College Football Awards: All National and Conference Winners through 2010 by Dave Blevins (review)

More than 575 awards are presented annually to college football players and coaches, according to Dave Blevins, author of College Football Awards: All National and Conference Winners through 2010. This reference work includes a major awards chapter and sections for each level of football competition chronicling conference championships along with coaches and players of the year. A credit to this work is its inclusion of not just the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Series and Football Championship Series but also NCAA Division II and III, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), and Community College and Junior College Football Conferences.

The in-depth treatment of the awards beyond just listings is valuable. Blevins includes introductory information for most awards including the founding of the award, who it is named after, past names the honor existed under, and the sponsoring organization. An organization’s contact information including website will enable a researcher in subsequent years to easily find updated information on awards.

The awards chapter is comprehensive and not limited to major honors as stated. For example, alongside the Associated Press National Championship Trophy, the Heisman Trophy and the Outland Trophy are regional honors and awards that were given one year and subsequently disbanded. Perhaps a more differentiating organization separating the truly top honors from others would have served the reader better.

The seven chapters on the different football divisions are not uniform. Treatment of the NCAA’s three divisions and NAIA is well done. Each section comprises a complete listing of conference office contact information, current membership, championships, and awards. Honors pertinent to each division also are included. What could have contributed greatly to this work would have been listing the football schools and the different conference affiliations they held through the years. Not having previous knowledge of league membership makes it difficult to cross-reference awards won in different conferences for an individual university. The switching of conference affiliation historically goes beyond just the recent turmoil for many universities.

Too much information beyond the stated scope of the book is distracting. The headline inclusion of specific leagues for wrestling, rowing, hockey and lacrosse with the notation that they are non-football conferences is unnecessary. The NCCAA and National Junior College Athletic Association sections list all member schools with contact information including those not offering football, which are a majority of the institutions.

The reference book is indexed, but its inclusion of individuals is inconsistent. Despite these minor limitations, Blevins’ book will certainly be of value to football researchers, the media and students of the game wishing to gain knowledge of the number and variety of accolades alongside conference championships.