College Football Titles

For ESPN's Ryan McGee, football is a lifelong passion formed from growing up as the son of Dr. Jerry McGee, a man who wore stripes for decades as one of the most highly-decorated officials in college football history. In Sidelines and Bloodlines, Ryan McGee teams up with his father and brother to share lessons learned between the white lines, featuring a cast of characters that runs from no-name small college athletes and coaches to one-name legends such as Holtz, Paterno, Tebow, and Bo. The McGees provide a rare and often hilarious glimpse inside the lives of college officials, detailing how a love for the game convinces accomplished professionals from all walks of life to voluntarily endure ceaseless insults, public criticism, and the expressed goal of doing one's job on a very public stage in a way that will hopefully NOT draw any attention to how that job is done. From hilarious stories of brawling high school referees and making awkward small talk with George Lucas and Darth Vader at the Rose Bowl to the heart-tugging story of young sons in the stands on a Saturday as a stream profanity-laden insults directed at their father drowns out the marching band, Sidelines and Bloodlines delivers laughs, tears, and a deeper understanding of a life in stripes.

<div>When Kirby Smart returned to his alma mater in 2016, hopes were high that he could take Georgia football to that elusive next level. Smart wasted no time putting his mark on the Bulldogs, however, making an immediate impact on recruiting and in 2017, reaching the College Football Playoff and coming within moments of a national championship. Biding his time and crafting his philosophy as a defensive coordinator under Nick Saban, Smart waited for his opportunity to return to Georgia, turning down several coaching opportunities in the meantime. Still early in his tenure, Smart has gone on to dominate recruiting on a national scale, win the SEC, reach the national championship game, and will be attacking the college football landscape for years to come.</div>

When Dabo Swinney officially took over Clemson football for the 2009 season, it was considered a good program that couldn't quite recapture the greatness of the Danny Ford era. Dabo had spent his entire life as an underdog, but his defiant grit pushed him past personal hardships and professional adversity. His simple formula—faith, family, forgiveness, fortitude, and fun—pushed the Clemson football program past its potential and to the next level, taking the Tigers to 10 bowl games and four ACC championships, earning three College Football Playoff appearances, and most importantly, capturing the 2016 national championship. In Top of the Hill: Dabo Swinney and Clemson's Rise to College Football Greatness, Greenville News sports columnist and Clemson insider Manie Robinson traces Dabo's coaching ascension along Clemson football's return to glory, going behind the scenes of one of the powerhouse programs in the country.

When coach Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007, he boldly proclaimed "We want to be a champion in everything that we do." Since that time, Alabama has won three national championships and become the nation's number one destination for recruits and the top source of NFL talent while simultaneously graduating its players. No other program has won more games, captured more awards, or come close to approaching the kind of consistent success as the Crimson Tide. In Nick Saban vs. College Football, author Christopher Walsh not only explains what separates Saban from his peers and compares his accomplishments to some of the all-time legends, but tells why, if there were a Mount Rushmore of college football coaches, Saban's face would already be on it. From his upbringing in West Virginia to his relationship with legendary coach Bill Belichick, "the process" has not only led to Saban having a statue along Alabama's "Walk of Champions" in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium, but the establishment of a new standard that may be unparalleled in college football history.