Category Archives: Member News

Introducing The Inside Zone, college football’s newest online community

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Greetings from The Inside Zone.

CHICAGO–You may know  my work at ESPN.com or The Athletic, where I spent six seasons apiece covering this great sport before leaving the latter company this past summer to start my new venture.

Why? Personally and professionally, the timing just felt right.

And so far, it’s been a blast. 

At The Inside Zone, I am fortunate to provide wall-to-wall national college football coverage, from weekly behind-the-scenes columns, regular game coverage, breaking news stories, coaching candidates for every open job, mailbags and much more.

The response has been great so far, as it has validated my faith in the sport’s (and the world’s) need for independent journalism. (Frankly, who among us couldn’t use some encouragement in that department these days?)

And right now, I am happy to be offering FWAA members a special 10% discount on annual subscriptions, a total that comes out to just $45 a year.

Just click this link, or type in www.insidezonemf.com/FWAA2023

That’s $45 a year for ‘round-the-clock, boots-on-the-ground coverage of college football.

To put that in local baseball terms here in Chicago: That’s the equivalent of either 45 tickets on the South Side or two beers on the North Side.

The season is a month old, assistant coaches are already (somehow) on the chopping block and the drama will only increase across the rest of the fall.

Join me now in helping to grow this online community dedicated to the sport from coast to coast.

You won’t regret it.

Matt Fortuna is a past president of The FWAA (2019) and a 10-time honoree in The FWAA’s Best Writing Contest. You can reach him at insidezonemf@gmail.com.

Novel brings the Galloping Ghost to the spirit of college football

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FWAA member Dean Hawthorne recently published a novel about college football and a afterlife encounter with The Galloping Ghost.

WHERE PASSION LIVES: The Spirit of College Football is college football’s answer to Field of Dreams and The Natural.

Diehard college football fan Kyle McGinnis is eagerly awaiting the kickoff of a new season when something goes horribly wrong. His accidental death lands his spirit in purgatory, where he meets the true Spirit of College Football—none other than football legend Red Grange.

The Galloping Ghost leads Kyle on an extraordinary adventure deep inside the world of college football. Crisscrossing the country with a spirit’s all-access pass, they explore some of the game’s greatest moments, traditions, and rivalries in a journey that mortal fans can only dream of.

But it isn’t all just fun and games. As Kyle struggles to unravel the mystery of gaining his passage to heaven, the Ghost reveals a long-forgotten place where the two can join forces in a quest that will have an everlasting impact on the fate of college football.

By turns joyous and poignant, this unforgettable story from debut author Dean C. Hawthorne is filled with college football history, a look at both the fun and the trouble spots in today’s game, and enough tantalizing “what ifs” to keep college football fans engrossed and entertained for some time to come. 

About the Author

Dean C. Hawthorne is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the National Football Foundation.

Despite being a descendant of one of America’s great authors, Dean didn’t intend to pursue a career in writing. However, deep down he always held out hope that he had inherited at least a shred of his famous ancestor Nathaniel’s immense talent.

As much as he enjoys writing, it pales in comparison to his love of sports. If you name the game, the odds are pretty good he’s either played, coached or at least watched it over the course of his lifetime. Topping his list of favorites is college football. His passion for that sport began more than fifty-five years ago, when he began following the powerhouse program of his future alma mater, the University of Southern California.

For more information about Dean and this book go to www.deanchawthorne.com.

Irv Moss, Denver Post sports reporter for 60 years, dies at 85

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From The Denver Post

The man many consider to be the encyclopedic authority on Colorado sports, Irv Moss, died Wednesday night at the age of 85. He worked at The Denver Post for 60 years.

Moss died of complications from esophageal cancer, according to his close friend, Gary Sever.

Irv Moss of the Denver Post in 2016, when he received the FWAA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)

“The last of a vanishing breed in the newsroom,” said Mike Judson, a copy editor who worked alongside Moss at The Post for more than two decades.

“Irv covered it all and knew it all, from preps to colleges to pros to the Olympics, and he was the ultimate pro as a sports journalist,” Judson said. “He could tell you about University of Denver football, which played its last season in 1960, and knew that the annual CU-DU football game on Thanksgiving once was the biggest sports event in the state.”

Jim Saccomano, who served in the Denver Broncos front office for the better part of 40 years until his retirement in 2013, called Moss “a straight shooter and a man of principle.”

“There’s something to be said for packing your lunchbox and doing your job,” said Saccomano, who first met Moss in 1978 upon joining the Broncos organization. “Irv goes back to a time when the city was a different thing.”

Saccomano said when he arrived at Broncos headquarters Moss was there crunching statistics for the football team while also holding down his job with The Post. But Moss’ involvement in sports reporting in the city predated the Broncos’ arrival in the Mile High City.

“When this city was smaller, once upon a time the biggest events might have been the Denver Bears (minor-league baseball team) and the dog track,” said Saccomano, who often ran into Moss at the venerable but now-closed Pagliacci’s restaurant in Denver. “I think of Irv as the journalistic foundation of this city.”

Moss was born Dec. 14, 1934, in Denver and graduated from West High School 18 years later. He attended Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University) in Fort Collins for a while but left school when his father became ill.

In 1953, Moss debuted at The Post as a copy boy at a time when the paper was headquartered at 15th and California streets. After leaving the paper to do electrician work, he returned on Feb. 8, 1956, for what would be a 60-year run at the newspaper.

Then-Denver Post sports editor Chuck Garrity made Moss part of the paper’s coverage of the greyhound races at Mile High Kennel Club, along with the men’s fast-pitch softball league at City Park.

“It was an interesting time to watch, and in a way, be part of the changing of Denver as a sports city,” Moss told Post sports reporter Terry Frei in 2016 for a story about his retirement. “When I first started down here, City Park softball was the big story. And next thing you know, we’re one of the top sports markets in the country.”

After a stint with the Army’s 160th Signal Group in Germany in the late 1950s, Moss put his skills toward covering high school athletics and later college football at Wyoming and Air Force. He got a front-row seat to the Denver Nuggets franchise’s debut in Colorado, having covered the Denver Rockets in the upstart American Basketball Association.

But Dave Plati, longtime sports information director with the University of Colorado at Boulder who got to know Moss starting in 1982 when Plati did public relations for the Denver Bears, said Moss’ true love was baseball.

“He loved baseball and anything to do with baseball the most,” Plati said.

Starting in the mid-1980s, Moss got heavily involved covering the sinuous path to landing a Major League Baseball team in Denver.  He covered the twists and turns of the selection process until 1991 when Commissioner Fay Vincent announced Denver was getting the nod as an expansion city.

The team began play in Colorado in 1993, and Moss was a Rockies beat writer for 12 years.

“I’d see him in the press box at the Rockies and he always talked baseball,” Plati said. “He was assigned for years to do the minor-league reports on the Rockies farm system and truly enjoyed watching what prospects matured to the majors.”

After he retired, Moss rarely missed watching a Rockies game on TV. He attended his last Rockies game on Sept 17 last fall, Sever said, and in one of his last conversations, Moss asked Sever if the Rockies had made any moves this winter.

Moss was decidedly of the nondigital, pre-Facebook generation. Longtime Post sports columnist Mark Kiszla met Moss in 1983.

“I walked into the sports department on California Street, and there Irv was at his desk, with a big phone (landline of course) stuck to his ear,” Kiszla recounted. “Nobody loved being a newspaperman more than Irv. Newspaperman. Old school. So old school I still think of him as a member of the cast from a black-and-white movie about newspapers.”

That included showing up to games with the Post softball team dressed in his office attire — a short-sleeve dress shirt and khaki slacks, Kiszla said. While he argued balls and strikes at the game, Moss didn’t share details about himself with others.

“Irv was an international man of mystery,” Kiszla said. “He did not like to reveal any details about himself. His age. His address. The name of family members.”

But he had no problems trying to extract information from sources — or even from friends and colleagues.

“Irv would appear out of nowhere, from a baseball dugout to the Press Club bar, when you least expected it, with a Cheshire cat grin on his face, and then he would ask: ‘What are you doing here?’” Kiszla recalled. “Bulldog does not begin to describe Irv as a reporter. He liked to begin questions with ‘Coach, would you say …’

“And he would ask the same question five different ways, often to the point of irritation of his interview subject, until he got that coach to say something worthwhile.”

Kiszla said Moss loved the Olympics. In 1972, with clearance from the Post, Moss accepted an invitation from the United States Olympic Committee to work as a public information officer at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. It was the first of 10 Olympics working in that capacity.

“He would work as a press attache for the U.S. Olympic Committee,” Kiszla said. “And he would march in opening ceremonies.”

Former Post sports editor Kevin Dale, who worked with Moss for six years starting in 2000, was amazed by Moss’ passion for not only the games and teams but the athletes who played in those games.

“He had been witness to every major sports event in Colorado for the last half of the 20th century and well into the 21st,” Dale said. “Irv always amazed me with his knowledge of Colorado legends.”

But Dale said Moss didn’t get his head stuck in the clouds covering the big stuff. He also considered the lesser known players and aspiring athletes to be just as important and deserving of attention.

“Yes, he would want to be at the biggest Broncos or Rockies game, but he also told the stories of countless high school and college athletes,” Dale said. “Irv truly did touch all levels of Colorado sports journalism.”

 

 

Woody Durham, long-time voice of UNC sports, dies

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From Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC Sports Media Assn.

Woody Durham, the iconic voice of University of North Carolina athletics for four decades, passed away early Wednesday morning at the age of 76. He was a longtime FWAA member.

Durham retired in 2011 after 40 years as the “Voice of the Tar Heels” football and basketball play-by-play. He was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia, a neurocognitive disorder, in January 2016. T-shirts bearing one of Durham’s favorite phrases – “Go where you go and do what you do” – are currently being sold to raise money for aphasia research.

“Woody was synonymous with Carolina Athletics for decades, and his voice was gospel to generations of Tar Heels who trusted his every word, ” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “I was struck by how diligently Woody prepared for his broadcast of games. When game time arrived, he made it look and sound so easy because he had a voice that resonated just so, but much of it was because he worked incredibly hard at it. As they say ‘the great ones make it look easy’. Woody was one of the great ones. He was just as good a person as he was a broadcaster.

“My thoughts and prayers, as well as those of the entire Atlantic Coast Conference, go out to Jean, Wes, Taylor and the entire Durham family.”

Durham was born in Mebane, North Carolina, and raised in Albemarle, where he began his broadcasting career as a 16-year-old high school student at radio station WZKY. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1963 and started his post-college career at WBTW-TV in Florence, South Carolina, before moving to WFMY-TV in Greensboro, where he became the sports director.

In addition to his anchoring duties at WFMY, Durham served as the radio analyst for Wake Forest football and play-by-play announcer for Guilford College, as well as a play-by-play announcer on the TV station’s ACC package.

While still working for WFMY in 1971, Durham was hired to replace Bill Currie as the voice of UNC athletics. He called more than 1,500 Tar Heels contests, hosted coaches’ shows, and emceed or spoke at countless banquets.

Among Durham’s UNC career highlights were four NCAA men’s basketball championships and 23 football bowl games. He retired as a 13-time North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year and received the 2002 Marvin “Skeeter” Francis Award for his contributions to coverage of the ACC. This June, he will be inducted into the National Sports Media Association’s Hall of Fame.

Durham is survived by his wife, Jean, of Chapel Hill. They have two sons, both of whom followed their father’s career path. Wes is the radio voice of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, as well as a television play-by-play announcer for ACC football and basketball broadcasts. Taylor is a radio play-by-play announcer with the Elon IMG Sports Network, for which he also serves as an account executive. Wes Durham is a current FWAA member.

 

New FWAA president honored as Washington state Sportswriter of the Year

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Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times is the FWAA’s president for 2018. Photo by Melissa Macatee.

The Seattle Times’ Stefanie Loh, incoming 2018 FWAA President, was named Sportswriter of the Year in the state of Washington for 2017 by the National Sports Media Association . Loh assumed her duties as FWAA President last week during the FWAA’s Awards Breakfast in Atlanta. She will be honored in June in Winston-Salem, N.C.

National Sports Media Association honors two FWAA members

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Dick Weiss

The National Sports Media Association has announced a four-person class that will be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony in June in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Dick Weiss, the FWAA’s President in 2004 and Bert McGrane winner in 2013, is among the inductees. Another long-time FWAA member, Woody Durham, the former North Carolina football and basketball voice, is also being honored.

 
Weiss has covered college football and basketball for more than 40 years in Philadelphia, at the New York Daily News and now with Blue Star Media. 

New book from the National Football Foundation features Q&As with 12 College Football Hall of Fame coaches

by • Book Reports, Member News • Tags: , ,

IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Football Hall of Fame proudly announces the release of their exciting new book, Lessons from Legends: 12 Hall of Fame Coaches on Leadership, Life, and Leaving a Legacy. The book is available now and can be purchased by clicking here.

Lessons from Legends may be the greatest collection of college football knowledge ever assembled. With over 260 years, 2,100 wins, 95 conference titles and 13 National Championships of combined coaching experience, any football fan, coach or player can learn from the wealth of wisdom contained in these pages.

“We are extremely excited about this book, featuring some of the greatest Hall of Fame coaches of all time,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “To coaches, both young and old, this book is a valuable asset on how to mold our next generation of leaders. And to all others, the lessons these coaches imparted on their players can easily translate to everyday life.”

 The book features Q&As with 12 College Football Hall of Fame coaches as they discuss their careers, the lessons they learned and specific features or topics that marked their careers.

In these pages you will learn how:

  • Tom Osborne and Barry Switzer won year after year.
  • Barry Alvarez turned Wisconsin into a perennial winner.
  • R.C. Slocum treated players the right way.
  • Terry Donahue kept his players from distractions in Los Angeles.
  • Steve Spurrier did things as only Steve Spurrier could.

These lessons and more from Mike Bellotti, Marino Casem, Fisher DeBerry, Vince Dooley, Phillip Fulmer and Frank Girardi are featured in the book.

“A good coach doesn’t just coach his players for four years and let them go,” said former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops in the book’s foreword. “He is a coach and mentor for life. The most important thing a coach does has nothing to do with teaching a kid how to properly tackle. It’s teaching a kid how to be an adult.”

With quotes from College Football Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning and Danny Wuerffel, and from Washington head coach Chris Petersen, this book has an unmatched combination of football talent.

INTERVIEW & BOOK REQUESTS: Phil Marwill, pmarwill@footballfoundation.com

ABOUT THE BOOK: Football Matters Publishing

ISBN: 978-0-692-94767-8

Praise for the Coaches

Barry Alvarez

“I learned a lot of great lessons from Coach Alvarez, but there are two that are by far the best to me. First, don’t flinch. A lot of people in life, when they’re faced with a moment of adversity, tend to flinch and redefine themselves by trying to overthink the situation. Your first and initial reaction is always the best. The second lesson was to enjoy every win. I don’t care if it’s over the No. 1 team in the nation or an FCS opponent, you need to enjoy every one of them fully.”

– Bret Bielema, Arkansas Head Coach and former Wisconsin assistant under Alvarez

 Tom Osborne

 “It was an incredible honor to play for and be coached by Tom Osborne. Coach taught us about teamwork and the value of ‘unity of purpose.’ Each person connected to the program was valued and played an important role in the overall success of Nebraska football. We also learned about the importance of being a great student and how to be an active participant in the community. We learned to respect the game, to honor those who came before us by our work ethic, and by our habits. In short, we participated in a lot more than wins and losses- we learned how to become leaders. I could not be more proud to say that Tom Osborne was my Coach.”

– Trev Alberts, Nebraska Omaha Athletics Director, Nebraska LB; Butkus Award, Lambert Trophy Winner; College Football Hall of Famer

Barry Switzer

“Coach Switzer had a way of motivating his players to perform. At a time when most coaches rule with an iron hand or fear, Coach Switzer used positive reinforcement and that made all the difference.”

– Keith Jackson, Oklahoma TE, 6X Pro Bowler, Super Bowl Champion, College Football Hall of Famer

Fisher DeBerry

“I was a part of Coach DeBerry’s first freshmen class when he got the head coaching job at the Air Force Academy. From Day One you could tell he was a man of purpose and passion. He was the ideal person for the unique and challenging position as a coach at a service academy.

His win-loss record speaks for itself, but what truly defines Coach DeBerry is that intangible metric that the majority of his players knew and felt – that he positively cared for them. It’s now over 30 years later, and I am still honored to call him ‘coach.’”

– Chad Hennings, Air Force DT, Outland Trophy Winner, US Air Force Captain, 3X Super Bowl Champion, College Football Hall of Famer

Phillip Fulmer

“It was an honor and privilege to play for Coach Fulmer. From the first time I met him in December of 1993, when he came to my home, I felt very comfortable talking to him. A significant part of my decision to stay my fourth year was because I wanted to play for Coach Fulmer another year. I learned a lot about football from Coach Fulmer; he had great insight into all phases of the game.

“Most importantly though, I am thankful for his friendship. The times that we are together on trips, having dinner, playing golf, or hunting are times I truly cherish, and I value his friendship; it means a great deal to me.”

– Peyton Manning, Tennessee QB; William V. Campbell Trophy®, Maxwell Award Winner; 2X Super Bowl Champion, 5X NFL MVP, NFL All-Time Passing Yards and TD Record Holder, College Football Hall of Famer

R.C. Slocum

“Coach taught me some of the most important virtues as a young man. He taught us to do the right thing all the time and not just some of the time. If you cut corners, more than likely it will catch up to you. He also instilled in me about respecting others. He preached often about the Golden Rule, treat others like you would like to be treated.”

– Dat Nguyen, Texas A&M LB; Lombardi, Bednarik, Lambert Trophy Winner; College Football Hall of Famer

Vince Dooley

“The smartest decision I ever made was to play for Coach Dooley at the University of Georgia. His honesty and integrity exhibited during the recruiting process [when I was] in high school when we met has never wavered. He made no promises, but offered the opportunity to play the game. I would not be in the College Football Hall of Fame if not for Vince Dooley. We aspire to live up to standards of those we admire and respect. His legacy lives in the generations of players that proudly say, ‘I played for Coach Vince Dooley.’”

– Scott Woerner, Georgia DB, College Football Hall of Famer

Terry Donahue

“I give Coach Donahue a lot of credit for my success. He was such a great example for those he coached. He carried himself with class and integrity and always taught us to keep things in the proper perspective. He was tough on me, but he was always honest and I respected that. I became a better player and person because I played for Coach Donahue.”

– Troy Aikman, UCLA QB, Davey O’Brien Award Winner, 3X Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl MVP, 6X Pro Bowler, College and Pro Football Hall of Famer

Frank Girardi

“Coach Girardi is at the top of my list as far as positive influences in my life. It went well beyond the football field. I always remember the first meeting we had when he became Head Coach and how he stressed loyalty. That was a great message that meant a lot to me. It was more than that, though. He stressed discipline and hard work every day in practice and he rewarded hard work.”

– Hon. Thomas I. Vanaskie, Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Lycoming College DB, All-American

Marino Casem

“I went from being a mediocre student to making the Dean’s List twice. I have Coach Casem to thank for that because I really needed someone as demanding as him to grab my attention. Because of his no-nonsense approach, I had to change internally. He made you pay the price if you tried to cut corners. I can honestly say today that I truly love and respect the man because the pressure he constantly put me under brought greatness out of me. I couldn’t have brought that out myself.”

– Roynell Young, Alcorn State DB, NFL Pro Bowler

Mike Bellotti

“He had a great feel for people. I was always impressed with the staff that he would hire because you could learn as much from all of the assistants as you could from him. Coach Bellotti was always genuine, authentic and approachable. You could talk about anything with him, and he made the whole environment a good one. He’s a really good guy, not to mention a really good football coach.”

– Chris Petersen, Washington Head Coach and former assistant under Bellotti at Oregon

Steve Spurrier

“Playing for Coach Spurrier changed the trajectory of my life. He had a combination of two seemingly contradictory qualities: he was the most detail-oriented, somewhat perfectionistic coach I’ve ever had, and he had an extremely flexible part of himself that would constantly explore better options and make on-the-spot adjustments that would take weeks for other coaches to consider.”

– Danny Wuerffel, Florida QB; Heisman Trophy, William V. Campbell Trophy®, Maxwell Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Walter Camp Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Sammy Baugh Trophy Winner; College Football Hall of Famer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – SCOTT BEDGOOD

Scott Bedgood has interviewed Hall of Famers, Emmy and Grammy award winners, Guinness World Record Holders, adventurers, and entrepreneurs in his journalism career. A sportswriter since he was 15-years-old working for the Tyler Morning Telegraph in Tyler, Texas, Bedgood attended the University of Oklahoma where his passion for college football compelled him to pursue a career covering the sport. Scott began covering college football after graduating and moving to Dallas where he lives with his wife Samantha. His other work can be found on his website www.scottbedgood.com. Bedgood can be reached at scott@archervision.com.

 ABOUT The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include FootballMatters.org, the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments, annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, PrimeSport, the Sports Business Journal, Under Armour and VICIS. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.