First & Goal: Issue 7

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THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE STADIUM EVENTS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

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ISSUE 7 • NOVEMBER 13, 2014

SOOEY!

A half century ago the Arkansas Razorbacks won a national title in the Cotton Bowl — now the national title will once again be decided in North Texas thanks to an offensive lineman on that ’64 Hogs squad

BY JAIME ARON

PHOTOS BY IAN HALPERIN/SEOC

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ifty years ago this fall, the Arkansas Razorbacks were storming toward their first national championship — a title, incidentally, that would change the way such crowns were decided.

We’ll get to that part in a bit.

First, back to those Hogs and their memorable year.

In mid-October, Arkansas knocked off No. 1 Texas 14-13, an upset sealed by the Longhorns failing on a 2-point conversion with 1:27 left. The Razorbacks didn’t allow a point the next five games.

Yes, five straight shutouts, earning them the Southwest Conference title and a trip to the Cotton Bowl against Big Eight champion Nebraska.

With all the pre-game hubbub in Dallas, Arkansas coach Frank Broyles kept going south to Houston. In addition to enjoying fewer distractions, they were treated to a tour of a new building that was getting ready to open, a colossus that would soon be known

FINAL COUNTDOWN: The 75 Day Out Luncheon on Oct. 29 at AT&T Stadium featured a panel discussion by (L-R) Chris Cotter, Jerry Jones, Mack Brown, Bill Hancock and Tommy Bain.

10-7, capping an 11-0 season. They were the only undefeated club among all major college teams, making them a shoo-in for the national championship … right?

Wrong.

Back then, the AP and UPI polls declared a season-end winner before the bowls, and those titles went to Alabama, with Arkansas stuck at No. 2.

When the Crimson Tide lost their bowl game, the organizations that waited had a chance to bestow

“This whole mess needed a resolution. The obvious move was naming a champion after all games were played.” as the Eighth Wonder of the World: the Astrodome.

Once they arrived in Dallas, the Razorbacks beat the Cornhuskers

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their crowns upon the rightful owner. Thus, the Razorbacks were national champions according to the Football Writers Association of America and the Helms Athletic Foundation.

Wait, it gets wackier. Three other entities actually handed out national championships that season. Another that was decided before the bowls went to Alabama, while Michigan and Notre Dame also claimed bits of the title that year.

This whole mess needed a resolution. The obvious CONTINUED →

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NOVEMBER 13, 2014

SOOEY!, CONT. move was naming a champion after all games were played. So that’s what AP and UPI decided to do, starting the following year — marking the first of many changes in how the best team in the land would be decided.

Pay extra attention now, because this is where these storylines tie together in an amazing bow.

A co-captain of that ’64 Razorbacks team was an offensive lineman named Jerry Jones. He knew in his heart that he played for the best team in the land. He also knew that his trip to the Astrodome touched

“It was brand new, it was sparkling… You felt like you were on the moon.

You just couldn’t believe it. You thought, ‘What would it be like to get to play a game and make a tackle (here)?” him like a would-be painter visiting the Sistine Chapel.

“It was brand new, it was sparkling,” Jones said. “You felt like you were on the moon.

You just couldn’t believe it. You thought, `What would it be like to get to play a game and make a tackle (here)?’”

Fast forward to the 2000s.

Jones was ready to build a new stadium for the CONTINUED →

ZAC BROWN BAND TO PERFORM AT TAILGATE Three-time Grammy award winners and multi-platinum artists to perform at the inaugural Championship Tailgate

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he acclaimed Zac Brown Band will headline the Championship Tailgate at the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship on January 12, 2015, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The band’s three platinum- selling albums, Uncaged, You Get What You Give and The Founda4on, have sold nearly seven million copies total and produced a historic series of eleven #1 singles.

Zac Brown Band performed for over 1.1 million fans in 2014 and just wrapped the ‘Great American Road Trip’ tour, which included a sold out, two-night stand at Fenway Park without any support acts — a feat only accomplished by four other bands (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Jimmy Buffet & The Coral Reefer Band, The Police and The Rolling Stones) and a performance at Wrigley Field. Their latest

album, The Grohl Sessions Vol. 1, is out now on Southern Ground and features a 45-minute film by Southern Reel on the making of the album. Their first-ever career anthology Greatest Hits So Far... comes out November 10.

The Championship Tailgate will begin at noon on January 12, 2015, and is a free event for all ticket holders attending the College Football Playoff National Championship. The interactive area adjacent to AT&T Stadium will allow fans to gather and enjoy interactive games, sponsor activities, concessions, ESPN broadcast sets and the live performance by Zac Brown Band on the Capital One Quicksilver Music Stage.

For more information on game day activities, please visit www.collegefootballplayoff.com Additional information on the Zac Brown Band can be found at www.zacbrownband.com.

ONE BIG PARTY: Zac Brown Band will perform at Championship Tailgate at AT&T Stadium.

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SOOEY, CONT.

Dallas Cowboys, and he knew he wanted something that would be a breath-taker like the Astrodome once was for him. He also knew a stadium like that would become home to some really important college football games — a Cotton Bowl, he hoped, and maybe even a national championship if the powers that be in college football could ever figure out how to make it happen.

You know the rest of the story: on Jan. 12, the latest and greatest change in the way college football championships are decided will debut at AT&T Stadium, the $1.2 billion colossus created by Jones.

Hosting the first College Football Playoff National Championship is quite a way for Jones to celebrate the golden anniversary of his own national championship season.

On October 29, with kickoff of the big game exactly 75 days away, Jones was the guest of honor at a luncheon held in the West end zone of AT&T Stadium. It was a starstudded affair, with Olympic champion Michael Johnson, former Mavericks great Rolando Blackman and Arlington Mayor Bob Cluck among several hundred attendees. The new championship trophy gleamed from the stage, with emcee Chris Cotter of ESPN leading a panel discussion that included Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff; Tommy Bain, chairman of the Stadium Events Organizing Committee; and former Texas coach-turned-ESPN/ABC analyst Mack Brown.

Brown and Jones stole the show, swapping jokes and stories as they discussed CONTINUED → the game, and the

NFF DINNER TO KICKOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

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n November 6, The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced Kenneth H. Cooper, MD, MPH as a 2015 inductee into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame. The “father of aerobics,” Dr. Cooper will be honored Jan. 8 at the Omni Dallas Hotel as the kickoff event for the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship weekend.

“Dr. Cooper ranks among the top visionaries in the history of the medical profession, and he has helped change the global culture, literally improving the lives of millions of people worldwide,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “His remarkable leadership skills and ability to inspire others represent the same set of traits learned on the football field, and we are extremely proud to announce his induction into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame.”

Dr. Cooper’s Jan. 8 induction marks the launch of a new tradition, and each year the NFF will stage an NFF Leadership Hall of Fame event in the host city of the title game. The dinner co-chairmen include NFF Board Members and College Football Hall of Fame inductees Troy Aikman (UCLA) and Roger Staubach (Navy), current Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert.

The event will serve as the kickoff event for the national championship game weekend, taking place on the Thursday before the title game. Other NFF events annually scheduled to take place during the national championship weekend include the announcement of the College Football Hall of Fame Class on the Friday before the title game.

For ticket and sponsorship information, please contact Jenny Heiser at jenny@faysawers.com.

“His remarkable leadership skills and ability to inspire others represent the same set of traits learned on the football field, and we are extremely proud to announce his induction into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame.”

BOOK A SPEAKER Interested in learning more about the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship and what it means to the North Texas Region? Contact the SEOC about possibly booking a speaker at your next event. To learn more, email Tony Fay at tony@stadiumeoc.com.

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first-ever poll released by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, which was came out the day before.

Here are some of the most memorable remarks from the presentation: + BROWN TO JONES: “There will never be another first one. And that’s really, really cool. I know Texas is proud of it, North Texas is proud of it and I’m proud of it. … All eyes will be on college football more than any other time in the history of college football, and all will be looking at this stadium.

And those kids are going to have the most unbelievable experience playing in this wonderful place you’ve created. So good for you.” + JONES ON AT&T STADIUM HOSTING THE FIRSTEVER COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: “We did everything we could to make it as special as it could be. But at the end of the day, it’s a tractor. At the end of the day, it’s to be used and worked.

When I think of the job the Cotton Bowl and the leaders of college football have done to get to this point … I know it’s going to be a big deal.” + BROWN ON THE PLAYOFF SYSTEM: “A lot of coaches and administrators thought it would affect the regular season and hurt it. It’s been just the opposite. The regular season is more exciting than ever before. … I can’t wait.” + JONES ON THE PLAYOFF SYSTEM: “I’ve always thought that the playoff would create for college football what the Super Bowl has done for the National Football League.”

A DAY OF CELEBRATION: (Clockwise) Jerry Jones meets with students from Speer Elementary School in Arlington; Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck visits with the kids; attendees were entertained by a drum line from the Talented and Gifted Yvonne A. Ewell Magnet School in Dallas’ East Oak Ciff; Jones, Brown and Hancock.

+ HANCOCK ON THE JONES FAMILY’S SUPPORT OF THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: “Their attitude about this game is that it’s the most important thing that’s ever happened here. Now they have a lot of ‘most important’ things that have happened here, but we’re getting the feeling that our

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game is the most important thing that’s happened.” + HANCOCK ON THE DEBUT POLL: “We came out with three thoughts — it’s early, it’s close and it will change.” + Brown (who went 1-for-2 in BCS title games) interjected: “Let me help you. I’ve been there winning and the other.

And it’s better when you win.”