ESPN Films’ “30 for 30” Documentary The U to Debut Immediately following Heisman Trophy Telecast

ESPN will continue its comprehensive college football coverage with an exclusive live telecast of the 75th annual Heisman Trophy Presentation Presented by Nissan Saturday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The entire telecast from the Nokia Theater in New York will also be available on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV. For the second consecutive year, the event will be offered in high definition on ESPN HD. ESPN Radio will broadcast the announcement of the winner and provide interviews from guests on site.

For the first time since 2004, five finalists were invited to the ceremony: Toby Gerhart (Stanford), Mark Ingram (Alabama), Colt McCoy (Texas), Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska) and Tim Tebow (Florida). Production details include:

• For the first time, 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard will join fellow College GameDay Built by The Home Depot colleagues Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit for ESPN’s 14th year of televising the presentation of the prestigious award which will include interviews with all the finalists in attendance.
• ESPN Radio’s Football Tonight host Freddie Coleman will be joined by ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper, Jr. for the three-hour broadcast beginning at 7 p.m. Highlights will include live interviews with past Heisman winners and the finalists in attendance, as well as the winner moments after he accepts the award.
• This years telecast will feature the debut of a touch screen monitor application. The 65-inch television screen will be used to analyze the voting in six different voting regions. ESPN’s creative services and emerging technologies groups are developing the map that is similar to those used during the last presidential election.
• Throughout the program, past Hesiman Trophy winners will tell the story of the award, including Archie Griffin (1974 & 1975), Roger Staubach (1963), Billy Sims (1978), John Cappelletti (1973), Desmond Howard (1991), John Lattner (1953), Dick Kazmaier (1951) and more.

The U

ESPN Films’ critically acclaimed “30 for 30” series will conclude its fall slate Saturday, Dec. 12 at 9 p.m., immediately following the Heisman Trophy presentation on ESPN, with The U –a two-hour documentary about the dramatic rise of the University of Miami football program in the 1980s. Directed by Miami native and alum, Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys), and produced by rakontur and ESPN Films, the film is an intimate look at the program’s sudden transformation into a football powerhouse that essentially changed the rules of the game as told by the players, coaches, students and administrators who were there.

With music by long-time Canes supporter and rap artist Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell and Honor Roll Music, The U peels back the layers of a program that claimed four national titles from the 1983 thru 1991 seasons and produced a steady wave of NFL stars. Bennie Blades, Melvin Bratton, Alonzo Highsmith, Michael Irvin, Bernie Kosar, Santana Moss, Brett Perriman, Jeremy Shockey and former head coaches Dennis Erickson, Jimmy Johnson and Howard Schnellenberger are among the 38 program insiders who were interviewed about what propelled Miami to the top and kept it there as the brash, controversial team its competition loved to hate. For a music sample and video clip: ESPN Films Presents The U

ESPN MediaZone ESPN Films Press Kit

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