FWAA'S GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLL TO RETURN AUG. 29

DALLAS (FWAA) The Football Writers Association of
America's Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll
will return for its fourth
season with its 2005 preseason rankings to be announced Monday, Aug. 29.
At that time, the poll's 16-voter lineup will also be released. With the
preseason poll and throughout the season, each ballot will be made
public, along with a short synopsis written by each pollster.


Voting during college football's regular season will commence in
October, with the first in-season poll to be released on Monday, Oct.
10. Each Monday through Dec. 5, the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll will be
released on the FWAA's official website, footballwriters.com, and on
grantlandrice.com. The final poll and the winner of the Grantland Rice
Trophy will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006.


Also, each Monday of the season, the voters will name the Tostitos
Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week
. This weekly national award
has coincided with the poll in each of the previous three seasons. Since
there are games scheduled for Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5, the first team
of the week will be named the following day, Tuesday, Sept. 6.


Last season, the FWAA named 13 national teams of the week from seven
different conferences as well as two teams from the ranks of the
Division I-A Independents. The Big Ten had three national teams of the
week to lead all conferences.


The Grantland Rice Trophy has been presented to the FWAA's
national champion following each season since 1954. It was the first
national championship trophy to be awarded after college football's
post-season bowl games. The award is named in honor of the legendary
sportswriter, who passed away in 1954. Since 2002, the final Grantland
Rice Super 16 Poll has determined the winner. Prior to 2002, a select
committee of FWAA members chose the association's national champion. USC
won its record sixth Grantland Rice Trophy last season and is seeking to
become the first school to ever win three straight FWAA national titles.


The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit
organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 900 men and women
across North America who cover college football for a living. The
membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as
key executives in all areas of the game. The FWAA works to govern
areas that include game day operations, major awards, its national poll
and annual All-America team.


Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Tempe, Ariz., have
hosted five games that have decided the college football national
championship, including two Bowl Championship Series title games. The
2006 game will be played on Jan. 2 and will be the final game played at
Sun Devil Stadium. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the BCS
Championship Game, will move to the new Multi-Purpose Stadium in
Glendale, Ariz., beginning in 2007.


For more information about the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll and the
Grantland Rice Trophy, contact Steve Richardson, executive director of
the FWAA, at 972-713-6198 or tiger@fwaa.com.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, contact Shawn
Schoeffler
, Vice-President, Media Relations, at 480-350-0909 or
sschoeffler@fiestabowl.org.


Related links:

Grantland Rice Trophy
(grantlandrice.com)


Tostitos
Fiesta Bowl