ESPN’s Titletown Visits Buckeye Land – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
Columbus, Ohio ranks as one of the country’s best sports cities
ESPN’s “Titletown” tour made its stop in Columbus Thursday. The promotion put on by the national sports network is out to determine the best sports city in the United States.
With Ohio Stadium providing the backdrop, a throng of Buckeye fans circled the Titletown set to take in an interview with college football’s only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, Archie Griffin, and watch ESPN film parts of its segment set to air Monday evening during SportsCenter.
Columbus was named one of 20 finalists for the “Titletown” search. Ohio State has a rich tradition of success on and off the field in what is the largest department of athletics in the country with 36 varsity sports.
Columbus Highlights
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
Ohio State football program has won seven national titles and 32 Big Ten titles and features 181 All-Americans
Ohio State’s seven Heisman Trophy winners are tied 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
ESPN’s Titletown
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The 20 finalist 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. Columbus is in the running due to the Ohio State football program, which has won seven national titles and over 30 Big Ten titles and features more than 100 All-Americans. And Ohio State’s seven Heisman Trophy winners are tied with USC for most by any school. The Columbus segment will air Monday, July 21, in the 6 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter. Also on that day, ESPN Classic will highlight Columbus with an airing of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Miami at 2 p.m., and an airing of SportsCentury: Jack Nicklaus at 5 p.m. Upon completion of the daily series featuring all 20 cities, online polling will re-open Thursday, July 24 Saturday, July 26. The winner will be announced Sunday, July 27. The 20 “TitleTown USA” finalists: Green Bay, Wis.; Louisville, Ky.; Gainesville, Fla.; Detroit; Williamsport, Pa.; Boston; Los Angeles; Columbus, Ohio; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; San Francisco; Pittsburgh; Knoxville, Tenn.; Valdosta, Ga.; Parkersburg, W. Va.; and Chicago; Lawrence, Kan.; Palo Alto, Calif.; Massillon, Ohio; and New York City. MEDIA CONTACT: Andy Hall, ESPN Communications (407) 566-2209, andy.hall@espn.com; |
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