Columbus Named One of Five ESPN SportsCenter TitleTown USA Finalists – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
Ohio State has won national championships in 10 different sports
Columbus has been announced as one of the finalists for ESPN SportsCenter’s interactive search for America’s top championship city. Columbus was one of five new finalists announced last week on the ESPN flagship news and information program. Also included were Los Angeles, Chapel Hill, N.C., Ann Arbor, Mich., and San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area.
To date, 11 of the 20 finalists in the running to be chosen “TitleTown USA” by fans have been announced including, Green Bay, Wisc., Louisville, Ky., Gainesville, Fla., Detroit, Williamsport, Pa. and Boston. The remaining nine finalists will be announced each weekday on the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter through Friday, June 27.
The 20 cities were determined by a combination of 2,000 fan-generated nominations, an ESPN production content research team, and a blue-ribbon panel consisting of 19 non-ESPN journalists and 12 SportsCenter anchors. Ultimately, fans will pick the winner via online voting on ESPN.com.
Columbus-area residents will have their opportunity to influence voters with a pep rally at The Horseshoe on July 17. More details will be announced later.
The series will feature two daily SportsCenter segments highlighting the championship pedigrees of each finalist (one per day), starting with Green Bay Friday, July 4, through Wednesday, July 23. Upon completion of the series, online polling will re-open Thursday, July 24 Saturday, July 26. The winner will be announced Sunday, July 27.
Highlights of the new five finalists:
Columbus
Ohio State football program has won seven national titles and over 30 Big Ten titles and feature more than 100 All-Americans
Ohio State’s seven Heisman Trophy winners are tied with USC for most by any school
Legendary former football coach Woody Hayes was the leader in creating a college football coaching tradition that remains relevant today
Dubbed “The Program” by Sports Illustrated
Ohio State has won 58 National Team Championships in 11 sports
A total of 1,877 Ohio State student-athletes have earned All-America honors
Los Angeles
Professional sports team titles: Lakers 9; Dodgers 5; L.A. Raiders 1; L.A. Rams 1; L.A. Galaxy 2; and L.A. Sparks 2
College team titles: UCLA 122; USC 107, plus seven Heisman Trophy winners
Olympic sports: USC 112 gold medals, 64 silver and 58 bronze; UCLA 105 gold, 53 silver, and 54 bronze
Great athletes and coaches: Jackie Robinson (lettered in four sports at UCLA), Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, James Worthy, Jerrry West, Kobie Bryant, John Wooden, Bill Walton, Pat Riley, Tiger Woods, et al
Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina has won 33 NCAA team National championships in six different sports (ninth all-time) and 51 individual National Championships
Women’s soccer program has won 18 National Championships since 1982 and the men’s program won in 2001
Women’s basketball team won national title in 1994 and the men’s team in 1924, 1957, 1982, 1993 and 2005
Men’s lacrosse team won national titles in 1981, ’82, ’86 and 1991
Women’s field hockey team won National Championships in 1985, ’95, ’96, ’97 and 2007
Legendary Hall-of-Fame coach Dean Smith and his coaching protgs (Larry Brown, Roy Williams, et al) have become synonymous with fundamental basketball
Ann Arbor
University of Michigan has won 52 national titles in 12 different sports
Michigan football program leads the Big Ten with 42 championships
University of Michigan hockey team has won 10 NCAA titles
178 Michigan athletes and coaches have participated in the Olympics and have won medals in every Summer Olympics except 1896 (won gold medals in all but four Olympiads)
Legendary coach Bo Schembechler led Michigan to 13 Big Ten titles and made 10 Rose Bowl appearances
San Francisco/Bay Area
San Francisco 49ers have won five Super Bowls
Oakland Raiders have won nine AFC Championships, three AFC Championships and two Super Bowl Championships
Home of one of sport’s greatest cheering sections in The Black Hole’ (Oakland Raiders)
Oakland A’s have won 14 American League West titles, six American League pennants and four World Series
San Jose SaberCats have won three ArenaBowls
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