College FB intros

Submitted by WolverineHistorian on

Being nostalgic (obviously) I updated this video of college football intros, now including the previews of the opponent Michigan was playing that day so you can hear the full theme in the background.  Simple graphics and memorable tunes still after all these years.  It starts in 1977 and goes to present day but there's very little after 2005 since that's when they started going downhill imo with ABC switching to ESPN on ABC and, you know, BTN taking over many games. 

I loved all the ABC themes from the late 80's through the 90's and the 90's ESPN theme, to me, just screams college football.  It's epic. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKDZswIIAVI

Featured here:

0:01 - ABC - 1977 Michigan/Texas A&M
0:18 - ABC - 1978 Michigan/Notre Dame
0:54 - ABC - 1979 Michigan/Michigan State
1:30 - ABC - 1980 Michigan/Ohio State
2:15 - ESPN - 1981 Michigan/Minnesota
2:46 - CBS - 1982 Michigan/Purdue
3:33 - PASS - 1985 Michigan/Maryland
4:22 - ABC - 1985 Michigan/South Carolina
5:11 - TNT - 1986 Michigan/Florida State
5:36 - CBS - 1986 Michigan/Ohio State
6:34 - ABC - 1987 Michigan/Iowa
7:30 - ABC - 1989 Michigan/Illinois
7:53 - ESPN - 1989 Michigan/Minnesota
8:17 - ABC - 1991 Michigan/Iowa
8:43 - ESPN (version 1) - 1992 Michigan/Northwestern
9:29 - ESPN (version 2) - 1993 Michigan/Iowa
9:52 - ABC - 1996 Michigan/Colorado
10:17 - CBS - 1999 Michigan/Syracuse
10:50 - ABC (BCS theme) - 2000 Michigan/Alabama
11:51 - ESPN - 2000 Michigan/Penn State
12:10 - ABC - 2001 Michigan/Iowa
12:55 - ESPN - 2005 Michigan/Northwestern
13:12 - ESPN on ABC - 2011 Michigan/Illinois

LSAClassOf2000

August 26th, 2015 at 8:04 PM ^

This brings back a lot of memories of growing up watching football on Saturday. 

I still really enjoy the early 1980s CBS theme and the ABC theme from the late 1980s and early 1990s. ESPN admittedly has done a good job revamping their own introduction music for football as well. 

I may watch this a few times this evening. 

Mr. Yost

August 26th, 2015 at 8:11 PM ^

  1. Did you know ESPN changed it theme for this year? I don't know if they changed the music...but the graphics are all new. They're starting to use them on the preview shows.
  2. I completely agree...I haven't felt nostalgia like I just felt from the early 90's ESPN themes in a loooong time. That ESPN version 1 and 2 damn near brought a tear to my eye. so weird. That was just such great college football and when college football EXPLODED because you could get it on more than one channel and more than one game a weekend. It was the very beginning of college football becoming what it is today.

Alton

August 26th, 2015 at 8:26 PM ^

Speaking of college football intros, anybody remember the ABC Sunday Morning show "College football '76", "College football '77", etc.?  They would show it at about 11 am on Sunday; it was a half hour show with highlight packages from about 6-8 games from the previous day.  Typically 1-2 games from each major conference (Big Ten, Big Eight, SEC, SWC, Pac 8) plus another game or two.

I recall the opening music was Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.  I can't find it anywhere, but I'm sure I'm not making this up.

mike2b

August 26th, 2015 at 8:53 PM ^

One of my favorite intros is from the Michigan-Colorado game in 1996:

Classic Keith Jackson..... "If you're gonna sell tickets, you gotta give em something to watch, well, coming up is something to watch."

CoverZero

August 26th, 2015 at 10:03 PM ^

Id love to see the Player intros come back....like those old 70s games where the players come out pump a fist to the introduction

NittanyFan

August 26th, 2015 at 11:03 PM ^

TNT didn't exist until 1988.  

I did enjoy the montage.  Probably a function of my age and when I first started getting really interested in the sport, but I'd say my favorites are the 1989 CBS intro and the 1991 ABC intro.  That ABC intro was used from 1990-1993 and was actually about a 90-second song, they gradually faded the song out as the announcers came on to set the scene for the game.

(PLUS, that 1990-1993 ABC intro sounds a LOT like the Double Dare theme music, from the same era).