Legends Poll
Encyclopedia
The Legends Poll is a college football
poll that rates the Top 25 teams weekly during the college football season. Its aim is to identify the two best teams in its opinion by the end of the season to compete in the BCS national championship game
. The group is currently made up of 17 retired football coaches, most of whom are members of the College Football Hall of Fame
. The Legends Poll was founded by Andy Curtin in 2005 as the Master Coaches Survey, but changed its name in 2008 to better reflect the make-up of its voting members. Curtin and his partner, Pete Wolek implemented the original plan and have operated the Legends Poll since its inception. The Legends Poll appears in the Sporting News each week and is published by other media web sites such as ESPN
.com.
Legends Poll Members
that was attended by fifteen retired college football coaches, all with impressive career records as head coaches. These coaches were introduced to a polling system that was quite different than any previous poll. The main differences in the proposed poll were threefold. The voters in the new poll would be provided game DVDs to watch each week, the voters would discuss the recent games on an hour-long conference call
each week, and there would be no pre-season
poll. The first poll wouldn’t take place until after the voters had seen three weeks’ worth of games.
After unanimously approving this new polling idea, the coaches agreed to become the Master Coaches Survey and began voting in the 2005 college football season. They have continued to faithfully vote for four consecutive seasons. Prior to the 2008 season, the poll name was changed to the Legends Poll to reflect the legendary status of the famous coaches involved, and to replace the word “Survey” with “Poll” to reduce confusion with the fans as to what was actually taking place.
The basic idea of the poll was that one would get the best poll results by utilizing the most expert talent to vote, especially when they had no current ties to college football programs, and they had the time to watch all the relevant games played each week. The weekly conference call allowed the coaches to point out to each other the strengths and weaknesses of the various teams. Each coach was assigned one or two teams to follow and become an expert on. During the conference call each coach would present his synopsis on his assigned team, and the other coaches would comment on or question what had been presented. This system thus allows all of its voters the shared expertise of the entire group. As the season progressed and more teams dropped from contention for the top spots in the poll, coaches who lost teams from that process would be assigned new teams to follow, which allowed the Legends Poll to have multiple experts looking at the top teams as the season wound down.
The ultimate goal of the Legends Poll is not to get the exact 25 teams in exactly correct numerical order each week, but to get the correct two teams listed as # 1 & 2 at the conclusion of the season, after watching the entire body of work of all the contending teams throughout that season. No other poll operates like the Legends Poll.
The original 16 members of the poll in 2005 were:
John Cooper, Vince Dooley
, Pat Dye
, LaVell Edwards
, Hayden Fry
, Don James, Frank Kush
, Dick MacPherson
, Bill Mallory
, Don Nehlen
, John Ralston, John Robinson, Bo Schembechler
, R. C. Slocum
, Gene Stallings
and George Welsh.
Bo Schembechler
died in November 2006. He was replaced by Tom Osborne in the 2007 season. Due to prior commitments, Terry Donahue
, an original invitee, was unable to join the group until 2006. When Tom Osborne became the Nebraska Athletics Director
after the 2007 season, he was replaced by Bill Snyder
in 2008. Hayden Fry
asked to be relieved of his voting duties in 2008 and he was replaced by Frank Broyles
. Fisher DeBerry
was also added to
the group in 2008. Bill Snyder
left the group after returning to coaching in 2008. In March 2010, Bobby Ross
became the group's newest member. Bobby Bowden
was added to the group in April 2010, mere months after coaching his final game at Florida State
.
The Legends Poll and its predecessor have received publicity through being published on the group’s website www.legendschannel.com along with picking up more newspaper distribution each season. Also ESPN
.com runs the Legends Poll weekly on its web site, and Sporting News Today publishes the Legends Poll along with coach commentary each Monday during the
season.
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
poll that rates the Top 25 teams weekly during the college football season. Its aim is to identify the two best teams in its opinion by the end of the season to compete in the BCS national championship game
BCS National Championship Game
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the U.S. national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
. The group is currently made up of 17 retired football coaches, most of whom are members of the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
. The Legends Poll was founded by Andy Curtin in 2005 as the Master Coaches Survey, but changed its name in 2008 to better reflect the make-up of its voting members. Curtin and his partner, Pete Wolek implemented the original plan and have operated the Legends Poll since its inception. The Legends Poll appears in the Sporting News each week and is published by other media web sites such as ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.com.
Legends Poll Members
| Legends Poll Members | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bobby Bowden Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden is a retired college football coach. He coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons... |
Florida State Florida State Seminoles football The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University in college football. The Florida State Seminoles compete in NCAA Division I-FBS and are members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference... , West Virginia West Virginia Mountaineers football The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their... , Howard |
375-129-4 (44 seasons) |
| Frank Broyles Frank Broyles John Franklin Broyles is a former American football player and coach, athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976... |
Arkansas Arkansas Razorbacks football The Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association... , Missouri Missouri Tigers football The Missouri Tigers football team represents the University of Missouri in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team has competed in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996... |
149-62-6 (20 seasons) |
| John Cooper | Ohio State Ohio State Buckeyes football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state... , Arizona State Arizona State Sun Devils football The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference.... , Tulsa Tulsa Golden Hurricane football The University of Tulsa's Golden Hurricane football team represents Tulsa in Conference USA. Tulsa is currently coached by first-year head coach Bill Blankenship. The football team was coached by Todd Graham until he accepted the head coaching job at Pittsburgh.... |
192-84-6 (24 seasons) |
| Fisher DeBerry Fisher DeBerry Fisher DeBerry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1984 to 2006, compiling a record of 169–109–1. DeBerry led 17 of his 23 Air Force Falcons squads to winning records and 12 captured a bowl... |
Air Force Air Force Falcons football The Air Force Falcons are a college football team from the United States Air Force Academy, located just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCAA Division I and the Mountain West Conference.-Style:... |
169-107-1 (23 seasons) |
| Terry Donahue Terry Donahue Terry Donahue is a former American football, player, coach, and executive and, currently, a football analyst. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. From 2001 to 2005, Donahue served as... |
UCLA UCLA Bruins Football The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll... |
151-74-8 (20 seasons) |
| Vince Dooley Vince Dooley Vincent Joseph Dooley was the head football coach and athletic director at the University of Georgia. During his 25 year coaching career at UGA, Dooley compiled a 201–77–10 record. His teams won six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship... |
Georgia Georgia Bulldogs football The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54... |
201-77-10 (25 seasons) |
| Pat Dye Pat Dye Patrick Fain Dye is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University , the University of Wyoming , and Auburn University compiling a career college football record of 153–62–5... |
Auburn Auburn Tigers football Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the... , Wyoming Wyoming Cowboys football The Wyoming Cowboys are a college football team that represents the University of Wyoming. They compete in the Mountain West Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I. The team has won 15 conference titles... , E. Carolina East Carolina Pirates football The East Carolina Pirates is a college football team that represents East Carolina University . The team is currently a member of the Conference USA, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association .The Pirates have won seven conference championships and... |
153-62-5 (19 seasons) |
| LaVell Edwards LaVell Edwards R. LaVell Edwards is a former American football coach of Brigham Young University . With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time... |
BYU | 257-101-3 (29 seasons) |
| Don James | Washington Washington Huskies football College football has a long history at the University of Washington. The Washington Huskies have won 15 Pacific-10 Conference championships, seven Rose Bowl titles, and three national championships. Washington's all-time record of 653-398-50 ranks 20th by all-time winning percentage and 21st by... , Kent State Kent State Golden Flashes football The Kent State Golden Flashes football team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, USA. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference East division, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Football Bowl Subdivision... |
178-76-3 (22 seasons) |
| Frank Kush Frank Kush Frank Joseph Kush is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Arizona State University from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 176–54–1... |
Arizona State | 176-54-1 (22 seasons) |
| Dick MacPherson Dick MacPherson Richard F. MacPherson is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1971 to 1977 and at Syracuse University from 1981 to 1990, compiling a career college football record of 111–73–5... |
Syracuse Syracuse Orange football The Syracuse Orange football program is a college football team that represents Syracuse University. The team is a member of the Big East Conference, which is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference that is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision... |
111-73-5 (17 seasons) |
| Bill Mallory Bill Mallory William G. "Bill" Mallory is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Miami University , the University of Colorado at Boulder , Northern Illinois University , and Indiana University , compiling a career college football record of... |
Indiana Indiana Hoosiers football The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference.-Bowl games:... , Colorado Colorado Buffaloes football The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,... , Miami (OH) Miami RedHawks football The Miami University RedHawks, known as the Miami Redskins before 1996, are a NCAA Division I FBS college football program that competes in the Mid-American Conference... , N. Illinois Northern Illinois Huskies football The Northern Illinois Huskies football team represents Northern Illinois University in the Mid-American Conference of the NCAA's Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision.-History:... |
165-121-4 (27 seasons) |
| Don Nehlen Don Nehlen Don Nehlen is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University and at West Virginia University . Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in... |
West Virginia, Bowling Green Bowling Green Falcons football The Bowling Green Falcons football team is the interscholastic football team at Bowling Green State University. Bowling Green competes as a member of the Mid-American Conference in the East Division. The Falcons have won ten conference championships.... |
202-128-8 (30 seasons) |
| John Ralston | Stanford Stanford Cardinal football The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The... , Utah State Utah State Aggies football The Utah State Aggies are a college football team that competes in the Western Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I, representing Utah State University. The Utah State college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Romney Stadium since 1968... , San Jose State San José State Spartans Football The San Jose State Spartans represent San Jose State University and the Silicon Valley in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The Spartans play all home games in Spartan Stadium, which offers a seating capacity of over 30,000... |
97-81-4 (17 seasons) |
| John Robinson | USC, UNLV UNLV Rebels football The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas . The team is currently a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association... |
132-77-4 (18 seasons) |
| Bobby Ross Bobby Ross Robert Joseph Ross is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at The Citadel , the University of Maryland, College Park , the Georgia Institute of Technology , and the United States Military Academy , compiling a career college football record of 103–101–2... |
Georgia Tech Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference... , Maryland Maryland Terrapins football The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference... , Army Army Black Knights football The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946.... , The Citadel |
103-101-2 (18 seasons) |
| R. C. Slocum R. C. Slocum Richard Copeland Slocum , better known as R. C. Slocum, was the head football coach at Texas A&M University from 1989 until 2002. He has won more games as coach than anyone else in Texas A&M football history.-Personal:... |
Texas A&M Texas A&M Aggies football The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18... |
123-47-2 (14 seasons) |
| Gene Stallings Gene Stallings Eugene Clifton Stallings, Jr. is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University , where he was one of the "Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach at his alma mater from 1965 to 1971. Stallings was also the head coach of the St... |
Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide football |TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team... , Texas A&M |
89-70-1 (14 seasons) |
| George Welsh | Virginia Virginia Cavaliers football Virginia Cavaliers football is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I-FBS and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference... , Navy Navy Midshipmen football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007... |
189-132-4 (28 seasons) |
| Former Legends Poll Members | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hayden Fry Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10... |
Iowa, North Texas, SMU | 232-178-10 (37 seasons) |
| Tom Osborne | Nebraska | 255-49-3 (25 seasons) |
| Bo Schembechler Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8... |
Michigan, Miami(O) | 234-65-8 (26 seasons) |
| Bill Snyder Bill Snyder Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to... |
Kansas State | 136-68-1 (17 seasons) |
History
The Legends Poll started in July 2005 when Andy Curtin and four partners convened a three-day conference in Thomasville, GeorgiaThomasville, Georgia
Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...
that was attended by fifteen retired college football coaches, all with impressive career records as head coaches. These coaches were introduced to a polling system that was quite different than any previous poll. The main differences in the proposed poll were threefold. The voters in the new poll would be provided game DVDs to watch each week, the voters would discuss the recent games on an hour-long conference call
Conference call
A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party...
each week, and there would be no pre-season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
poll. The first poll wouldn’t take place until after the voters had seen three weeks’ worth of games.
After unanimously approving this new polling idea, the coaches agreed to become the Master Coaches Survey and began voting in the 2005 college football season. They have continued to faithfully vote for four consecutive seasons. Prior to the 2008 season, the poll name was changed to the Legends Poll to reflect the legendary status of the famous coaches involved, and to replace the word “Survey” with “Poll” to reduce confusion with the fans as to what was actually taking place.
The basic idea of the poll was that one would get the best poll results by utilizing the most expert talent to vote, especially when they had no current ties to college football programs, and they had the time to watch all the relevant games played each week. The weekly conference call allowed the coaches to point out to each other the strengths and weaknesses of the various teams. Each coach was assigned one or two teams to follow and become an expert on. During the conference call each coach would present his synopsis on his assigned team, and the other coaches would comment on or question what had been presented. This system thus allows all of its voters the shared expertise of the entire group. As the season progressed and more teams dropped from contention for the top spots in the poll, coaches who lost teams from that process would be assigned new teams to follow, which allowed the Legends Poll to have multiple experts looking at the top teams as the season wound down.
The ultimate goal of the Legends Poll is not to get the exact 25 teams in exactly correct numerical order each week, but to get the correct two teams listed as # 1 & 2 at the conclusion of the season, after watching the entire body of work of all the contending teams throughout that season. No other poll operates like the Legends Poll.
The original 16 members of the poll in 2005 were:
John Cooper, Vince Dooley
Vince Dooley
Vincent Joseph Dooley was the head football coach and athletic director at the University of Georgia. During his 25 year coaching career at UGA, Dooley compiled a 201–77–10 record. His teams won six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship...
, Pat Dye
Pat Dye
Patrick Fain Dye is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University , the University of Wyoming , and Auburn University compiling a career college football record of 153–62–5...
, LaVell Edwards
LaVell Edwards
R. LaVell Edwards is a former American football coach of Brigham Young University . With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time...
, Hayden Fry
Hayden Fry
John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...
, Don James, Frank Kush
Frank Kush
Frank Joseph Kush is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Arizona State University from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 176–54–1...
, Dick MacPherson
Dick MacPherson
Richard F. MacPherson is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1971 to 1977 and at Syracuse University from 1981 to 1990, compiling a career college football record of 111–73–5...
, Bill Mallory
Bill Mallory
William G. "Bill" Mallory is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Miami University , the University of Colorado at Boulder , Northern Illinois University , and Indiana University , compiling a career college football record of...
, Don Nehlen
Don Nehlen
Don Nehlen is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University and at West Virginia University . Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in...
, John Ralston, John Robinson, Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
, R. C. Slocum
R. C. Slocum
Richard Copeland Slocum , better known as R. C. Slocum, was the head football coach at Texas A&M University from 1989 until 2002. He has won more games as coach than anyone else in Texas A&M football history.-Personal:...
, Gene Stallings
Gene Stallings
Eugene Clifton Stallings, Jr. is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University , where he was one of the "Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach at his alma mater from 1965 to 1971. Stallings was also the head coach of the St...
and George Welsh.
Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
died in November 2006. He was replaced by Tom Osborne in the 2007 season. Due to prior commitments, Terry Donahue
Terry Donahue
Terry Donahue is a former American football, player, coach, and executive and, currently, a football analyst. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. From 2001 to 2005, Donahue served as...
, an original invitee, was unable to join the group until 2006. When Tom Osborne became the Nebraska Athletics Director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
after the 2007 season, he was replaced by Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
in 2008. Hayden Fry
Hayden Fry
John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...
asked to be relieved of his voting duties in 2008 and he was replaced by Frank Broyles
Frank Broyles
John Franklin Broyles is a former American football player and coach, athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976...
. Fisher DeBerry
Fisher DeBerry
Fisher DeBerry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1984 to 2006, compiling a record of 169–109–1. DeBerry led 17 of his 23 Air Force Falcons squads to winning records and 12 captured a bowl...
was also added to
the group in 2008. Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
left the group after returning to coaching in 2008. In March 2010, Bobby Ross
Bobby Ross
Robert Joseph Ross is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at The Citadel , the University of Maryland, College Park , the Georgia Institute of Technology , and the United States Military Academy , compiling a career college football record of 103–101–2...
became the group's newest member. Bobby Bowden
Bobby Bowden
Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden is a retired college football coach. He coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons...
was added to the group in April 2010, mere months after coaching his final game at Florida State
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
.
The Legends Poll and its predecessor have received publicity through being published on the group’s website www.legendschannel.com along with picking up more newspaper distribution each season. Also ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.com runs the Legends Poll weekly on its web site, and Sporting News Today publishes the Legends Poll along with coach commentary each Monday during the
season.