DALLAS (FWAA) — The Southeastern Conference led all conferences with 16 players on the 81-man Outland Trophy Watch List released by the Football Writers Association of America on Friday. The so-called FBS "Power Conferences" accounted for 59 of the players on the annual list.
Following the SEC, the Pac-12 checked in with 13 players, the Big Ten and Big 12 with 11 each, and the ACC with eight. All 10 FBS Conferences are represented on the list as were five players combined from independents Notre Dame and BYU. There is one returning interior lineman from the FWAA's 2014 All-America team, Baylor's senior offensive tackle Spencer Drango.
The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from three finalists who are a part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 26-man first team and eventually the three Outland finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner. Only interior linemen on offense or defense are eligible for the award; ends are not eligible.
The list will be trimmed to six or seven semifinalists on Nov. 19. Five days later three Outland Trophy finalists will be named by the FWAA. The winner of the 70th Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn at the turn of the 20th century, will be announced on ESPN on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10 for the first time from the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on Jan. 14, 2016 in Omaha, Nebraska. This year, Maryland's Randy White, the 1975 Outland Trophy winner, will be honored and presented an Outland Trophy, which was not given in the era in which he won the award.
Celebrating its 75th anniversary this season, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.
The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast more than 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.
Beginning in 2015, The Home Depot College Football Awards will have a new home at the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta. Airing live on ESPN on December 10, 2015, college football's brightest stars will be honored for their performance on and off the field.
The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 11-day period this month. Sixteen of the association's 22 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2015 preseason watch list calendar:
Tues., July 7: Bednarik Award/Maxwell Award
Wed., July 8: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Thurs., July 9: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Fri., July 10: Bronko Nagurski Trophy/Outland Trophy
Mon., July 13: Jim Thorpe Award
Tues., July 14: Butkus Award/Rotary Lombardi Award
Wed., July 15: Biletnikoff Award/Wuerffel Trophy
Thurs, July 16: Davey O'Brien Award/Doak Walker Award
Fri., July 17: Walter Camp Award