ESPN Books (2005)
Adjunct professor of journalism, University College in Arts & Sciences
On the heels of a highly acclaimed book on the NFL comes another football tome from Michael MacCambridge, this one about the level just before the pros.
In an era of stat freaks, over-analysis and just plain numbers-crunching, the literary world — and sports world — was ready for a book like the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia.
MacCambridge, adjunct professor of journalism at University College in Arts & Sciences, took three years’ worth of exhaustive research by several football experts and edited it into an easy-to-read format.
“I sent a proposal to ESPN back in the summer of 1999, even before I started work on my own book, America’s Game,” MacCambridge said. “I had just completed editing ESPN SportsCentury, a coffee-table book, so there was interest in doing another book.
“This was the big one that had never been done before, and if it made sense for anyone to do it, it was the people at ESPN.”
The features of the book are endless — and are a fan’s Christmas, birthday and spring break all rolled into one. They include:
• Capsule histories for each of the NCAA Division I-A programs, the Ivy League schools, and the historically African-American colleges;
• Year-by-year schedules and scores for each school;
• Statistical leaders from each school;
• Fight-song lyrics;
• Box scores for every bowl game ever played;
• Weekly AP and UPI polls dating back to 1936;
• A four-color insert illustrating the evolution of each school’s helmet design;
• Essays by the game’s top journalists, including Dan Jenkins, Beano Cook, Chris Fowler and more; and
• A lively round-table discussion on the state of the game with the popular ESPN GameDay broadcast team (Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit).
“We had 25 different writers on the project, and assembled stats not only through the NCAA but also each of the 119 different Division I-A schools,” MacCambridge said. “We began work in earnest early in 2001, when the project was finally given the go-ahead.
“And werre still working on it. I just finished writing a piece that will run alongside the updated version that goes on the Web site, to include the just-completed 2005 season.”
Almost every school in Division I-A gets 6-10 pages of text, citing its best player, coach and team; its biggest upset and heartbreak; its annual leaders, All-Americans, national titles and game scores.
The annual reviews feature standings, bowl results, All-Americans, the top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates, statistical leaders and weekly poll results.
Other essays found in the book include pieces on the state of the game, coaches, recruiting, integration, college football at the movies, the polls and computer rankings, the eternal playoff debate and more.
— Andy Clendennen