DALLAS (FWAA) – Florida Citrus Sports (FCS), the organizing group which produces the Capital One Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, Rotary Gridiron Classic and Florida Classic each season, announced it will bring another prestigious college football event to Orlando. The organization will host the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-America Banquet beginning in January and continuing at least through the 2005 college football season.

"We feel hosting the Football Writers All-America team is a natural extension for our association," said FCS Executive Director Tom Mickle. "We have great respect for the Football Writers team and believe this will be another significant event for a community that simply loves college football. The support of the Orlando community for college football never ceases to amaze me."

The 25-player FWAA All-America team will be announced in December after its selection by a panel of nine FWAA members. The FWAA has selected an All-America team since 1944. The team has been featured in Look Magazine (1946-70) and later on the Bob Hope Christmas Special and on ABC-TV. It is the second oldest continuously published All-America team in college football.

"We believe Orlando is the perfect place to play host to the FWAA All-America team banquet," said Steve Richardson, FWAA Executive Director. "For a number of years we have been looking for the right fit and now have it. In conjunction with the college football all-star game in the area, FWAA All-Americas in many cases will have more than one reason to make Orlando their stop in late January."

The FWAA All-America Banquet will take place during the week preceding the Rotary Gridiron Classic College All-Star Game. This season's Banquet will occur on January 24 at a site to be determined. The Rotary Gridiron Classic will be played the following day in front of a live national television audience on ESPN2.

Proceeds generated by the Banquet will benefit the charitable arm of FCS, the Florida Citrus Sports Foundation Summer Camp. Each year, the Foundation hosts two, four-week camp sessions for at-risk youth in the Orlando are\a. The camp provides its participants athletic activities and life-skills instruction in a structured environment.

The FWAA Banquet represents the fourth college football event Florida Citrus Sports has brought to Orlando since 1997. That year saw the reemergence of the Florida Classic in Central Florida. The game, which pits Bethune-Cookman vs. Florida A&M, has turned into an annual sellout at the 65,438 seat Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. In 1998, FCS introduced the Rotary Gridiron Classic, and in four short years the game has evolved into the nation's fastest growing college all-star game. Last fall, FCS brought the Micronpc.com Bowl from Miami, where it had spent 11 years, to Orlando and renamed it the Tangerine Bowl.

While the menu of events produced by FCS has seen an increase in recent years, the organization's roots date back to 1946 when Orlando's original bowl game was established. Today, that game is known as the Capital One Bowl.

Florida Citrus Sports is a private, not-for-profit membership organization that presents six signature events in its efforts to benefit the Florida Citrus Sports Foundation, community charities and educational institutions. The organization is based in Orlando, Fla. and its six signature events include the Capital One Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, Rotary Gridiron Classic College All-Star Game, Florida Classic, Florida Power Super Holiday Parade and the OUC Orlando Half Marathon & 5K.

Having recently celebrated its 60th year, the Football Writers Association of America consists of the men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards and an All-America team.

Related Links:
• Florida Citrus Sports
• FWAA All-America Team