SEC on CBS
Encyclopedia
The SEC on CBS is a presentation of the college football
television package owned by CBS Sports
. The television network broadcasts games in the Southeastern Conference
of Division I FBS NCAA
football.
gained exclusive rights the NCAA contract,barring any other network from televsing regualar season games and reducing CBS' telecasts to bowl games such as the Fiesta Bowl
and Cotton Bowl Classic, as well as a bowl that continues to air on the network to this day, the Sun Bowl
.
In 1982, CBS was made an additional partner in the NCAA contract, and regular season collegiate football coverage returned. CBS and ABC would alternate the 12:30 and 3:30 slots from week to week during the seasons,carrying either a national game or several regional games in those frames., and also occasionally aired games in primetime, and on Black Friday
, or the Friday after Thanksgiving. CBS broadcast games from every major conference, as well as the games of the then major independents such as Penn State
, Notre Dame
, and Miami
. As required by the NCAA, the network also televised Division I-AA, II and III games to very small audiences,giving teams such as The Citadel and Clarion State some major-network exposure. The pregame show was titled "The NCAA Today" in the vein of its pro football counterpart The NFL Today
. Both shows were hosted by Brent Musburger
. However for the NCAA pregame show, Pat O'Brien and Ara Parseghian
were the analysts/feature reporters, although Leslie Visser made occasional appearances on the show. Gary Bender
was the lead play-by-play man for game coverage,working with analysts such as Pat Haden
and Steve Davis
. Other CBS game commetators were Verne Lundquist
, Lindsey Nelson
, Frank Herzog
, Jack Snow, and Dennis Franklin
. This arrangment was in place during the 1982 and 1983 seasons.
In 1984, after the NCAA's TV contract was ruled antitrust by the US Supreme court, it was invalidated, and the College Football Association was formed to handle affairs between television networks and College Football programs, the result was an exclusive contract with ABC that granted the network rights to all CFA partner conference games and the games of most major independents. However the Big Ten
and Pac-Ten conferences were not included in this package, and signed their own agreement with CBS. Miami also reached an agreement for CBS to televise it's most important home games, and in 1985, the Atlantic Coast Conference
was added to CBS ' College football list of properties. Brent Musburger took over the role of lead play-by-play voice, with Ara Parseghian moving to the booth with him.
In 1987, CBS took over the CFA contract, which it would hold until 1990, after that year, ABC obtained exclusive network coveage of regular season College Football, as it won back the CFA and retained the Pac-10/Big Ten rights.
(reverted to Sun Bowl
in 1994), the Cotton Bowl Classic, and the then-Blockbuster Bowl
. After having the rights to the game since 1958, CBS lost the rights to the Cotton Bowl Classic following the 1992 game to NBC
, leaving the network with just two bowl game contracts to round out its college football coverage. CBS televised Major League Baseball from 1990–1993, thus the network was not without major sports coverage on fall Saturdays after the loss of college football.
, CBS re-acquired the rights to the Cotton Bowl Classic, as well as acquiring the rights to two of the three bowl games in the newly formed Bowl Alliance
, which was formed following the season to help determine an undisputed national champion (as a precursor to the Bowl Championship Series
). Under the terms of the contract, which ran from 1995
through 1997
, CBS aired the Fiesta Bowl
and Orange Bowl
, which guaranteed the network two opportunities to air a national championship game (CBS did not gain rights to the Sugar Bowl
, the third bowl in the Bowl Alliance, as those were retained by ABC). CBS was the first network to air a Bowl Alliance national championship game, as Nebraska
defeated Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl
. (On the same token, CBS also aired the last Bowl Alliance national championship game, where Nebraska defeated Tennessee
in the 1998 Orange Bowl
to split that year's national championship vote as Michigan
, who was #1 in both the AP and coaches' polls going into the bowls, with the latter contractually obligated to name the Nebraska–Tennessee winner as the national champion, was obligated to play in that year's Rose Bowl
.) CBS also continued to air the Sun Bowl
, but lost the rights to the Carquest Bowl
after the game was moved from New Year's Day following the Orange Bowl's move to the home of the Carquest Bowl, Joe Robbie Stadium.
CBS returned to full-time college football coverage in 1996, as the network signed television contracts with the Big East
and SEC
to be the exclusive national television home of their in-conference schedule. The coverage was originally branded College Football on CBS, sponsored initially by Nasdaq, a tag it retains for non-SEC games broadcasted over the network. In addition to its contracts with the conferences CBS also became the exclusive home of the annual Army-Navy Game
(succeeding ABC), a contract it has retained since, and also has the rights to the annual Notre Dame
-Navy
game in even numbered years, when Navy is the home team.
, the rights to which had been retained by ABC following the SEC's move. Following the 2000 season, the Big East decided not to renew its contract with CBS and instead signed with ABC. Shortly thereafter, CBS' SEC football coverage was rebranded to show its exclusivity. CBS aired the Gator Bowl
from 2007–2010, its biggest bowl pick-up since the Orange and Fiesta Bowls.
Today CBS airs most of the SEC's in-conference games as well as rivalry games between SEC members and various other conferences; the network shares the rights to SEC conference games with the ESPN family of networks, which also airs the interconference rivalry games when the SEC team is not the home team. CBS has retained its yearly broadcast contracts with the Army-Navy game and the Sun Bowl, as well as its biannual contract with Notre Dame and Navy.
In 2011, in addition to Army-Navy CBS also broadcast the other two service academy games – Navy-Air Force on October 1 and Army-Air Force November 5, 2011.
, Auburn Tigers
, Florida Gators
, Georgia Bulldogs
, Tennessee Volunteers
, Arkansas Razorbacks
, and the LSU Tigers
usually appear on these telecasts. Florida has the most appearances with 74, followed by Alabama and Tennessee with 54 each and LSU with 51. The ESPN family of networks get the subsequent picks of games among the SEC's national television partners.
Vanderbilt
has appeared on the CBS package only four times, and not at all since 2001. Mississippi State
has had five CBS games as part of the package, the last being in 2005.
During the regular season, typical games that shown almost every year include Florida-Tennessee (aired for the 16th straight year in 2011), Florida-Georgia (all but 2002), Auburn-Alabama
(2000–2002, 2004–2006, 2008–2010), LSU-Florida (all but 2002, 2004, and 2010), LSU-Ole Miss (2003, 2007–2010), and LSU-Arkansas (all but 2009), the last of which is traditionally aired the day after Thanksgiving
. In addition, the interconference rivalry games, Florida-Florida State
and Georgia-Georgia Tech
, often air on the network when the SEC schools host the games (otherwise, those games air on ABC or the ESPN family of networks, as the ACC's contracts dictate). When the interconference rivalries air on CBS, the broadcasts are generally branded as College Football on CBS instead of SEC on CBS. In addition, CBS will occasionally televise games where SEC schools host marquee non-conference foes, such as the Miami Hurricanes
and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Since 2001
, the SEC Championship Game
has been televised by CBS.
CBS Sports Network re-airs the previous Saturday game several times throughout the following week.
The current #1 commentators for the telecasts, which traditionally air either Saturday afternoons or evenings, are Verne Lundquist
(play-by-play), Gary Danielson
(color), and Tracy Wolfson
(sideline reporter). Tim Brando
(host) and Spencer Tillman
(analyst) make up the studio team with Archie Manning
and Tony Barnhart
of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution frequenting as guest analyst. The current #2 commentators are Spero Dedes
(play-by-play) and Steve Beuerlein
, who announce three games in odd years, and four games in even years when CBS televises the Notre Dame-Navy game. Don Criqui
and Dan Fouts
called the 2008 LSU-Arkansas game in Little Rock, their only CBS college football assignment to date together. Don Criqui
also announced the 1998 and 2000 LSU-Arkansas game in Little Rock.
Former commentators on the telecasts include Sean McDonough
(1997–1999) and Todd Blackledge
(1998–2005); both of whom are currently working for ESPN and ABC on their college football coverage.
In addition, CBS College Sports Network aired the hour-long SEC Post-Game Show Presented by Geico at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, featuring the wrapup of the CBS SEC game.
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...
television package owned by CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
. The television network broadcasts games in the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
of Division I FBS NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
football.
1950's-1990
CBS has been televising College Football games since it launched a sports division,and did so on a weekly basis during a period from the 1950's to 1966, when ABCESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
gained exclusive rights the NCAA contract,barring any other network from televsing regualar season games and reducing CBS' telecasts to bowl games such as the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
and Cotton Bowl Classic, as well as a bowl that continues to air on the network to this day, the Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
.
In 1982, CBS was made an additional partner in the NCAA contract, and regular season collegiate football coverage returned. CBS and ABC would alternate the 12:30 and 3:30 slots from week to week during the seasons,carrying either a national game or several regional games in those frames., and also occasionally aired games in primetime, and on Black Friday
Black Friday (shopping)
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
, or the Friday after Thanksgiving. CBS broadcast games from every major conference, as well as the games of the then major independents such as Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
, Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, and Miami
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
. As required by the NCAA, the network also televised Division I-AA, II and III games to very small audiences,giving teams such as The Citadel and Clarion State some major-network exposure. The pregame show was titled "The NCAA Today" in the vein of its pro football counterpart The NFL Today
The NFL Today
The NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...
. Both shows were hosted by Brent Musburger
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
. However for the NCAA pregame show, Pat O'Brien and Ara Parseghian
Ara Parseghian
Ara Raoul Parseghian is a former American football player and coach of Armenian descent. He served as the head football coach at Miami University , Northwestern University , and the University of Notre Dame , compiling a career college football record of 170–58–6...
were the analysts/feature reporters, although Leslie Visser made occasional appearances on the show. Gary Bender
Gary Bender
Gary Bender is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee in to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona network after 18 years calling the NBA Phoenix Suns games.-Early career:...
was the lead play-by-play man for game coverage,working with analysts such as Pat Haden
Pat Haden
Patrick Capper "Pat" Haden is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981...
and Steve Davis
Steve Davis (American football)
Steve Davis is a retired professional American football running back. He played for five seasons in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets....
. Other CBS game commetators were Verne Lundquist
Verne Lundquist
Merton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. is an American sportscaster, currently employed by CBS Sports television.-Early life and career:Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota...
, Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...
, Frank Herzog
Frank Herzog
Frank Herzog is a former American sportscaster, best known for his role as a play-by-play announcer for Washington Redskins radio broadcasts from 1979 to 2004, where he teamed with Sam Huff and Sonny Jurgensen...
, Jack Snow, and Dennis Franklin
Dennis Franklin
Dennis Franklin is a former professional American football player who was drafted by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League in the 1975 NFL Draft. Prior to playing for in the NFL he played quarterback of the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1971-1974. He served as the...
. This arrangment was in place during the 1982 and 1983 seasons.
In 1984, after the NCAA's TV contract was ruled antitrust by the US Supreme court, it was invalidated, and the College Football Association was formed to handle affairs between television networks and College Football programs, the result was an exclusive contract with ABC that granted the network rights to all CFA partner conference games and the games of most major independents. However the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
and Pac-Ten conferences were not included in this package, and signed their own agreement with CBS. Miami also reached an agreement for CBS to televise it's most important home games, and in 1985, the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
was added to CBS ' College football list of properties. Brent Musburger took over the role of lead play-by-play voice, with Ara Parseghian moving to the booth with him.
In 1987, CBS took over the CFA contract, which it would hold until 1990, after that year, ABC obtained exclusive network coveage of regular season College Football, as it won back the CFA and retained the Pac-10/Big Ten rights.
1991-1994
As the 1990s began, CBS' Division I-A college football coverage was reduced to its bowl game contracts, which it had with the then-John Hancock BowlSun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
(reverted to Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
in 1994), the Cotton Bowl Classic, and the then-Blockbuster Bowl
Champs Sports Bowl
The Champs Sports Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at the Citrus Bowl. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Capital One Bowl and Florida Classic...
. After having the rights to the game since 1958, CBS lost the rights to the Cotton Bowl Classic following the 1992 game to NBC
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
, leaving the network with just two bowl game contracts to round out its college football coverage. CBS televised Major League Baseball from 1990–1993, thus the network was not without major sports coverage on fall Saturdays after the loss of college football.
1995-1997
Following the 1994 season1994 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season saw yet another controversial finish as both Nebraska and Penn State finished undefeated, and yet Penn State finished a distant second in the final AP and UPI polls. The controversial finish, however, could have been an even worse morass if not for some...
, CBS re-acquired the rights to the Cotton Bowl Classic, as well as acquiring the rights to two of the three bowl games in the newly formed Bowl Alliance
Bowl Alliance
The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship bowl game and to provide quality bowl game matchups for the champions of its member conferences...
, which was formed following the season to help determine an undisputed national champion (as a precursor to the Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
). Under the terms of the contract, which ran from 1995
1995 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance and was a relatively calm year compared to the early 1990s.Tom Osborne led Nebraska to its second straight national title with a victory over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl....
through 1997
1997 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1998. The national championship was...
, CBS aired the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
and Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...
, which guaranteed the network two opportunities to air a national championship game (CBS did not gain rights to the Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
, the third bowl in the Bowl Alliance, as those were retained by ABC). CBS was the first network to air a Bowl Alliance national championship game, as Nebraska
1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska...
defeated Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl
1996 Fiesta Bowl
The 1996 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game in which the Nebraska Cornhuskers won the national championship for the 1995 college football season by defeating the Florida Gators, 62-24. Played on January 2, 1996, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, the game...
. (On the same token, CBS also aired the last Bowl Alliance national championship game, where Nebraska defeated Tennessee
1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Quarterback Peyton Manning had already completed his degree in three years, and had been projected to be the top overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, but returned...
in the 1998 Orange Bowl
1998 Orange Bowl
The 1998 Orange Bowl a 1997-1998 Bowl Alliance game was played on January 2, 1998. This 64th edition to the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee came into the game with an 11-1 record and #3 AP ranking, whereas Nebraska came into the game with a...
to split that year's national championship vote as Michigan
1997 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its third year under head coach Lloyd Carr, Michigan compiled a perfect 12–0 record, won the Big Ten Conference championship, defeated Washington State in the 1998...
, who was #1 in both the AP and coaches' polls going into the bowls, with the latter contractually obligated to name the Nebraska–Tennessee winner as the national champion, was obligated to play in that year's Rose Bowl
1998 Rose Bowl
The 1998 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1998 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. It was the 84th Rose Bowl Game. The game featured Michigan beating Washington State by a score of 21–16. The ending of the game is controversial...
.) CBS also continued to air the Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
, but lost the rights to the Carquest Bowl
Champs Sports Bowl
The Champs Sports Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at the Citrus Bowl. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Capital One Bowl and Florida Classic...
after the game was moved from New Year's Day following the Orange Bowl's move to the home of the Carquest Bowl, Joe Robbie Stadium.
CBS returned to full-time college football coverage in 1996, as the network signed television contracts with the Big East
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
and SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
to be the exclusive national television home of their in-conference schedule. The coverage was originally branded College Football on CBS, sponsored initially by Nasdaq, a tag it retains for non-SEC games broadcasted over the network. In addition to its contracts with the conferences CBS also became the exclusive home of the annual Army-Navy Game
Army-Navy Game
The Army–Navy Game is an an American college football rivalry game between the teams of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. The USMA team, "Army", and the USNA team, "Navy", each represent their services' oldest...
(succeeding ABC), a contract it has retained since, and also has the rights to the annual Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
-Navy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
game in even numbered years, when Navy is the home team.
1998-present
CBS lost the rights to three of its bowl games following the 1997 season, as ABC gained the rights to the Orange and Fiesta Bowls as the exclusive television home of the newly formed Bowl Championship Series and Fox bought the rights to the Cotton Bowl Classic. However, beginning in 2001 CBS became the home of the SEC Championship GameSEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game refers to the game determining the Southeastern Conference's football season champion. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division representative against the Eastern Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Thus far, nine...
, the rights to which had been retained by ABC following the SEC's move. Following the 2000 season, the Big East decided not to renew its contract with CBS and instead signed with ABC. Shortly thereafter, CBS' SEC football coverage was rebranded to show its exclusivity. CBS aired the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
from 2007–2010, its biggest bowl pick-up since the Orange and Fiesta Bowls.
Today CBS airs most of the SEC's in-conference games as well as rivalry games between SEC members and various other conferences; the network shares the rights to SEC conference games with the ESPN family of networks, which also airs the interconference rivalry games when the SEC team is not the home team. CBS has retained its yearly broadcast contracts with the Army-Navy game and the Sun Bowl, as well as its biannual contract with Notre Dame and Navy.
In 2011, in addition to Army-Navy CBS also broadcast the other two service academy games – Navy-Air Force on October 1 and Army-Air Force November 5, 2011.
Typical games
The games aired on this package are the premiere SEC matchups of the week. Top teams like the Alabama Crimson TideAlabama 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...
, Auburn Tigers
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...
, Florida Gators
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
, Georgia Bulldogs
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...
, Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee Volunteers football
The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....
, Arkansas Razorbacks
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...
, and the LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...
usually appear on these telecasts. Florida has the most appearances with 74, followed by Alabama and Tennessee with 54 each and LSU with 51. The ESPN family of networks get the subsequent picks of games among the SEC's national television partners.
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Commodores football
The Vanderbilt Commodores football program is a college football team that represents Vanderbilt University. The team currently competes in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Southeastern Conference...
has appeared on the CBS package only four times, and not at all since 2001. Mississippi State
Mississippi State Bulldogs football
The Mississippi State Bulldogs football program represents Mississippi State University in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State has produced 38 All-Americans, 171 All-SEC selections, and 124...
has had five CBS games as part of the package, the last being in 2005.
During the regular season, typical games that shown almost every year include Florida-Tennessee (aired for the 16th straight year in 2011), Florida-Georgia (all but 2002), Auburn-Alabama
Iron Bowl
The Iron Bowl is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the University of Alabama and the Auburn Tigers football team of Auburn University. The series is considered one of the best and most hard-fought rivalries in all of sports...
(2000–2002, 2004–2006, 2008–2010), LSU-Florida (all but 2002, 2004, and 2010), LSU-Ole Miss (2003, 2007–2010), and LSU-Arkansas (all but 2009), the last of which is traditionally aired the day after Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
. In addition, the interconference rivalry games, Florida-Florida State
Florida-Florida State rivalry
The Florida–Florida State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the teams of the two oldest public universities of the U.S. state of Florida: the University of Florida Gators and the Florida State University Seminoles...
and Georgia-Georgia Tech
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is the nickname given to an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Georgia Bulldogs football team of the University of Georgia. The two Georgia universities are...
, often air on the network when the SEC schools host the games (otherwise, those games air on ABC or the ESPN family of networks, as the ACC's contracts dictate). When the interconference rivalries air on CBS, the broadcasts are generally branded as College Football on CBS instead of SEC on CBS. In addition, CBS will occasionally televise games where SEC schools host marquee non-conference foes, such as the Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes, of Coral Gables, Florida, are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports...
and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Since 2001
2001 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time.The Hurricanes were led by Larry Coker, who was in his first year as head coach after five years as Miami's offensive coordinator under Butch Davis...
, the SEC Championship Game
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game refers to the game determining the Southeastern Conference's football season champion. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division representative against the Eastern Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Thus far, nine...
has been televised by CBS.
CBS Sports Network re-airs the previous Saturday game several times throughout the following week.
Standings
Since 1996 - does not include bowl games| Team | Appearances | Wins | Losses | Win Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Arizona State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Memphis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Southern California | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Notre Dame | 15 | 13 | 2 | .867 |
| Syracuse | 10 | 8 | 2 | .800 |
| Florida | 77 | 58 | 19 | .753 |
| Penn State | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 |
| Virginia Tech | 9 | 6 | 3 | .667 |
| Miami (FL) | 20 | 13 | 7 | .650 |
| Auburn | 35 | 19 | 16 | .543 |
| Georgia | 51 | 27 | 24 | .529 |
| Navy | 23 | 12 | 11 | .521 |
| LSU | 52 | 27 | 25 | .519 |
| Tennessee | 55 | 28 | 27 | .509 |
| Georgia Tech | 8 | 4 | 4 | .500 |
| Pittsburgh | 8 | 4 | 4 | .500 |
| Louisville | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Alabama | 56 | 27 | 29 | .482 |
| Florida State | 11 | 5 | 6 | .455 |
| Mississippi State | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 |
| Arkansas | 31 | 10 | 21 | .323 |
| Ole Miss | 16 | 5 | 11 | .313 |
| West Virginia | 14 | 4 | 10 | .286 |
| Army | 14 | 3 | 11 | .214 |
| South Carolina | 16 | 2 | 14 | .125 |
| Kentucky | 14 | 1 | 13 | .071 |
| Illinois | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Rutgers | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Virginia | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Vanderbilt | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 |
| Boston College | 13 | 0 | 13 | .000 |
Commentator pairings
- Verne LundquistVerne LundquistMerton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. is an American sportscaster, currently employed by CBS Sports television.-Early life and career:Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota...
/Gary DanielsonGary DanielsonGary Danielson is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League . He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987, and 1988...
/Tracy WolfsonTracy WolfsonTracy Wolfson is an American sportscaster for CBS Sports. She is a University of Michigan graduate with a degree in communications.-Early life and career:... - Spero DedesSpero DedesSpero Dedes is a Greek-American sportscaster born in Paramus, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Paramus High School and a 2001 graduate of Fordham University in New York....
/Steve BeuerleinSteve BeuerleinStephen Taylor "Steve" Beuerlein is a former football quarterback, and currently is an NFL and college football analyst for CBS.-Education:...
The current #1 commentators for the telecasts, which traditionally air either Saturday afternoons or evenings, are Verne Lundquist
Verne Lundquist
Merton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. is an American sportscaster, currently employed by CBS Sports television.-Early life and career:Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota...
(play-by-play), Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League . He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987, and 1988...
(color), and Tracy Wolfson
Tracy Wolfson
Tracy Wolfson is an American sportscaster for CBS Sports. She is a University of Michigan graduate with a degree in communications.-Early life and career:...
(sideline reporter). Tim Brando
Tim Brando
Tim Brando is a radio host and CBS Sports studio host and play-by-play announcer.-Biography:...
(host) and Spencer Tillman
Spencer Tillman
Spencer Tillman is a former professional American football player who played running back for eight seasons for the Houston Oilers and San Francisco 49ers.-College Football:...
(analyst) make up the studio team with Archie Manning
Archie Manning
Elisha Archibald "Archie" Manning III is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League, playing for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982, then for the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings...
and Tony Barnhart
Tony Barnhart
Tony Barnhart is a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who currently appears as a college football insider for CBS Sports on their college football coverage.-Biography:...
of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution frequenting as guest analyst. The current #2 commentators are Spero Dedes
Spero Dedes
Spero Dedes is a Greek-American sportscaster born in Paramus, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Paramus High School and a 2001 graduate of Fordham University in New York....
(play-by-play) and Steve Beuerlein
Steve Beuerlein
Stephen Taylor "Steve" Beuerlein is a former football quarterback, and currently is an NFL and college football analyst for CBS.-Education:...
, who announce three games in odd years, and four games in even years when CBS televises the Notre Dame-Navy game. Don Criqui
Don Criqui
Don Criqui is an American sportscaster, currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports. Criqui's duties include occasional television coverage of National Football League games, women's and men's college basketball, occasional college football and radio play-by-play of ISP Sports'...
and Dan Fouts
Dan Fouts
Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...
called the 2008 LSU-Arkansas game in Little Rock, their only CBS college football assignment to date together. Don Criqui
Don Criqui
Don Criqui is an American sportscaster, currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports. Criqui's duties include occasional television coverage of National Football League games, women's and men's college basketball, occasional college football and radio play-by-play of ISP Sports'...
also announced the 1998 and 2000 LSU-Arkansas game in Little Rock.
Former commentators on the telecasts include Sean McDonough
Sean McDonough
Sean McDonough is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN.-Early life and career:The son of Boston Globe sportswriter Will McDonough, Sean graduated from Syracuse University in 1984. It was in Syracuse where McDonough began his broadcasting career in 1982 as the play-by-play announcer...
(1997–1999) and Todd Blackledge
Todd Blackledge
Todd Alan Blackledge was an American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship; and, as a pro, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers...
(1998–2005); both of whom are currently working for ESPN and ABC on their college football coverage.
Features
- TIAA-CREFTIAA-CREFTeachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund is a Fortune 100 financial services organization that is the leading retirement provider for people who work in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields...
College Football Today (Pre-game show aired at 3:00 p.m.. Eastern Time and simlucast on CBS College Sports Network prior to their 3:30 p.m.. college game) - Starting Lineups presented by Chick-Fil-AChick-fil-AChick-fil-A |"fillet"]]) is a quick service restaurant chain headquartered in College Park, Georgia, United States, specializing in chicken entrées and is known for promoting the company founder's claims of Christian values. Long associated with the southern United States, where it has been a...
- Liberty MutualLiberty MutualLiberty Mutual Group, more commonly known by the name of its primary line of business Liberty Mutual, is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the United States based on 2010 net written premium. It is the 82nd company on the Fortune 500 list for 2011...
Update (Throughout the game) - The HartfordThe HartfordThe Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. , usually known as The Hartford, is a Fortune 500 company and one of America’s largest investment and insurance companies...
Playbook - GeicoGEICOThe Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
Halftime Report - First Half Trends Presented by Enterprise Rent-a-CarEnterprise Rent-A-CarEnterprise Holdings, Inc. is a privately held company formed in 2009 to operate rental car subsidiaries: Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, Alamo Rent A Car, WeCar and its commercial fleet management, used car sales, and commercial truck rental operations.Enterprise Holdings was formed as...
(At start of second half) - AflacAflacAflac Incorporated is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States, founded in 1955 and based in Columbus, Georgia. In the United States, Aflac underwrites a wide range of insurance policies, but is perhaps more known for its payroll deduction insurance coverage, which pays...
Trivia Question - The Jack Links Beef Jerky Action Cam
- The Home Depot Tools for Success
- GeicoGEICOThe Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
Scoring Recap (Aired early in the fourth quarter) - Red LobsterRed LobsterRed Lobster is a U.S. chain of seafood restaurants. It also operates in Canada, the UAE and Japan . It is aimed at the mid-level "casual dining" segment of the market...
Scholar Athlete - DirecTVDirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
Player of the Game (Near the game's conclusion) - Five-Star Play of the Game Presented by Wrangler JeansWrangler JeansWrangler is a manufacturer of jeans and other clothing items. The brand is owned by the VF Corporation, who also own Lee, JanSport and The North Face, among others. Its headquarters is in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, with production plants in a variety of locations throughout the world...
(Near the game's conclusion) - GeicoGEICOThe Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
Post-game Show (Time permitting, if game ended before 7:00 p.m.)
In addition, CBS College Sports Network aired the hour-long SEC Post-Game Show Presented by Geico at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, featuring the wrapup of the CBS SEC game.