College Football All-America Team

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The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to such a list selected by football pioneer Walter Camp in the 1890s.

Currently the NCAA recognizes the lists of All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, Sporting News, and the WCFF to determine Consensus All-Americans.[1]


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[edit] Associated Press

The Associated Press has a panel of sportswriters who vote to determine the AP All-America Team. It has selected an All-America team since 1925.
The 2006 AP All-America team selection panel was composed of: Dick Weiss, Daily News (New York); Jeff Shain, The Miami Herald; Bob Thomas, The Florida Times-Union; Scott Wolf, Los Angeles Daily News; Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press; Blair Kerkoff, The Kansas City Star; AP Sports Writers Jeff Latzke (Oklahoma City), Paul Newberry (Atlanta), Andrew Bagnato (Phoenix), Tim Reynolds (Miami) and Ralph D. Russo (New York), and Associated Press Writer Genaro C. Armas (State College, Pa.).

[edit] AFCA

The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. It is often referred to the "Coach's All-America Team". The Selection Process is an All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s nine I-A (Bowl Division) districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts, that information, along with ballots submitted by FBS head coaches, are used to select the AFCA FBS Coaches’ All-America Team.

The Coaches’ All-America Team has been sponsored by various entities throughout the years but it is now under its own banner, the AFCA. These are the sponsors/publishers of the team throughout the years.

1945-47: Published in Saturday Evening Post
1948-56: Published in Collier's
1957-59: General Mills
1960-93: Eastman Kodak
1994: Schooner’s International
1995-96: AFCA
1997-1999: Burger King
2000-present: AFCA

[edit] FWAA

The FWAA Team, the second longest continuously published team in college football, has been a staple of the college football scene since 1944. It is sometimes referred to as the "Writer's All-America Team". 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. Some who have helped to select this team over the years: Mark Blaudschun, Grantland Rice, Bert McGrane, Blackie Sherrod, Furman Bisher, Pat Harmon, Fred Russell, Edwin Pope, Murray Olderman, Paul Zimmerman. The All-America team is selected by a committee of writers representing all conferences and regions of the NCAA.

The 2007 FWAA All-America Committee was composed of Mark Blaudschun, Boston Globe; Chip Brown, The Dallas Morning News; Bob Clark, Eugene Register-Guard; Buddy Davis, Ruston Leader; Dennis Dodd, cbssports.com; Bob Holt, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Steve Irvine, Birmingham News; Michael Lewis, Salt Lake Tribune; Matt Markey, Toledo Blade; and Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune.

The Writers' Team has been highlighted in various media forums. 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 Bob Hope, Steve Allen, Perry Como and others. After LOOK folded, the FWAA started a long association with NCAA Films (later known as NCAA Productions), which produced a 30-minute television show and sold it to sponsors. The team was part of ABC Television's 1981 College Football Series. From 1983-90, the team was either on ABC or ESPN, and since 1991 has returned to the national spotlight on ABC. The corporate sponsor for the Writers' team is AT&T, after several years of Cingular being the sponsor.

[edit] WCF

The Walter Camp All-America team is selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm. Walter Camp, “The Father of American Football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. The WCF claims an 80% participation rate in the voting for its All-America team.

[edit] Sporting News

("Sporting News" was formerly known as "The Sporting News" or "TSN".) Teams are chosen by the College football editors and staff, beginning in 1934. [2] From that year though the 1962 season TSN's All-America team was picked by a poll of sportswriters. Beginning in 1964 the team was selected by "professional scouts and observers". [3] The Sporting News cited the advent of two-platoon football as the need to go to that system.

[edit] UPI

This defunct organization selected players in a national poll of sportswriters and began selecting teams in 1925 as "United Press". In 1958, after it merged with the International News Service (INS), it became United Press International. The INS had chosen teams since 1913. UPI continued to choose an All-America team, based on a poll of sportswriters, through the 1996 season.

[edit] Central Press

This media group polled team school captains for its "Captain's All-America Team"

[edit] Newspaper Enterprise Association

Another media group who polled writers and players to compose its team. It ran fron 1924 through 1996.


[edit] Others

ABC Sports, ESPN and CNN-Sports Illustrated, College Football News, CBS Sportsline.com, Time Magazine; and many others also select All-America teams.

Time Magazine's selected All-America teams from 1956 through 1976. ESPN's selections are made by veteran college football writer Ivan Maisel. Maisel's began selecting an All-America team for ESPN.com in 2002. CBS Sports.com is voted on by writers, producers and staff of CBS Sports. Two of the newest, seemingly driven by the internet, are Scout.com and Rivals.com.

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