SEC Storied

Produced in conjunction with NASCAR Media Group, Herschel explores how Herschel Walker’s career in the SEC was legendary, but his journey off the field was filled with struggle, pain, and ultimately, redemption. Growing up in rural Georgia, Walker was relentlessly bullied for being overweight and having a severe stutter. He turned those taunts into motivation, transforming himself into a superior athlete. Unable to afford weight training equipment, Walker self-trained by doing 5,000 pushups and sit-ups every day after school, racing oncoming locomotive trains and running barefoot in 100-degree heat while pulling a 50-pound tire. He would become a star running back in high school and shatter state records. At Georgia, Walker led the school to its only undisputed national championship, was a three-time All-American and winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy. He is considered one of the SEC’s and college football’s greatest players ever. But despite those accomplishments, Walker endured mental anguish for years over the unresolved childhood traumas. Eventually he was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder and underwent intensive psychotherapy to heal. The film includes interviews with Walker’s family, former Georgia coaches Vince Dooley and Mike Cavan, and teammates Frank Ros and Joe Happe, as well as his high school coach, his psychotherapist, former Dallas Morning News writer Skip Bayless and former USFL New Jersey Generals owner Donald Trump.

Directed by Jeff Cvitkovic Narrated by Luke Perry Two decades ago, the SEC decided to expand to 12 schools and host a conference championship game for the first time in college football history. Many thought that this would jeopardize national title aspirations for the schools involved. The additional game was scheduled at the end of the regular season, pitting the league’s two division champions against one other. It was a risk, as the inaugural game in 1992 indicated. Undefeated Alabama normally would have gone straight to a matchup with Miami in the Sugar Bowl with the national championship on the line, but instead was forced to play Steve Spurrier’s Florida squad first for the SEC title. Alabama was on a 21-game winning streak, but the last school to beat the Crimson Tide was Florida, 35-0, just one year earlier. In the fourth quarter of the ’92 title game, it looked like Florida would march to victory once again. But then came one play that not only changed the course of the game, but also helped shape the future of college football. The first SEC Championship Game was ultimately seen as a major success, rather than an ill-conceived experiment. The Play That Changed College Football includes interviews with former team head coaches Spurrier and Gene Stallings as well as former SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer, ABC broadcaster for the game Keith Jackson, ESPN The Magazine writer Ryan McGee and a recreation of the play at Legion Field with nine former players including Florida quarterback Shane Matthews and Alabama defensive back Antonio Langham.

In the early 1990’s, Arkansas enjoyed unprecedented attention and success. Former Governor Bill Clinton was sworn in as President of the United States while the University of Arkansas became one of the top men’s college basketball programs in America. The man behind the Razorbacks’ rise to prominence was head coach Nolan Richardson and his “40 minutes of hell” playing style – turn up the pressure for an entire game and the opponent will eventually break down. It was an approach that embodied Richardson’s personality. Growing up in El Paso, Texas, the coach endured segregation that he carried with him into adulthood. When Richardson became a coach after his playing days at Texas Western University, he looked for players who could execute his intense full court system. After a successful run at Tulsa, in 1985 Richardson became the first African-American head coach in the Southwest Conference when he took over the Arkansas men’s team. By the early 90’s, as Arkansas moved to the Southeastern Conference, the coach had turned the Razorbacks into a powerhouse, culminating in the 1994 National Championship. But what happens when the pressure becomes too great even for the one creating it? As Richardson struggled to keep winning at the level achieved in the early-to-mid 90’s, he was under scrutiny. By 2002, his anger over criticism was palpable and he was dismissed. He fired back with a wrongful termination lawsuit. In 2009, after years of division, Richardson and his players were invited back to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of their championship run. The hiring of Richardson’s former assistant coach Mike Anderson has only further strengthened the once severed bond between the coach and his school as both work towards a path of healing. The film, produced by NASCAR Media Group and directed by Kenan Harris-Holley, includes interviews with Clinton, Richardson himself, former Arkansas Chancellor John White and current Arkansas coach Mi

Lolo Jones began chasing her dream in high school. After years of living in poverty and an unstable home life she was determined to be the first in her family to go to college. Constantly looking to improve, Lolo earned a scholarship from the famed Louisiana State University Track and Field program and fought to become the best, among the best. With the help of coach Dennis Shaver, Lolo became one of the most dominant athletes in the history of the LSU Women’s Track and Field dynasty, winning three NCAA Titles and 11 All-American honors, most notably in the hurdles. After failing to qualifying for the 2004 Olympics, Lolo turned again to Shaver for inspiration to continue fighting for her dream. After four years of intense training, Lolo found herself right where she wanted to be—on the 2008 US Olympic team and favored to win gold in the 100 Meter Hurdles. But on the verge of reaching that dream, she suffered a heartbreaking stumble at the final hurdle, costing her the biggest race of her life. Still determined to win an Olympic gold medal, Lolo went through with a risky spinal surgery and another four years of training to prepare for what is now her next hurdle – making the 2012 Olympic team and winning gold this time.

As the first African American center at the University of Alabama, and one of the school’s first black players, Croom earned All-American honors, won three SEC championships and displayed the “can-do” attitude first instilled by his father, Rev. Sylvester Croom Sr. After playing for legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and then coaching under him for a decade, Croom moved on to the NFL as an assistant coach for 17 years before emerging as a leading candidate for what he considered to be the ultimate position—head coach at Alabama. Though it appeared in the spring of 2003 that Croom was on the verge of being named Alabama’s next head coach, it was Mike Shula who ended up getting the job. But the following year, Croom was named head coach at another SEC school, Mississippi State University, making him the first African American head football coach in the history of the conference as well as leaving him with the formidable task of rebuilding a football program facing NCAA sanctions. Although his head coaching career began with three consecutive three-win seasons, Croom earned a breakthrough win in 2006, beating Shula and his alma mater in Tuscaloosa. The following year, his Mississippi State team beat Alabama for a second straight season and went on to complete an 8-5 campaign that included a victory in the Liberty Bowl and multiple Coach of the Year honors for Croom. But after the following season took a turn for the worse, Croom was asked to resign. He soon returned to the NFL as an assistant coach and is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars. ESPN Films’ Croom will tell the story of a coach who has been tested by some of the most difficult circumstances society has to offer but, through his conviction and character, has impacted countless lives.

In high school Sam Bowie was considered a potential franchise player. Arguably the top recruit in a national class that included Ralph Sampson, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins and Isiah Thomas, the 7-foot-1 center out of Pennsylvania got off to a strong start at the University of Kentucky and as a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic basketball team. After Bowie resisted pressure to jump early to the NBA, he continued to raise his level of play as a sophomore. But in a game against Vanderbilt late in the regular season, he suffered what would later prove to be a stress fracture in his left leg. Soon plagued by a long recovery that forced him to sit out two consecutive seasons, he struggled to get healthy. Still, Bowie bounced back as a fifth-year senior in 1984 and helped lead Kentucky to the Final Four. Just three months later, despite his previous injuries, Bowie was still seen by many as a franchise center when he was selected by Portland with the second overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, just ahead of Michael Jordan. But injuries again limited his success while Jordan helped the NBA reach new heights as perhaps the best player of all time. Bowie actually had a long and relatively productive pro career despite recurring leg injuries, yet he got labeled as a bust because of the lofty expectations. Going Big will tell Bowie’s story of perseverance and determination. Now a successful horse-owner in Lexington who never let his run of bad fortune deflate his spirit, Bowie has found success and happiness.

"The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story,” takes an in-depth look at Condredge Holloway, the first African American starting quarterback in the SEC. Kenny Chesney idolized Holloway and even wore his jersey number (No. 7) during his high school football years.

On March 14, 2008, Alabama found itself trailing Mississippi State 59-56 in the final seconds of the first quarterfinal game of the evening session. Crimson Tide guard Mykal Riley sank a last-second three-pointer as time expired, sending the game into overtime. That shot not only extended Alabama’s season for the moment, but it may have prevented thousands of fans from pouring into the city streets just as a tornado touched down outside the Georgia Dome a few minutes later. Though no one in the Georgia Dome was injured, the building felt the effects of the twister. Enough damage was done to the Georgia Dome to not only delay the completion of the Alabama-Mississippi State game and eventually cause a postponement of the last quarterfinal game of the day, but also to force SEC officials to find a new home to finish the tournament on schedule. Ultimately the University of Georgia Bulldogs, who finished last in the regular season, managed to win three games in a 30-hour period to earn the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth. In Miracle 3, director Rory Karpf explores how a stunning and potentially devastating weather event touched off a series of situations that tested all involved like never before.

A phenom from Rochester, NY, Abby Wambach defied convention by spurning soccer dynasty North Carolina in favor of the University of Florida, an upstart program which, at the time, was only in its fourth year of existence. That decision paid off quickly, as in her 1998 freshman season Wambach helped the Gators nab the SEC’s first and only national championship in soccer – defeating the powerhouse Tar Heels in the final. With four SEC Tournament titles, two SEC Player of the Year awards and the title of all-time leading scorer at Florida, Wambach positioned herself as a top pick in the 2002 WUSA draft. Selected by the Washington Freedom, she starred alongside icon Mia Hamm and earned a roster spot on an already talent-laden U.S. women’s national team, for which she has starred for the last decade. Wambach cemented her spot in soccer lore in a quarterfinal match against Brazil in the 2011 World Cup, scoring a signature goal with her head in the waning seconds of extra time to prevent an embarrassing early exit from the tournament. Wambach’s heroics propelled her team to victory and ignited interest in women’s soccer. Abby Head On shows how Wambach, recently honored as the 2012 FIFA Player of the Year, has made her mark on the sport and become one of the best this country has ever produced. Co-directed by Peabody and Emmy award-winners Erin Leyden and Gentry Kirby, Abby Head On features revealing interviews from Wambach’s high school, college and U.S. head coaches, current and former teammates including Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Alex Morgan, and Wambach’s family. The film is narrated by Pro Football Hall of Famer and former University of Florida football player Jack Youngblood. “Abby has been a huge part of sustaining and growing the popularity of women’s soccer over the last decade,” said director Erin Leyden. “Her decision to go to Florida instead of one of the more traditional soccer powerhouses says a lot about her, and we’re e

Explores the personal and professional life of former NFL and Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning and how the sudden loss of his father impacted his life and the way he and his wife Olivia raised their three sons.