ESPN’s College Football 150 Finale: The Unveiling of College Football’s 150 Greatest Players and Debut of Football is US: The College Player Documentary

College Football

ESPN’s College Football 150 Finale: The Unveiling of College Football’s 150 Greatest Players and Debut of Football is US: The College Player Documentary

  • Sport’s 11 Greatest Players Exclusively Announced and Honored On-Air and On-Field During Halftime of the College Football Playoff National Championship
  • Football is US: The College Player is Closing Documentary of Year-Long Storytelling Endeavor; Directed by Emmy Award-Winner Jonathan Hock
  • Entire ESPN CFB150 Library Lives on ESPN+

ESPN will unveil college football’s 150 greatest players and debut Football is US: The College Player, an ESPN Films documentary, as the year-long ESPN College Football 150 initiative reaches a signature end surrounding the College Football Playoff National Championship.

College Football’s Greatest Players Honored on Sport’s Biggest Stage
College football’s 150 greatest players will be revealed in two waves, beginning with players ranked No. 150 through No. 26 on Thursday, Jan. 9, via ESPN.com. Then, the sport’s 25 greatest players will be unveiled on Jan. 13 at halftime of the CFP Championship Game between No. 1 LSU vs. No. 3 Clemson, with a special, on-field ceremony recognizing the Top 11 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, culminating the sport’s year-long initiative. Multiple players who have been bestowed the honor are expected to be in attendance, while players ranked 12-25 will be highlighted on ESPN.com immediately following the halftime ceremony. ESPN.com will become the permanent home to the entire 150 greatest players list.

The CFB 150 Greatest Players halftime ceremony will air on ESPN. LSU and Clemson’s band performances will precede the ceremony and be available via specific ESPN’s MegaCast feeds.

Blue Ribbon Panel Determined Sport’s Greatest Players
The sport’s 150 greatest players list was voted on by a blue ribbon panel comprising 150 influential figures from across the spectrum of college football. The same panel has already determined the sport’s 150 Greatest Coaches, Games and Teams, while their voting on the 150 Greatest Players played the central role in determining the All-Time All-American Team.

Football is US: The College Player is Final Long-Form Original Content of ESPN CFB150
Football is US: The College Player, directed by veteran 30 for 30 filmmaker and Emmy Award-winner Jonathan Hock, will premiere on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC, before re-airs on ESPN and ESPN2. The 90-minute documentary examines the evolution of the young men who have played college football over the past 150 years, and how their legacies have fueled the sport’s unabated rise in popularity. Noteworthy, recent players interviewed include:

  • Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel
  • National Championship-winning quarterback Tua Tagovailoa
  • Heisman Trophy and two-time National Championship-winning quarterback Tim Tebow

Football is US: The College Player will re-air on Sunday, Jan. 12, on ESPN (4 p.m.) and on ESPN2 (8:30 p.m.).

150 Days of Original Content Enters Final Leg
In marking the final leg of the 150 days of original content, which began August 17, the My Story vignettes series will conclude on Championship Monday. The final one-minute testimonial leading into the sport’s biggest day will have a national championship game theme.

Entire College Football 150 Programming Lives on ESPN+
ESPN+ is now the permanent home for the entire College Football 150 programming library (more than 35 hours), providing subscribers video on demand access to the multifaceted storytelling initiative that explored the sport from its modest beginnings shortly after the Civil War to the American cultural phenomenon it is today.

CFB150 on ESPN+ also includes both 11-episode original series: The American Game (examining themes that collectively define college football) and The Greatest (exploring the best across the sport over the game’s 150 years). Additionally, the acclaimed eight-part documentary Saturdays in the South: A History of SEC Football directed by Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Fritz Mitchell, and the film Football Is US: The College Game, also directed by Jonathan Hock, will be included in the programming library as well.

CFB150 on ESPN+ includes 10 new, exclusive shows that weave together 100 of the My Story testimonial vignettes into fresh, thematic narratives. The My Story testimonials have debuted daily throughout the college football season and have included one-minute narratives from all corners of the college football tapestry – current and former players, coaches, administrators, media and fans – offering memories of the game, engaging tales and some of the best untold stories in the history of the sport.

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner

 

Derek Volner

I currently lead ESPN’s NFL Communications, including Monday Night Football, NFL Draft and studio programming. Previously, I did the same for ESPN’s vast college football portfolio. I have been with ESPN since 2013.
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