DALLAS (FWAA) The 2012 Football Writers Association of America All-America Team will be announced exclusively on SiriusXM's College Sports Nation channel on Friday at 10 a.m. ET. The announcement will be made during the channel·s daily show, "College Sports Today," which is hosted by Mark Packer and Tim Brown, a member of the 1987 FWAA All-America Team, and will be heard nationwide on SiriusXM channel 91.
"The FWAA is extremely pleased to have the announcement of the 2012 FWAA All-America team on SiriusXM," said Steve Richardson, FWAA Executive Director. "The FWAA's All-America team has a rich history of being announced on several different national communication mediums during its 69 years of existence. And this is another important communications link to those who follow our teams annually."
Since 1944, the FWAA has selected an All-America team. From 1946-70, LOOK magazine published the FWAA team and brought players and selected writers to New York City for a celebration. During that 25-year period, the FWAA team was introduced on national television shows by such noted hosts as Bob Hope, Steve Allen, and Perry Como.
After LOOK folded, the FWAA started a long association with NCAA Films (later known as NCAA Productions), which produced a 30-minute television program. The team was part of ABC-TV's 1981 College Football Series. From 1983-90, the team was introduced on either ABC or ESPN. In 2002 and '03, the All-America team was honored with a banquet at the Citrus Bowl.
The same bowl, now the Capital One, also was a sponsor when the team was featured on ABC and ESPN from different locations on Disney properties from 2004-07. From 2008-10, the team had been the subject of a one-hour ESPN special.
For nearly seven decades the FWAA has selected an All-America team with the help of its members and an All-America Committee, which represents all the regions in the country. From that All-America team, the FWAA also selects the Outland Trophy winner (best interior lineman) and also the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner (best defensive player).
Some of the true greats of the writing profession have helped to select this team over the years: Grantland Rice, Bert McGrane, Blackie Sherrod, Furman Bisher, Pat Harmon, Fred Russell, Edwin Pope, Murray Olderman, Paul Zimmerman – and the list goes on and on. The FWAA All-America team is steeped in tradition and history and is selected by a writers' group with those same attributes.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization
founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,200 men and women who cover college football
for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists,
as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works
to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America
team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve
Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com or 972-713-6198.
SiriusXM College Sports Nation (channel 91), SiriusXM's 24/7 college sports channel, offers a daily lineup of college sports programming that provides play-by-play, news, highlights and year-long analysis of the nation's teams and conferences. SiriusXM College Sports Nation's roster of hosts features some of the college game's most accomplished players and coaches including: Heisman Trophy winners Eddie George, Tim Brown and Gino Torretta; former college coaches Rick Neuheisel and Houston Nutt; former Florida Gators QB Chris Leak; plus experts Paul Finebaum, Jack Arute, Mark Packer, Bill King and Chris Childers.