The Fifty-Year Seduction: How Television Manipulated College Football, from the Birth of the Modern NCAA to the Creation of the BCS

by Keith Dunnavant

Book Overview

For more than a half century, television has played a primary role in securing college football's place as one of America's most popular spectator sports. But it has also been the common denominator... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031232345X
• ISBN13: 9780312323455
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Must-read for fans of college football

This book provides a great overview of the history of college football in a fast-paced and entertaining manner. Great for fans of the game!

The best book ever on why we have the jacked up BCS

Keith Dunnavant is an incredibly thorough author and journalist. This book lays out how we ended up with the screwed up system that we now have in college football (namely the BCS). It's not an easy read in the sense that it is not totally a novel. Instead this book is layered with details and facts about all the backdoor deals and negotiations that have gone on over the last 50 years of college football that created the powerhouse conferences while relegating dozens of would be contenders to the sidelines. But you must take notes to keep track. The book will make you furious if you are a true fan of college football or at least just appreciate the importance of a level playing field in the world of athletics. (If you are from a powerhouse conference like the SEC - you will likely want this book and the author burned at the stake. :) But take heart. We all want you burned at the stake now that we know how you got there.) The power of the text is that Mr. Dunnavant shows no favoritism to any conference or any team. Some people that I considered to be the bad guys before hand were explained in their proper context to show who's hands are tied and just who's tying them. An excellent read if you want to actually know what you are talking about at the tailgate party. [...]

An excellent book and a source of information for my own book!

While watching Texas coach Mack Brown gleefully accept the final BCS nomination this past bowl season, I mentioned to my wife that someone should write a book uncovering the history behind the BCS shams we consistently witness from year-to-year. My wife suggested I write it as I have been involved in high school, collegiate and professional sports for the majority of my life. Little did I know, that Keith Dunnavant had already written a book which uncovered the information I was searching for. While I have utilized and referenced a lot of his material for the evolution of the BCS chapters within my book, my book takes serious aim at uncovering the east-coast / west-coast bias issues and the rift that occurs between the BCS and non-BCS conferences. I also offer a lesser restrictive alternative as a solution to the BCS woes. Nonetheless, his book is outstanding and was a major inspiration and source of history for my own project. I recommend this book to anyone who aspires to understand the BCS controversy and ultimately how the fans can change the system so it is more equitable and fair to all Division I-A programs. Keith's book - The Fifty Year Seduction - will fascinate, inspire and enrich your college football knowledge, perspective and understanding of the many controversies, scandals and methods of corruption.

So that's why college football is so bizarre

This book is absolutely essential reading for anyone who is interested in the business of college football. Even if you are just a casual college football fan, this book is pretty easy to read and helps explain a lot of things, like how Notre Dame can remain outside of the conference system and why the post season is so chaotic. If there is any short-coming, it might be that the book focuses a little too much on the internal management of the NCAA, especially the consolidation of power that occurred under Wally Byers. But, in the end, this is such a gigantic subject that it had to have some kind of hook.