 | |
| Sport | College football |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding performance which best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, hard work. |
| Location | New York City, NY |
| Presented by |
|
| History | |
| First winner | RBJay Berwanger, 1935 |
| Most recent | CB/WRTravis Hunter, 2024 |
| Website | www |
TheHeisman Memorial Trophy (/ˈhaɪzmən/HYZE-mən; also known simply as theHeisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player incollege football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust following the regular season in December. The most recentwinner is formerColorado Buffaloes cornerback and wide receiverTravis Hunter.
The award was created by theDowntown Athletic Club to recognize "the most valuable college football player east of theMississippi" and was first awarded toUniversity of Chicago halfbackJay Berwanger.[1][2] The award was given its name in 1936 after the death of the club's athletic director,John Heisman, and broadened to include players west of the Mississippi.[3][4]
USC has the most Heisman trophies won with eight; Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame each have seven; Ohio State has had six different players win the award. The closest margin of votes was in 2009 between winnerMark Ingram II ofAlabama andToby Gerhart ofStanford.[5] Ten Heisman Trophy winners are in thePro Football Hall of Fame,[6][7] and four winners have also been named Most Valuable Player in aSuper Bowl. Some winners have gone on to play in other professional sports, includingBo Jackson in baseball andCharlie Ward in basketball.Pete Dawkins andDick Kazmaier are the only winners not to pursue a professional sports career: Dawkins had a career with theUnited States Army, where he achieved the rank ofBrigadier General, while Kazmaier attendedHarvard Business School, founded a consulting company specializing in sports marketing, and chaired thePresident's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition in 1988–89.
The trophy itself, designed by sculptorFrank Eliscu, is modeled afterEd Smith, a leading player in 1934 for the now-defunctNew York University football team.[8][9] The trophy is made out of castbronze, is 13.5 inches (34 cm) tall, 14 inches (36 cm) long, 16 inches (41 cm) in width and weighs 45 pounds (20 kg).[10] Eliscu had asked Smith, his former George Washington High School classmate, to pose for a commissioned sculpture of a football player. Smith did not realize until 1982 that the sculpture had become the Heisman Trophy. The Downtown Athletic Club presented Smith with a Heisman Trophy of his own in 1985.[11]
From its inception in 1935, the statue was cast byDieges & Clust in New York (and later Providence, Rhode Island) until 1980, when Dieges and Clust was sold toHerff Jones.[12] For a time until at least 2008, the statues were cast byRoman Bronze Works in New York.[13] Since 2005 the trophy has been made by MTM Recognition inDel City, Oklahoma.[14]
Originally only players east of the Mississippi were eligible, but since 1936 all football players playing in all divisions of college football nationwide are eligible for the award, though winners usually represent Division IFootball Bowl Subdivision schools.[15]
There are three categories of eligible voters for the award winner:
Except for the one vote based on the fan voting, the balloting is based onpositional voting, whereby each voter identifies three selections, ranking them in order. Each first-place selection is awarded three points, each second-place selection is awarded two points, and each third-place selection is awarded one point. Voters must make three selections and cannot duplicate a selection, else the ballot is invalid and none of the selections count.[16] The accounting firmDeloitte is responsible for the tabulation of votes, which has moved almost exclusively to online voting since 2007.[16]
The Heisman has usually been awarded anoffensive back: either arunning back or aquarterback; very few players have won the trophy playing a position other than those two. Fourwide receivers have been named winner:Tim Brown (1987),Desmond Howard (1991),DeVonta Smith (2020), andTravis Hunter (2024). Twotight ends have also won the trophy,Larry Kelley (1936) andLeon Hart (1949).Charles Woodson (1997) and Hunter are the only primarilydefensive players to win the award, both doing so asdefensive backs.
The highest finish ever for any individual who played exclusively on defense is second, by defensive endHugh Green ofPittsburgh in1980, linebackerManti Te'o of Notre Dame in2012, and by defensive endAidan Hutchinson of Michigan in2021. AlthoughJohn Heisman himself was an interiorlineman, no interior lineman on either side of the ball has ever won the award. LegendarylinebackerDick Butkus ofIllinois placed sixth in1963 and third in1964 and could qualify as an interior lineman, as he played center on offense during his era when two-way players were still common.Offensive guardTom Brown ofMinnesota and the offensive tackleJohn Hicks ofOhio State placed second in 1960 and 1973, respectively. Rich Glover, a defensive lineman from Nebraska, finished 3rd in the 1972 vote—which was won by his Cornhusker teammateJohnny Rodgers.Washington's DTSteve Emtman finished 4th in voting in 1991.Ndamukong Suh ofNebraska finished fourth in 2009 as a defensive tackle. Also,Kurt Burris, a center for theOklahoma team, was a runner-up for the award in 1954 andOrlando Pace finished fourth in 1996 as an offensive tackle forOhio State.[citation needed]
For most of its history, most winners of the Heisman have been seniors.[17] Texas A&M quarterbackJohnny Manziel was the first freshman to win the Heisman in 2012. The following year, freshman Florida State quarterbackJameis Winston also won the Heisman. Both, however, were in their second year of college, having beenredshirted during their first year of attendance, meaning that notrue freshman has yet won the award. No sophomore won the Heisman in its first 72 years, at which point there were three consecutive sophomore winners—Tim Tebow in 2007, followed bySam Bradford andMark Ingram II—withLamar Jackson, who also surpassed Winston's record as the youngest Heisman winner, becoming the fourth in 2016. Of the four sophomores to have won the award, only Bradford had been redshirted; the others all won during their second year of college attendance. Only a few juniors have won the award, starting with the eleventh winner in 1945,Doc Blanchard.
Five players have finished in the top three of the Heisman voting as freshmen or sophomores before later winning the award:Angelo Bertelli,Glenn Davis,Doc Blanchard,Doak Walker, andHerschel Walker. Eight players have finished in the top three as freshmen or sophomores but never won a Heisman:Clint Castleberry,Marshall Faulk,Michael Vick,Rex Grossman,Larry Fitzgerald,Adrian Peterson,Deshaun Watson, andChristian McCaffrey. Four players have specifically finished second in consecutive years: Glenn Davis (second in 1944 and 1945, winner in 1946), Charlie Justice (second 1948 and 1949),Darren McFadden (second 2006 and 2007), andAndrew Luck (second 2010 and 2011).
The oldest and youngest Heisman winners ever both played forAtlantic Coast Conference schools. The oldest,Chris Weinke, was 28 years old when he won in 2000; he spent six years inminor league baseball before enrolling atFlorida State. The youngest winner is 2016 recipient Lamar Jackson ofLouisville at the age of 19 years, 338 days.
The award was first presented in 1935 by theDowntown Athletic Club (DAC) inNew York City, a privately owned recreation facility located on the lower west side near the laterWorld Trade Center site. It was first known simply as the DAC Trophy. The first winner,Jay Berwanger, was drafted by thePhiladelphia Eagles but declined to sign for them. He never played professional football for any team. In 1936,John Heisman died and the trophy was renamed in his honor.[18]Larry Kelley, the second winner of the award, was the first man to win it as the "Heisman Trophy".[19]
The first African American player to win the Heisman wasSyracuse'sErnie Davis, who never played a snap in the NFL. He was diagnosed withleukemia shortly after winning the award and died in 1963. In 1966, formerFlorida Gators quarterbackSteve Spurrier gave his Heisman trophy to university presidentJ. Wayne Reitz so that the award could be shared by Florida students and faculty.[8] The gesture caused Florida's student government to raise funds to purchase a replacement trophy for Spurrier.[8] Since then, the Downtown Athletic Club has issued two trophies to winners, one to the individual and a replica to his college.[8]
Several Heisman trophies have been sold over the years; although there is a ban on the sale of all trophies awarded since 1999, trophies awarded in previous years can be sold.[20]O. J. Simpson's 1968 trophy was sold in February 1999 for$230,000 as part of the settlement of the civil trial following the acquittal in hismurder case.[8] Yale endLarry Kelley sold his 1936 Heisman in December 1999 for $328,110 to settle his estate and to provide a bequest for his family.[8]Charles White's 1979 trophy first sold for $184,000 and then for nearly $300,000 in December 2006 to help pay back federal income taxes.[8] The current record price for a Heisman belongs to the trophy won by Minnesota halfbackBruce Smith in 1941 at $395,240.[8]Paul Hornung sold his Heisman for $250,000 to endow scholarships forUniversity of Notre Dame students from his hometown ofLouisville, Kentucky.[8] Eliscu's original plaster cast sold atSotheby's for $228,000 in December 2005.[8]
| Venue | Years |
|---|---|
| Downtown Athletic Club (New York,New York) | 1935–2000 |
| New York Marriott Marquis (New York, New York) | 2001; 2017 |
| The Yale Club of New York City (New York, New York) | 2002–2003 |
| Hilton New York (New York, New York) | 2004 |
| Palladium Times Square (New York, New York) | 2005–2016; 2018–2019 |
| ESPN headquarters (Bristol,Connecticut) | 2020[a] |
| Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York, New York) | 2021–present |
Due to the neighborhood housing theDowntown Athletic Club's facilities becoming blockaded after the attacks on9/11, the 2001 award ceremony was moved to theNew York Marriott Marquis inTimes Square. After the DAC filed for bankruptcy in 2002, theYale Club hosted the presentation at its facility in 2002 and 2003. The ceremony moved to theHilton New York for 2004, and was presented annually atPalladium Times Square (then Nokia Theatre Times Square) from 2005 until its closure in 2019 (except in 2017, when the presentation was moved back to the Marquis because of a scheduling conflict).[21][22]
The 2008 Heisman press conference was held at theSports Museum of America at26 Broadway near the old Downtown Club building. There was an entire gallery with the museum-attraction dedicated to the Trophy, including the making of the Trophy, the history of the DAC, and information on John Heisman and all the Trophy's winners. There was also a dedicated area celebrating the most recent winner, and the opportunity for visitors to cast their vote for the next winner (with the top vote-winner receiving 1 official vote on their behalf).[23] The Sports Museum of America closed permanently in February 2009.[24]
After Palladium Times Square (then PlayStation Theater) closed in December 2019, the Heisman Trust began searching for a new location to conduct the trophy presentation. The 2020 ceremony would ultimately be held at the studios of ESPN inBristol, Connecticut due to theCOVID-19 pandemic; the ceremony was avirtual event with all participants appearing via remote interviews.[25] The 2021 ceremony returned to an in-person event, with the presentation held at The Appel Room atJazz at Lincoln Center.[26]
WOR-TV broadcast the 1949 ceremonies.[27] Before 1977, the presentation of the award was not televised as a stand-alone special, but rather as a quick in-game feature. The ceremony usually aired onABC as a feature at halftime of the last major national telecast (generally a rivalry game) of the college football season. ABC essentially showed highlights since the award was handed out as part of an annual weeknight dinner at the DAC. At the time, the event had usually been scheduled for the week following theArmy–Navy Game.[citation needed] The most watched Heisman ceremony ever was in 2009 when Mark Ingram won over Toby Gerhart andColt McCoy.[28]
Broadcasters include:[citation needed]
A number of critics have expressed concern about the unwritten rules regarding player position and age, as noted above.[29]
Over the years, there has been substantial criticism of a regional bias, suggesting that the Heisman balloting process has ignored West Coast players.[30] Before thebreakup of thePac-12 Conference (formerly Pac-10 and Pac-8), they represented 12 of the 65 teams in thePower Five conferences. The Heisman can be, and has been, presented to players from other conferences, but a random sample over a long period of time might suggest that Pac-10/12 players might win somewhere close to 18% of the Heisman awards.[31] In the 20 seasons between 1981 (Marcus Allen) and 2002 (Carson Palmer), not a singlePacific-10 Conference or other West Coast player won the Heisman Trophy. FourSouthern California (USC) players have won the Trophy in the early years of the 21st century and three won it subsequent to Palmer. AlthoughTerry Baker, quarterback fromOregon State, won the trophy in 1962, andGary Beban fromUCLA won in 1967, no non-USC player from the West Coast had won betweenStanford'sJim Plunkett in 1970 andOregon'sMarcus Mariota in 2014. Other than Mariota's win, the closest since Plunkett's win have beenChuck Muncie,John Elway,Toby Gerhart,Andrew Luck,Christian McCaffrey, andBryce Love. Muncie was a running back for theCalifornia Golden Bears who finished second in the Heisman balloting in 1975. The other five were Stanford players who finished second in the Heisman balloting in 1982, and each year from 2009 to 2011, 2015, and 2017.
The West Coast bias discussion usually centers on the idea that East Coast voters see few West Coast games, because of television coverage contracts,time zone differences, or cultural interest. At Heisman-projection website StiffArmTrophy.com, commentatorKari Chisholm claims that the Heisman balloting process itself is inherently biased:
For Heisman voting purposes, the nation is divided into six regions—each of which get 145 votes. Put another way, each region gets exactly 16.67 percent of the votes. However, each region does not constitute an even one-sixth of the population. Three regions (Far West, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic) have larger populations than 16.67% of the national population; and three have less (Northeast, South, and Southwest). In fact, the Far West has the greatest population at 21.2% of the country and the Northeast has the least at 11.9%.[32]
In 2010University of Southern California athletic directorPat Haden announced the university would return its replica of the 2005 Heisman Trophy due toNCAA sanctions requiring the university to dissociate itself fromReggie Bush. The NCAA found that Bush had received gifts from an agent while at USC. On September 14, 2010, Bush voluntarily forfeited his title as a Heisman winner. The next day, the Heisman Trust announced the 2005 award would remain vacated and removed all mention of the 2005 award from its official website.[33] Bush eventually returned the trophy itself to the Heisman Trust in 2012.[34]
Critical responses from the national media were strident and varied.CBSSports.com producer J. Darin Darst opined that Bush "should never have been pressured to return the award." Kalani Simpson ofFox Sports wrote, "Nice try Heisman Trust...It's a slick move to try to wipe the slate clean." Former Football Writers Association of America president Dennis Dodd, on the other hand, decided to fictitiously award Bush's vacated 2005 award toVince Young, the original runner-up that year. He wrote, "Since the Heisman folks won't re-vote, we did. Vince Young is thenew winner of the 2005 Heisman." ALos Angeles Times piece argued that Bush's Heisman was "tainted," but lamented that the decision came five years after Bush was awarded the trophy and, therefore, four years after the expiration of Bush's term as current holder of the Heisman title.[35][36][37][38]
On April 24, 2024, the Heisman Trust announced the formal reinstatement of Reggie Bush's trophy amid what it called "enormous changes in the college football landscape". The Trust cited "fundamental changes in college athletics" in which rules that have allowedstudent athlete compensation to become an accepted practice and the 2021United States Supreme Court decision against the NCAA in theAlston case, which the Trust said "questioned the legality of the NCAA's amateurism model and opened the door to student athlete compensation". This decision did not affect USC's vacated titles and records from their2004 and2005 season which was also caused by the scandal; and they still had their 2004 championship vacated with an official record of 11-0 and also have all their results vacated for the 2005 season and have an official record of 0-0.[39]
