rivals and the hype that led up to the matchup, in the preseason polls, LSU opened the 2011 season as the No.4 team in both the AP and Coaches Polls. In week one, the Tigers met the No.3 Oregon Ducks in the Cowboys Classic, against the highly regarded Oregon running attack, the LSU defense held the Ducks to less than 100 yards rushing and won the game 40–27. With their win, they moved up to No.2 and No.3 in the AP, against the No.25 Bulldogs, the Tigers only managed to score a single touchdown, but behind a third strong defensive performance won 19–6. In their third game of the season against a ranked opponent, although West Virginia was able to outgain the Tigers in total offense 533 to 366 yards, four Mountaineer turnovers resulted in a 47–21 LSU victory. As a result of this win, combined with the two over ranked opponents, LSU was selected the No.1 team by the AP following week 5. The Tigers returned home to defeat the Kentucky Wildcats 35–7 in Jordan Jeffersons return from suspension, and then defeated the No.17 Florida Gators 41–11, also in Death Valley
33.
Rick Reilly
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Richard Paul Rick Reilly is an American sportswriter. Reilly hosted ESPN’s Homecoming with Rick Reilly, an interview show, Reilly began his career in 1979 as an undergraduate assistant with the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colorado. He left the Camera in 1981 to be a writer on the sports staff of the Denver Post. The Life of Reilly was the first signed opinion piece in SIs history, by some accounts, during his prime he was considered the preeminent sportswriter in America. Reilly officially left SI during the week of November 29,2007, at ESPN, his column “Life of Reilly” appeared in ESPN The Magazine and on ESPN. com. On March 10,2010, Reilly announced that he would no longer be writing his column for the magazine. Reilly delivered essays from live sporting events for SportsCenter and other ESPN telecasts, such as the U. S. Open, Wimbledon, and he also hosted “Homecoming”, an interview program, on ESPN, which was taped in the hometowns of featured guests. The series launched in April 2009, on March 12,2014 he announced his retirement from sports writing, and his last column was published on ESPN. com on June 10,2014. ESPN announced that he would continue working for them in a capacity, including SportsCenter. Reilly has been voted NSSA National Sportswriter of the Year eleven times and he is second only to the late Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times in number of times winning that award. In 2009, he joined a roster of journalism notables as winner of the Damon Runyon Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism and his work has also been recognized by the prestigious New York Newspaper Guilds Page One Award for Best Magazine Story. Reilly co-wrote the screenplay for Leatherheads, a directed by George Clooney, starring Clooney, Renée Zellweger and John Krasinski. Reillys first novel, Missing Links, has optioned for development as a feature film. Slates Josh Levin noted that Reilly had an affinity for discussing pro athletes and he is especially harsh on dental flossing. Why wait to see what the association will do. Why not step up right now and be tested, Reilly described the incident in his column the following week. Reilly has also been a frequent critic of former San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds for his treatment of his teammates, his off-field behavior and his alleged steroid use. In 2006, Reilly wrote a column in Sports Illustrated about a dedicated to providing anti-malaria nets to African children at a cost of $10 per net
34.
2011 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team
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The 2011 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cowboys were led by seventh year head coach Mike Gundy and they are a member of the Big 12 Conference. The 2011 season was arguably the best in the Cowboys 112-year football history and they opened the season with 10 straight wins, in the process rising to #2 in the AP Poll—the schools highest-ever ranking in a major poll. After unexpectedly losing to Iowa State in Ames, they finished the regular season 11–1. They also won their first-ever Big 12 title and their first outright title since winning the 1948 Missouri Valley Conference title. They were invited to the Fiesta Bowl, their first-ever Bowl Championship Series bid and the second appearance in school history. ^A Originally scheduled to kick off at 9,00 PM on 9/17 but was delayed past midnight due to lightning. Oklahoma State won consecutive games for the first time at Kyle Field as Cowboys fans chanted Big 12, brandon Weeden threw for a school-record 483 yards
35.
College Football Playoff
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The College Football Playoff is an annual postseason tournament in American college football for the National Collegiate Athletic Association s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. It began with the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Four teams play in two semifinal games, and the winners advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship. The CFP is the first time the top-level NCAA football championship has been determined by a bracket competition, a 13-member committee selects and seeds the four teams to take part. The new format is a Plus-One system, an idea which became popular as an alternative to the BCS after the 2003 and 2004 seasons ended in controversy, the semifinals are scheduled mainly for the final Saturday or Friday of the year, or on New Years Day. The championship is played on the first Monday that is six or more days after the semifinals, the championship games venue is selected based on bids submitted by cities, similar to the Super Bowl or NCAA Final Four. The winner is awarded the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, Playoff officials commissioned a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous championship systems. The College Football Playoff is not a sanctioned championship event by the NCAA. Because of this, Division I FBS football is the only NCAA sport in which a champion is not determined by an NCAA championship event. The first College Football Playoff selection committee was announced on October 16,2013, the group consists of 13 members who generally serve three-year terms, although some initial selections served terms both shorter and longer than three years to achieve a rotation of members. Other members are former coaches, players, athletic directors, and administrators, during the selection process, organizers said they wanted the committee to be geographically balanced. Conference commissioners submitted lists totaling more than 100 names from which to select the committee members. The selection of Condoleezza Rice, a former U. S. Secretary of State and Stanford University provost, was met with some backlash within the sport, critics questioned her qualifications, citing gender and lack of football experience. The committee releases its top 25 rankings weekly on Tuesdays in the half of the regular season. The top four teams are seeded in order for the playoff. During the season, the meet and released rankings six or seven times. The group, which meets at the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine, Texas, a teams strength of schedule is one of the most pertinent considerations for the committee in making its selections. Other factors that the committee weighs are conference championships, team records, unlike the BCS system, the AP Poll, Coaches Poll, and the Harris Poll, computer rankings are not used to make the selections. Advanced statistics and metrics are expected to be submitted to the committee, though like other analytics, committee members are not required to attend games
