Heisman Trophy ceremony expanding as potential CFP expansion impact looms

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The Heisman Trophy presentation is a cornerstone tradition of the college football calendar. But given the seismic changes taking place across the sport and the ever-shifting plans for expansion, not even that is immune to impact.

That’s perhaps part of why the Heisman Trophy Trust is turning the Heisman Trophy ceremony into a can’t-miss, multi-day event.

Ben Portnoy at Sports Business Journal wrote Tuesday about how the people behind the Heisman Trophy are considering the potential encroachment of an expanded College Football Playoff and how that might affect the ceremony, which takes place annually in early December. While that’s traditionally been a wide-open space between the end of the regular season and the beginning of bowl season, it’s possible that Heisman candidates may have to decide whether to attend the ceremony or stick with their teams as they prepare for the first round of the playoff.

New Heisman Trust CEO Jeff Price, who joined the organization in October, is leading a revamp that will turn the ceremony into a multi-day affair.

Price told SBJ that they’re creating a Friday night event dubbed “Heisman Live,” which will include a fireside chat with the four finalists, recognition of 25th- and 50th-anniversary winners, and other programming. On Saturday night, a new-look, red-carpet show will lead into the ceremony where that year’s winner will be announced.

Price also admitted that the ceremony, which has been held in New York City every year except for the COVID-impacted 2020 edition, could be held at least in part elsewhere.

“The idea of bringing the four finalists together and whether that’s in New York or in another location, is certainly something that we can work through,” Price said. “But for 90 years, that visit to New York and the ability to bring the winners together has made the Heisman what it is today.

“We’ve said over the last six months, we very much want to respect tradition, but also drive innovation. We understand that the landscape is changing, but it shouldn’t be to the detriment of some of those iconic aspects of college football like Army-Navy and the Heisman weekend.”

There’s also ESPN’s involvement to consider. The Worldwide Leader extended its agreement to be the exclusive home of the Heisman Trophy ceremony last year and broadcast the 91st ceremony, where Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza was named the winner, on ABC for the first time. That ABC broadcast averaged 4.3 million viewers, the largest audience since 2012, and a 69% boost from the previous year on ESPN.

ESPN didn’t respond to Portnoy’s request for comment, and they haven’t publicly acknowledged where they’re at on CFP expansion, but there have been enough rumors and reports to make it clear they’re against a 24-team bracket, preferring a 16-team expansion. While they have plenty of valid (and financial) reasons not to want to see that kind of expansion, the potential devaluation of the Heisman Trophy presentation must certainly be in the equation.

While so many American sports eschewed tradition for growth and financial gain, college football tried its best to clamp down on the longstanding ways it’s done things. But that dam has broken, and even the Heisman Trophy ceremony isn’t safe from the spillover.

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