TheNBC College Football Game of the Week refers to nationally televised broadcasts of Saturday afternooncollege football games in the 1950s and 1960s that were produced byNBC Sports, the sports division of theNBC television network in the United States.Bowl games were always exempt from the NCAA's television regulations, and the games' organizers were free to sign rights deals with any network. In NBC's case, the1952 Rose Bowl at the end of that particular season was the first national telecast of a college bowl game.[1]
NBC first televised college football on September 30, 1939. NBC broadcast the game betweenWaynesburg and Fordham on stationW2XBS (which would eventually become NBC'sflagship station, WNBC) with one camera andBill Stern[2] was the sole announcer. Estimates are that the broadcast reached approximately 1,000 television sets.[3] Twelve years later, the first live regular season college football game to be broadcast coast-to-coast aired on NBC.[4][5] The game in question, wasDuke at thePittsburgh on September 29, 1951.
Pretty soon on June 6,[6] 1952, NBC Head of Sport Tom Gallery[7] led negotiations towards a one-year[8] football contract[9] (for$1,144,000[10]) with theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The contract incidentally came about after the 1951 NCAA convention voted 161-7 to outlaw televised games except for those licensed by the NCAA staff. The deal[11] allowed NBC to select one game a week[12] to broadcast on Saturday afternoons, with the assurance that no other NCAA college football broadcast would appear on a competitive network. In the first college football game to be broadcast under this new NCAA television contract, on September 20,Kansas defeatedTCU 13–0.
By1953, the NCAA allowed NBC to add what it called "panorama" coverage of multiple regional broadcasts for certain weeks – shifting national viewers to the most interesting game during its telecast.[13] After NBC lost its college football contract following the 1953 season, theycarried Canadian football in 1954. NBC regained college football rights in 1955 and aired games through the1959 season. NBC regained the NCAA contract for the 1964 and 1965 seasons.
Even after losing the rights to regular season college football in both 1959 and 1965, NBC continued to carry postseason football. NBC carried theBlue–Gray Football Classic, an all-star game, on Christmas Day, until dropping the game in 1963 as a protest of the game's policy of segregation.[14] It consistently served as theRose Bowl's television home until 1988 and added theSugar Bowl from 1958 to 1969 (which replaced the network's coverage of theCotton Bowl Classic).
All rankings are from that week'sAP Poll
Mel Allen and Bill Henry served as the primary broadcast crew.
| Date | Teams | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| September 20 | #9TCU at #17Kansas | 3:45 p.m. |
| September 27 | #12Princeton atColumbia | 1:25 p.m. |
| October 4 | Michigan atStanford | 4:40 p.m. |
| October 11 | Texas A&M at #2Michigan State | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 18 | Cornell atYale | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 25 | Purdue atIllinois | 2:15 p.m. |
| November 1 | Ohio State atNorthwestern | 2:15 p.m. |
| November 8 | #4Oklahoma at #10Notre Dame | 2:15 p.m. |
| November 15 | #12Alabama at #2Georgia Tech | 2:15 p.m. |
| November 22 | #4UCLA at #3USC | 4:45 p.m. |
| November 29 | Army vs.Navy atPhiladelphia, PA | 1:00 p.m. |
Mel Allen and Lindsey Nelson served as the primary broadcast crew.
| Date | Teams | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| September 19 | Oregon atNebraska | 3:45 p.m. |
| September 26 | Dartmouth vs.Holy Cross atLynn, MA | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 3 | #6Ohio State atCalifornia | 4:45 p.m. |
| October 10 | #16Oklahoma vs. #15Texas asDallas, TX | 2:30 p.m. |
| October 17 | Tennessee atAlabama | 2:45 p.m. |
| October 24 | Cornell atPrinceton Arkansas vs.Ole Miss atMemphis, TN Syracuse at #7Illinois Indiana atIowa | 2:45 p.m. |
| October 31 | Pittsburgh at #14Minnesota | 2:45 p.m. |
| November 7 | Georgia atFlorida Wisconsin atNorthwestern Kansas atKansas State | 2:45 p.m. |
| November 14 | Michigan at #4Michigan State | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 21 | #5UCLA at #9USC | 4:15 p.m. |
| November 26 | BYU atUtah | 2:45 p.m. |
| November 28 | #18Army vs.Navy atPhiladelphia, PA | 1:15 p.m. |
| December 5 | SMU at #2Notre Dame | 2:00 p.m. |
Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange served as the primary broadcast crew.
| Date | Teams | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| September 17 | #9Miami (FL) at #10Georgia Tech | 3:15 p.m. |
| September 24 | #7Pittsburgh atSyracuse | 1:15 p.m. |
| October 1 | #8Ohio State atStanford | 4:45 p.m. |
| October 8 | Villanova atBoston College | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 15 | #4Notre Dame at #13Michigan State | 2:45 p.m. |
| October 22 | Princeton atCornell #14Colorado at #3Oklahoma | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 29 | Iowa at #3Michigan | 2:15 p.m. |
| November 5 | #6 Notre Dame atPenn | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 12 | #13Navy atColumbia | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 19 | #5UCLA atUSC | 4:15 p.m. |
| November 24 | Texas at #8Texas A&M | 2:00 p.m. |
| November 26 | Army vs. #11 Navy atPhiladelphia, PA | 1:15 p.m. |
| December 3 | North Carolina atDuke | 1:45 p.m. |
Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange served as the primary broadcast crew.
| Date | Teams | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| September 22 | #4Georgia Tech atKentucky | 3:00 p.m. |
| September 29 | Cornell atColgate UCLA at #13Michigan Iowa atIndiana | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 6 | Arkansas at #8TCU | 4:00 p.m. |
| October 13 | Holy Cross atPenn State #5Ohio State atIllinois California atOregon State | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 20 | Army at #13Syracuse #2Michigan State atNotre Dame Washington at #9USC | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 27 | #2Oklahoma at Notre Dame | 2:45 p.m. |
| November 3 | Notre Dame vs.Navy atBaltimore, MD Illinois atPurdue Oregon atCalifornia | 1:45 p.m. |
| November 10 | #15Iowa at #6Minnesota | 2:15 p.m. |
| November 17 | #20Princeton atYale #3Michigan State at #10Michigan Washington atStanford | 1:45 p.m. |
| November 22 | Cornell atPenn | 1:45 p.m. |
| November 24 | USC atUCLA | 4:15 p.m. |
| December 1 | Army vs. #13 Navy atPhiladelphia, PA | 1:15 p.m. |
| December 8 | #13Pittsburgh at #6Miami (FL) | 2:15 p.m. |
Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange served as the primary broadcast crew. On October 12 and 26 and November 9, 23 and 28, NBC showed regional games with Mel Allen/Bill Flemming (midwest), Jim Simpson/Charley Harville (southeast), and Chick Hearn/Lee Giroux (west).
| Date | Teams | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| September 21 | Maryland vs. #2Texas A&M atDallas, TX | 4:45 p.m. |
| September 28 | Northwestern at #16Stanford | 4:45 p.m. |
| October 5 | #2Michigan State atCalifornia | 5:15 p.m. |
| October 12 | #12Notre Dame vs. #10Army atPhiladelphia, PA Wake Forest atMaryland Illinois atOhio State Iowa State atKansas Washington atUCLA | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 19 | #4Minnesota atIllinois | 2:15 p.m. |
| October 26 | Penn State atSyracuse #4Duke at #11NC State #14Minnesota at #20Michigan Washington State atUSC | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 2 | #3Iowa at #12Michigan | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 9 | #16Duke vs. #7Navy atBaltimore, MD North Carolina atSouth Carolina | 1:45 p.m. |
| November 16 | Notre Dame at #2Oklahoma | 2:45 p.m. |
| November 23 | Harvard atYale North Carolina at #11 Duke #9 Notre Dame at #8 Iowa Missouri at Kansas | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 28 | Colgate atBrown #4 Texas A&M atTexas Wyoming atDenver | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 30 | #10 Army vs. #8 Navy at Philadelphia, PA | 1:15 p.m. |
| December 7 | Pittsburgh atMiami (FL) | 3:45 p.m. |
| Date | Teams | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| September 20 | Vanderbilt atMissouri Oklahoma State atDenver | 4:45 p.m. |
| September 27 | Tennessee at #3Auburn | 4:45 p.m. |
| October 4 | Washington State atCalifornia | 4:45 p.m. |
| October 11 | #5Ohio State atIllinois | 2:15 p.m. |
| October 18 | Penn State atBoston University #13Iowa at #4Wisconsin UCLA atWashington | 1:15 p.m. |
| October 25 | #1Army atPittsburgh #11Notre Dame at #15Purdue Washington State atUSC | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 1 | Michigan State at #8 Wisconsin | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 8 | #14 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh Michigan at Illinois Stanford atOregon | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 15 | Princeton atYale #20Northwestern at #8 Purdue Oregon State at Stanford | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 22 | #15 Notre Dame at #6 Iowa | 2:15 p.m. |
| November 27 | Texas A&M atTexas | 2:45 p.m. |
| November 29 | #5 Army vs.Navy atPhiladelphia, PA | 1:15 p.m. |
| December 6 | Holy Cross atBoston College | 1:15 p.m. |
| Date | Teams | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| September 19 | Rice at #1LSU | 4:45 p.m. |
| September 26 | #2Oklahoma at #10Northwestern | 3:15 p.m. |
| October 3 | California at #10Texas | 5:15 p.m. |
| October 10 | Penn atPrinceton #10Iowa atMichigan State | 1:45 p.m. |
| October 17 | Notre Dame atMichigan State | 2:15 p.m. |
| October 24 | #15 Iowa at #14Purdue | 3:15 p.m. |
| October 31 | Air Force vs.Army atBronx, NY Indiana at #2 Northwestern | 1:45 p.m. |
| November 7 (Doubleheader) | Pittsburgh atBoston College #18 Air Force atMissouri | 1:15 p.m. 4:00 p.m. |
| November 14 | Pittsburgh at Notre Dame #7Wisconsin atIllinois | 1:15 p.m. |
| November 21 | #9 Wisconsin atMinnesota | 2:15 p.m. |
| November 26 | North Carolina atDuke | 1:45 p.m. |
| November 28 | Army vs.Navy atPhiladelphia, PA | 1:15 p.m. |
| December 5 | #1Syracuse at #17UCLA | 3:45 p.m. |
| Date | Teams |
|---|---|
| September 12 | UCLA atPittsburgh |
| September 19 | #10Navy atPenn State SMU atFlorida Kansas State atWisconsin Stanford atWashington State |
| September 26 | Nebraska atMinnesota |
| October 3 | Syracuse atHoly Cross #10Washington atIowa TCU atArkansas Colorado State atAir Force |
| October 10 | Oklahoma at #1Texas |
| October 17 | USC at #2Ohio State |
| October 24 | Dartmouth atHarvard Minnesota atMichigan Tennessee at #7LSU Iowa State atMissouri |
| October 31 | Pittsburgh at Syracuse NC State atSouth Carolina Rice atTexas Tech Air Force atArizona |
| November 7 | Illinois at Michigan |
| November 14 | Michigan State at #1Notre Dame |
| November 21 | Cornell atPrinceton Duke atNorth Carolina Michigan State at Illinois USC at UCLA |
| November 26 | Auburn at #2Alabama |
| November 28 | Army atNavy |
| December 5 | Ole Miss atMississippi State |
| Date | Teams |
|---|---|
| September 11 | Tulsa atHouston |
| September 18 | #5Alabama atGeorgia Kansas State atIndiana Arizona atUtah #3Notre Dame atCalifornia |
| September 25 | Iowa atOregon State |
| October 2 | Ohio State atWashington |
| October 9 | Pittsburgh atDuke |
| October 16 | #1Texas at #3Arkansas |
| October 23 | #4USC at #7Notre Dame |
| October 30 | Duke atGeorgia Tech Illinois at #6Purdue #7Florida atAuburn Idaho atOregon |
| November 6 | Air Force atArmy in Chicago #5Alabama atLSU Baylor atTexas |
| November 13 | Cornell atDartmouth Minnesota atPurdue Ole Miss at #8Tennessee #7UCLA atStanford |
| November 20 | Harvard atYale Ohio State atMichigan #9Texas Tech at #2Arkansas #7Missouri atKansas |
| November 25 | Oklahoma at #3Nebraska |
| November 27 | Army vs.Navy in Philadelphia |
| December 4 | Penn State atMaryland |
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