Coaches' Football Poll Taken from UPI



Here's a release from June 2, 1991, release from PR Newswire on the coaches college football poll being moved from UPI to USA Today

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TOP 25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL MOVING TO USA TODAY

DALLAS, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Top 25 college football poll selected by college coaches across the country is moving to USA TODAY.

The American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY announced today that the national newspaper will conduct the weekly poll of college football coaches and present the USA TODAY Coaches National Championship Trophy, sponsored by the Gerrits Foundation, to the USA's top college team at the end of the season.

The announcement was made at the annual meeting of the board of directors of the American Football Coaches Association, in Dallas.

"This poll involves the people who know the most about football -- the coaches," said Gene Policinski, USA TODAY's managing editor/Sports. "By moving to USA TODAY, the coaches' association will reach nearly 6 million readers a day with the premier college football poll."

"We've excited about our new tie-in with USA TODAY, and Gannett," said Charles McClendon, AFCA executive director. "Our discussions with USA TODAY have convinced us that their state-of-the-art technology, their contacts with other media outlets, including television, and their ideas about marketing and promotions will provide tremendous visibility for the poll. It is the beginning of a long-term relationship, and we expect it to be mutually rewarding for all concerned."

USA TODAY and the coaches' association have agreed the newspaper will conduct the Top 25 poll, which was formerly done by United Press International, for a minimum of five years.

Each Sunday during the football season, USA TODAY Sports will poll approximately 60 coaches who will rank their top 25 teams. In addition to the coaches, USA TODAY also will poll one randomly selected fan each week whose vote will be tabulated along with he coaches' votes to determine each week's rankings. USA TODAY will publish the results the following Monday.

Since 1982, the newspaper has conducted the USA TODAY/CNN top 25 poll with teams ranked by USA TODAY writers and editors and CNN broadcasters nationwide. In 1990, USA TODAY selected at random one fan per week to vote in the poll to recognize the interest and expertise of college football fans.

"We found these fans spent a great deal of time on this, were very knowledgeable about the range of games and teams and were glad we found a way to represent the interest of people who greatly love the game," Policinski said.

The Gerrits Foundation sponsors the USA TODAY Coaches Trophy, which will be awarded to the No. 1 college football team in the USA as voted in the USA TODAY poll. The trophy is hand-carved Waterford Crystal football positioned atop an ebony base bearing a plaque honoring the national champion. It will be presented at the annual AFCA convention following he New Year's Day bowl games.

The winning school will display the original trophy on its campus and later will be presented a duplicate trophy for permanent display.

A $32,000 scholarship, along with the trophy, is presented by the Gerrits Foundation to the winning school to be awarded to an incoming freshman student who does not participate in intercollegiate athletics. The scholarship will be provided over a four-year period.

USA TODAY, with nearly 6 million daily readers, is printed at 33 print sites across the USA and is available nationwide. USA TODAY's International Edition is printed at two print sites in Europe and Asia and is available worldwide.

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