NBC College Football Game of the Week

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The NBC College Football Game of the Week refers to nationally televised broadcasts of Saturday afternoon college football games in the 1950s and 1960s that were produced by NBC Sports, the sports division of the NBC television network in the United States. Bowl games were always exempt from the NCAA's television regulations, and the games' organizers were free to sign rights deals with any network. In NBC's case, the 1952 Rose Bowl at the end of that particular season was the first national telecast of a college bowl game. [1]

Contents

Background

NBC first televised college football on September 30, 1939. NBC broadcast the game between Waynesburg and Fordham on station W2XBS (which would eventually become NBC's flagship station, WNBC) with one camera and Bill Stern [2] was the sole announcer. Estimates are that the broadcast reached approximately 1,000 television sets. [3] Twelve years later, the first live regular season college football game to be broadcast coast-to-coast aired on NBC. [4] [5] The game in question, was Duke at the Pittsburgh on September 29, 1951.

Pretty soon on June 6, [6] 1952, NBC Head of Sport Tom Gallery [7] led negotiations towards a one-year [8] football contract [9] (for $1,144,000 [10] ) with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The contract incidentally came about after the 1951 NCAA convention voted 161-7 to outlaw televised games except for those licensed by the NCAA staff. The deal [11] allowed NBC to select one game a week [12] to broadcast on Saturday afternoons, with the assurance that no other NCAA college football broadcast would appear on a competitive network. In the first college football game to be broadcast under this new NCAA television contract, on September 20, Kansas defeated TCU 13–0.

By 1953, the NCAA allowed NBC to add what it called "panorama" coverage of multiple regional broadcasts for certain weeks – shifting national viewers to the most interesting game during its telecast. [13] After NBC lost its college football contract following the 1953 season, they carried Canadian football in 1954. NBC regained college football rights in 1955 and aired games through the 1959 season. NBC regained the NCAA contract for the 1964 and 1965 seasons.

Even after losing the rights to regular season college football in both 1959 and 1965, NBC continued to carry postseason football. NBC carried the Blue–Gray Football Classic, an all-star game, on Christmas Day, until dropping the game in 1963 as a protest of the game's policy of segregation. [14] It consistently served as the Rose Bowl's television home until 1988 and added the Sugar Bowl from 1958 to 1969 (which replaced the network's coverage of the Cotton Bowl Classic).

Commentators

Play-by-play

Red Grange (top) with broadcast partner Lindsey Nelson for NBC's NCAA Game of the Week coverage, 1955. Red Grange Lindsey Nelson Game of the Week 1955.JPG
Red Grange (top) with broadcast partner Lindsey Nelson for NBC's NCAA Game of the Week coverage, 1955.

Color commentary

Schedules

[15]

All rankings are from that week's AP Poll

1952

Mel Allen and Bill Henry served as the primary broadcast crew.

DateTeamsTime (ET)
September 20#9 TCU at #17 Kansas 3:45 p.m.
September 27#12 Princeton at Columbia 1:25 p.m.
October 4 Michigan at Stanford 4:40 p.m.
October 11 Texas A&M at #2 Michigan State 1:45 p.m.
October 18 Cornell at Yale 1:45 p.m.
October 25 Purdue at Illinois 2:15 p.m.
November 1 Ohio State at Northwestern 2:15 p.m.
November 8#4 Oklahoma at #10 Notre Dame 2:15 p.m.
November 15#12 Alabama at #2 Georgia Tech 2:15 p.m.
November 22#4 UCLA at #3 USC 4:45 p.m.
November 29 Army vs. Navy at Philadelphia, PA 1:00 p.m.

1953

Mel Allen and Lindsey Nelson served as the primary broadcast crew.

DateTeamsTime (ET)
September 19 Oregon at Nebraska 3:45 p.m.
September 26 Dartmouth vs. Holy Cross at Lynn, MA 1:45 p.m.
October 3#6 Ohio State at California 4:45 p.m.
October 10#16 Oklahoma vs. #15 Texas as Dallas, TX 2:30 p.m.
October 17 Tennessee at Alabama 2:45 p.m.
October 24 Cornell at Princeton
Arkansas vs. Ole Miss at Memphis, TN
Syracuse at #7 Illinois
Indiana at Iowa 		2:45 p.m.
October 31 Pittsburgh at #14 Minnesota 2:45 p.m.
November 7 Georgia at Florida
Wisconsin at Northwestern
Kansas at Kansas State 		2:45 p.m.
November 14 Michigan at #4 Michigan State 1:15 p.m.
November 21#5 UCLA at #9 USC 4:15 p.m.
November 26 BYU at Utah 2:45 p.m.
November 28#18 Army vs. Navy at Philadelphia, PA 1:15 p.m.
December 5 SMU at #2 Notre Dame 2:00 p.m.

1955

Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange served as the primary broadcast crew.

DateTeamsTime (ET)
September 17#9 Miami (FL) at #10 Georgia Tech 3:15 p.m.
September 24#7 Pittsburgh at Syracuse 1:15 p.m.
October 1#8 Ohio State at Stanford 4:45 p.m.
October 8 Villanova at Boston College 1:45 p.m.
October 15#4 Notre Dame at #13 Michigan State 2:45 p.m.
October 22 Princeton at Cornell
#14 Colorado at #3 Oklahoma 		1:45 p.m.
October 29 Iowa at #3 Michigan 2:15 p.m.
November 5#6 Notre Dame at Penn 1:15 p.m.
November 12#13 Navy at Columbia 1:15 p.m.
November 19#5 UCLA at USC 4:15 p.m.
November 24 Texas at #8 Texas A&M 2:00 p.m.
November 26 Army vs. #11 Navy at Philadelphia, PA 1:15 p.m.
December 3 North Carolina at Duke 1:45 p.m.

1956

Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange served as the primary broadcast crew.

DateTeamsTime (ET)
September 22#4 Georgia Tech at Kentucky 3:00 p.m.
September 29 Cornell at Colgate
UCLA at #13 Michigan
Iowa at Indiana 		1:45 p.m.
October 6 Arkansas at #8 TCU 4:00 p.m.
October 13 Holy Cross at Penn State
#5 Ohio State at Illinois
California at Oregon State 		1:45 p.m.
October 20 Army at #13 Syracuse
#2 Michigan State at Notre Dame
Washington at #9 USC 		1:45 p.m.
October 27#2 Oklahoma at Notre Dame2:45 p.m.
November 3Notre Dame vs. Navy at Baltimore, MD
Illinois at Purdue
Oregon at California 		1:45 p.m.
November 10#15 Iowa at #6 Minnesota 2:15 p.m.
November 17#20 Princeton at Yale
#3 Michigan State at #10 Michigan
Washington at Stanford 		1:45 p.m.
November 22Cornell at Penn 1:45 p.m.
November 24USC at UCLA 4:15 p.m.
December 1 Army vs. #13 Navy at Philadelphia, PA 1:15 p.m.
December 8#13 Pittsburgh at #6 Miami (FL) 2:15 p.m.

1957

Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange served as the primary broadcast crew. On October 12 and 26 and November 9, 23 and 28, NBC showed regional games with Mel Allen/Bill Flemming (midwest), Jim Simpson/Charley Harville (southeast), and Chick Hearn/Lee Giroux (west).

DateTeamsTime (ET)
September 21 Maryland vs. #2 Texas A&M at Dallas, TX 4:45 p.m.
September 28 Northwestern at #16 Stanford 4:45 p.m.
October 5#2 Michigan State at California 5:15 p.m.
October 12#12 Notre Dame vs. #10 Army at Philadelphia, PA
Wake Forest at Maryland
Illinois at Ohio State
Iowa State at Kansas
Washington at UCLA 		1:45 p.m.
October 19#4 Minnesota at Illinois 2:15 p.m.
October 26 Penn State at Syracuse
#4 Duke at #11 NC State
#14 Minnesota at #20 Michigan
Washington State at USC 		1:15 p.m.
November 2#3 Iowa at #12 Michigan 1:15 p.m.
November 9#16 Duke vs. #7 Navy at Baltimore, MD
North Carolina at South Carolina 		1:45 p.m.
November 16Notre Dame at #2 Oklahoma 2:45 p.m.
November 23 Harvard at Yale
North Carolina at #11 Duke
#9 Notre Dame at #8 Iowa
Missouri at Kansas		1:15 p.m.
November 28 Colgate at Brown
#4 Texas A&M at Texas
Wyoming at Denver 		1:15 p.m.
November 30#10 Army vs. #8 Navy at Philadelphia, PA1:15 p.m.
December 7 Pittsburgh at Miami (FL) 3:45 p.m.

1958

DateTeamsTime (ET)
September 20 Vanderbilt at Missouri
Oklahoma State at Denver 		4:45 p.m.
September 27 Tennessee at #3 Auburn 4:45 p.m.
October 4 Washington State at California 4:45 p.m.
October 11#5 Ohio State at Illinois 2:15 p.m.
October 18 Penn State at Boston University
#13 Iowa at #4 Wisconsin
UCLA at Washington 		1:15 p.m.
October 25#1 Army at Pittsburgh
#11 Notre Dame at #15 Purdue
Washington State at USC 		1:15 p.m.
November 1 Michigan State at #8 Wisconsin1:15 p.m.
November 8#14 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
Michigan at Illinois
Stanford at Oregon 		1:15 p.m.
November 15 Princeton at Yale
#20 Northwestern at #8 Purdue
Oregon State at Stanford		1:15 p.m.
November 22#15 Notre Dame at #6 Iowa2:15 p.m.
November 27 Texas A&M at Texas 2:45 p.m.
November 29#5 Army vs. Navy at Philadelphia, PA 1:15 p.m.
December 6 Holy Cross at Boston College 1:15 p.m.

1959

DateTeamsTime (ET)
September 19 Rice at #1 LSU 4:45 p.m.
September 26#2 Oklahoma at #10 Northwestern 3:15 p.m.
October 3 California at #10 Texas 5:15 p.m.
October 10 Penn at Princeton
#10 Iowa at Michigan State 		1:45 p.m.
October 17 Notre Dame at Michigan State 2:15 p.m.
October 24#15 Iowa at #14 Purdue 3:15 p.m.
October 31 Air Force vs. Army at Bronx, NY
Indiana at #2 Northwestern		1:45 p.m.
November 7
(Doubleheader)		 Pittsburgh at Boston College
#18 Air Force at Missouri 		1:15 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
November 14Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
#7 Wisconsin at Illinois 		1:15 p.m.
November 21#9 Wisconsin at Minnesota 2:15 p.m.
November 26 North Carolina at Duke 1:45 p.m.
November 28Army vs. Navy at Philadelphia, PA 1:15 p.m.
December 5#1 Syracuse at #17 UCLA 3:45 p.m.

1964

DateTeams
September 12 UCLA at Pittsburgh
September 19#10 Navy at Penn State
SMU at Florida
Kansas State at Wisconsin
Stanford at Washington State
September 26 Nebraska at Minnesota
October 3 Syracuse at Holy Cross
#10 Washington at Iowa
TCU at Arkansas
Colorado State at Air Force
October 10 Oklahoma at #1 Texas
October 17 USC at #2 Ohio State
October 24 Dartmouth at Harvard
Minnesota at Michigan
Tennessee at #7 LSU
Iowa State at Missouri
October 31Pittsburgh at Syracuse
NC State at South Carolina
Rice at Texas Tech
Air Force at Arizona
November 7 Illinois at Michigan
November 14 Michigan State at #1 Notre Dame
November 21 Cornell at Princeton
Duke at North Carolina
Michigan State at Illinois
USC at UCLA
November 26 Auburn at #2 Alabama
November 28 Army at Navy
December 5 Ole Miss at Mississippi State

1965

DateTeams
September 11 Tulsa at Houston
September 18#5 Alabama at Georgia
Kansas State at Indiana
Arizona at Utah
#3 Notre Dame at California
September 25 Iowa at Oregon State
October 2 Ohio State at Washington
October 9 Pittsburgh at Duke
October 16#1 Texas at #3 Arkansas
October 23#4 USC at #7 Notre Dame
October 30 Duke at Georgia Tech
Illinois at #6 Purdue
#7 Florida at Auburn
Idaho at Oregon
November 6 Air Force at Army in Chicago
#5 Alabama at LSU
Baylor at Texas
November 13 Cornell at Dartmouth
Minnesota at Purdue
Ole Miss at #8 Tennessee
#7 UCLA at Stanford
November 20 Harvard at Yale
Ohio State at Michigan
#9 Texas Tech at #2 Arkansas
#7 Missouri at Kansas
November 25 Oklahoma at #3 Nebraska
November 27 Army vs. Navy in Philadelphia
December 4 Penn State at Maryland

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Rose Bowl Game History — KTLA". Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  2. ↑ "BILL STERN (Audio) - Gold Time Radio - Jim Ramsburg". Jim Ramsburg.
  3. ↑ "First televised football game, Waynesberg vs Fordham, 1939". American Sportscasters Online. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  4. ↑ Pedersen, Paul M.; Parks, Janet B.; Quarterman, Jerome; Thibault, Lucie, eds. (2011). Contemporary Sport Management (4th ed.). Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics. p. 50. ISBN   978-0-7360-8167-2 . Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  5. ↑ Watterson, John Sayle (November 14, 2002). College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy. JHU Press. p. 270. ISBN   9780801871146.
  6. ↑ Branch, Taylor (October 2011). "The Shame of College Sports". The Atlantic.
  7. ↑ "NBC acquires rights to NCAA football". NBC Sports History Page.
  8. ↑ Weber, Bruce (May 27, 2015). "Walter Byers, Ex-N.C.A.A. Leader Who Rued Corruption, Dies at 93". New York Times.
  9. ↑ Fleisher, Arthur A. (15 June 1992). The National Collegiate Athletic Association: A Study in Cartel Behavior. University of Chicago Press. p. 53. ISBN   9780226253268.
  10. ↑ Zimbalist, Andrew (15 January 2001). Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism and Conflict in Big-Time College Sports. Princeton University Press. p. 94. ISBN   9781400823079.
  11. ↑ Wolters, Larry (June 12, 1952). "June 12, 1952 - TELEVISION NEWS AND VIEWS". Chicago Tribune.
  12. ↑ Byers, Walter (1995). Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes. University of Michigan Press. pp. 79–96. doi:10.3998/mpub.14486. ISBN   978-0-472-10666-0. JSTOR   10.3998/mpub.14486.
  13. ↑ "Why Football on TV is Limited". Look . October 20, 1953(The "primary purpose is to reduce the impact of the television upon game attendance"){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  14. ↑ "Blue-Gray Telecast Is Killed". The Anniston Star . Anniston, Alabama. UPI. November 9, 1963. Retrieved June 1, 2017– via newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "College Football - 506 Archive".