I like this idea. College football might be the most regional of all sports. If you’re an ESPN college football show and you have about 50 days to kill before camps start opening, why not do something like this?
The following is from ESPN:
“College Football Live 50 States Tour” Celebrates Amateur Football Across Every State June 1 to August 7
Every state has a football story, memorable moment, legendary coach, great players, rivalries, or esteemed high school. ESPN’s College Football Live will offer a daily showcase of the best and greatest of amateur football – college and high school — from all 50 United States and the District of Columbia with “College Football Live 50 States Tour” from June 1 to August 7.
College Football Live, a weekday afternoon studio show dedicated to college football aired weekdays generally at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, will explore topics specific to every state, including greatest plays and games; and best coaches, players and high schools across 43 episodes. Some episodes will focus on two or three states while select states will be spread out over two shows.
“College Football Live 50 States Tour” will feature live interviews related to the state, including with prominent football figures, current coaches, and local writers. The shows will also include debate between analysts and an online component for fans to pick each state’s best coach, player and team. The 30-minute, viewer interactive show, will utilize content from ESPN.com and ESPN RISE, ESPN’s multimedia content brand dedicated to serving the high school athlete audience, and incorporate the fan’s opinion through ESPN Mobile and ESPN.com applications.
The schedule for week one and guests (future schedule of states and guests will be released):
| Date | State | Scheduled Guest |
| June 1 | Michigan | Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson |
| June 2 | Tennessee | Peyton Manning |
| June 3 | Delaware and New Jersey | Joe Flacco |
| June 4 | Oregon | Mike Belotti |
| June 5 | Oklahoma | Barry Sanders |
Finally, Al Bundy and I have a national platform to regale all of our high school football exploits.
In all seriousness, a great idea. Look forward to it.
By: Mike Karr on May 31, 2009
at 8:48 PM
I think we’ll find Iowa interesting. The rest of the country? Maybe not. But the show is for college football crazies, a crowd I definitely run with.
By: marcmwm on May 31, 2009
at 9:06 PM
And I love the “Married with Children” reference. Great show.
By: marcmwm on May 31, 2009
at 9:07 PM
ESPN site shows Iowa as being on June 16th but doesn’t list there guest. Might be worth an email to Rittenberg to find out. Can’t wait Football starts!
By: hawkfan on June 4, 2009
at 8:35 AM