DALLAS (FWAA) – The 68th Football Writers Association of America All-America Team is dominated by standouts from the Southeastern Conference, which placed 10 players on the squad. That is twice as many as the next highest number from any league, five from the offense-oriented Big 12 Conference.

The FWAA All-America Team, the second longest continuously-published team, has been a staple of college football scene since 1944. The FWAA has only selected a first-team All-America squad in each season since 1950.

Of the 10 SEC players, seven were on defense where LSU and Alabama, considered the nation's two top defensive teams, had three each. Georgia had the other. Alabama also placed two offensive players on the team, running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Trent Richardson, and Outland Trophy-winning tackle Barrett Jones.

Eleven of the 25 players selected to the team by the All-America committee come from the nation's top three teams. No. 2 Alabama led all teams with five FWAA All-Americans, followed by three each from No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Oklahoma State. The Cowboys, one of college football's most potent scoring teams, placed two players on the offensive side of the ball and another on special teams.

There were five FWAA All-America repeat selections, including two receivers, Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon and Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles. Alabama defensive back Mark Barron and Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly also earned All-America honors for the second straight season. Kicker Quinn Sharp from Oklahoma State made the team last season as a punter.

Overall, eight of the 11 Division I Bowl Subdivision Conferences were represented on the team. The Big Ten had four players and the ACC two. Conference USA, the Mountain West, the Pac-12 and the WAC were each represented by one player.

First selected three years after the organization was formed, the FWAA's inaugural team included Army's Heisman Trophy tandem of Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis and Georgia Tech's Frank Broyles, who later became Arkansas' head football coach and athletic director.

Over the years, the FWAA Team has highlighted all the game's great players in several media forums.

From 1946-70, LOOK Magazine published the FWAA team and brought players and selected writers to New York City for a celebration. During that 25-year period, the FWAA team was introduced on national television shows by Bob Hope, Steve Allen, Perry Como and others.

After LOOK folded, the FWAA started a long association with NCAA Films (later known as NCAA Productions), which produced a 30-minute television show and sold it to sponsors. The team was part of ABC Television's 1981 College Football Series.

From 1983-90, the team was either on ABC or ESPN, and now has returned to the national spotlight on ABC.

The FWAA team has included most of the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award winners over the years and Outland Trophy winners. Those are the three oldest awards in major-college football.

For 68 years, the FWAA has selected an All-America team with the help of its members and an All-America Committee which represents all the regions in the country. The FWAA also selects the Outland Trophy winner (best interior lineman) and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner (best defensive player).

Some of the true greats of the writing profession have helped to select this team over the years: Mark Blaudschun, Grantland Rice, Bert McGrane, Blackie Sherrod, Furman Bisher, Pat Harmon, Fred Russell, Edwin Pope, Murray Olderman, Paul Zimmerman and the list goes on and on. It is a team steeped in tradition and history and selected by a writers' group with the same attributes.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,200 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.

Related links:
• FWAA All-America Team
• All-Time FWAA All-Americans (.pdf)