Every Week a Season: A Journey Inside Big-Time College Football

Overview

"Brian Curtis tells the stories behind the stories. He brings the meetings, practice sessions, recruiting calls and game day experience to light like never before. Fans who want to know what goes on behind the scenes will find out in this book."
-RON ZOOK, head football coach, the University of Florida

In Every Week a Season, acclaimed sports reporter and author Brian Curtis takes readers on an unprecedented whirlwind tour of NCAA Division I football. It's a world that breeds great drama, a world that millions watch but few understand. It is a multibillion-dollar business. It is an obsession.

To get to the beating heart of college football, Curtis embarked on a breakneck itinerary that took him where all red-blooded college football fans long to be: behind the scenes at nine big-time programs. In nine weeks, Curtis visited Colorado State University, the University of Georgia, Boston College, the University of Tennessee, the University of Maryland, the University of Wisconsin, Louisiana State University, Florida State University, and Arizona State University. He braved the rain to watch Wisconsin pull off the upset of the year; he was at Neyland Stadium to see Tennessee manage a thrilling overtime victory; he was in Tallahassee to witness Florida State's dramatic double overtime battle for the ACC title. As added bonuses, he was with Georgia when the team fought for the SEC Championship, and on the LSU sideline when the boys from Baton Rouge defeated Oklahoma to capture the BCS National Championship. At each stop, he brings us inside the game's inner sanctum: in team meetings and scouting sessions; on the field and on the sidelines, during scrimmages, practices, and games; at pre-game traditions, meals, and religious services; in the locker room before the game and at half-time. Virtually nothing and no one was off-limits.

Along with the players, Curtis got to know the coaches-from the young guns to the legends-spending time with them in their offices and on the road. We see firsthand the challenges of running a major college football program-when called on, coaches must serve as CEOs, PR gurus, lawyers, politicians, and policemen. We also learn of the sacrifices made by wives and children that enable coaches to keep the numerous young athletes under their supervision focused, secure, and happy.

Brian Curtis gives a no-holds-barred insider's account that will rank as one of the most honest and accurate books on big-time sports in America. Short of strapping on a helmet, you'll never get closer to the game.

Editorial Reviews

In college football's short season, a single game can make or break a team's fortunes. As the weeks rush by and put increasing pressure on the schools, fans and coaches tend to forget the contests are played by young men barely out of their teens. Curtis (The Men of March), who has done reporting for Fox Sports Net, takes advantage of amazing access to evenhandedly analyze the intense burdens on nine of the sport's biggest teams to maintain their positions. He examines the different routes taken toward the same goal by the various personnel involved in the process. Coaches, for example, don't just design plays; they dissect game films, deal with media and chat up recruits. Curtis tracks several perennial powerhouses, like Colorado State and Florida State, over the course of the 2003 season and also discusses Boston College, to illustrate a team out of the running. The mind-boggling formulas that go into computing the rankings often seem to defy logic and can lead readers to much head-scratching. Curtis looks past the numbers and focuses on the people who make up the game, from players and coaches to alumni and fans. Photos. Agent, Sam Goldfeder. (On sale Aug. 31) Forecast: A Maxim.com promotion and bookstore appearances in the cities of the nine colleges Curtis profiles could position this as a popular holiday gift book. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Brian Curtis

Brian Curtis is the author of Every Week a Season and The Men of March, as well as the co-author with Nick Saban of How Good Do You Want to Be? A former reporter for FOX Sports, he is a host and analyst on College Sports Television. He lives in New York with his wife, Tamara, and daughter, Emily.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Random House

Filesize

1.54 MB

Number of Pages

320

eBook ISBN

9780307415196