DALLAS (FWAA) – The Southeastern and Big 12 conferences dominated the 40-man 2009 Outland Trophy Watch List that was released today and featured on ESPN's "College Football Live." The SEC placed 10 players on the list and the Big 12 had nine, with no other conference having more than four players on the prestigious list.

Every Division I Bowl subdivision conference, along with Notre Dame, had at least one player on the annual list, which includes only interior linemen – tackles, guards and centers on both sides of the ball. Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody is the only player on the list who was on the FWAA's 2008 All-America Team.

Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12; Florida, Georgia and Alabama from the SEC; USC from the Pac-10; and Penn State from the Big Ten each had two players on the list.

In early October, the FWAA will consider other players for the 2009 Outland Trophy Watch List when most teams have completed four games of play. Sports Information Directors will be asked to contact their conference's representative on the 2009 All-America Committee and copy the FWAA office with the nominated player.

The Outland Trophy, presented annually since 1946, is the third oldest award in major college football. The winner of the Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn and Kansas at the turn of the century, will be announced on the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show on Dec. 10 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on Jan. 14 in Omaha, Neb.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,100 men and women 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 its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com or 972-713-6198.

The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, ncfaa.org.

For more information on the Outland Trophy, go to the official website, www.outlandtrophy.com.

Related links:
• All-time Outland Trophy winners
• Outland Trophy official site (outlandtrophy.com)