The Rise of the Seminoles is the fairy-tale story of Florida State University football. From 1973–75, the football team at FSU had a combined record of 4–29. The next season, Bobby Bowden took over as head football coach and, over the next thirty-three years, led FSU to twenty-one bowl game wins and two National Championships. The Rise of the Seminoles is not just about Bobby Bowden; it is about the season that started it all: 1976. Before Bowden took over and the University of Miami gained its notoriety, college football in the state of Florida consisted of the University of Florida. Florida State wasn’t even on the radar. Today, FSU is a football powerhouse and recently won the 2013 National Championship. Through the writing talents of Lew Freedman, one of only two reporters covering FSU during Bowden’s time, this book follows the incredible journey the Seminoles have taken through history. Drawing from firsthand experience and Bowden himself, Freedman is the perfect author to bring this story to life. No matter their age, fans of the FSU football program can enjoy and take pride in their team’s very own rags-to-riches story. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Set in the volatile decade of the 1960s, "FSU's Sons of the Sixties: A Case For the Defense" provides an insider's peek into the work, sweat, tears, challenges, and joy of being a college athlete at Florida State University. This book is not just a nostalgic trip down college football's memory lane; it is a compilation of gridiron stories about a group of stellar defensive athletes and coaches who helped define a decade of success for the Seminoles of Florida State. The aspiring athletes who came to FSU in the 1960s were the children of the Greatest Generation. These young men came to fulfill their dreams of playing college football and getting an education to honor their parents, who never had such opportunities. While making their case for the defense, co-authors John Crowe and Dale McCullers, two former Seminole teammates, highlight the experiences of 12 FSU Hall of Fame defensive players and Sons of the Sixties. Their individual rise as star athletes and their relationships with their college coaches is woven into a tapestry of intriguing insights while the critical - and often-overlooked - role that defensive football plays in building an elite college football program is explored through the perspective of those who experienced it firsthand. "FSU's Sons of the Sixties: A Case for the Defense" takes you onto the field and into the lives of the stalwarts of the Seminole gridiron.

Discusses the history of the Florida State football team, the Seminoles.

The University of Florida and Florida State University are two of the best institutions of higher learning in the third most populous state in our country. They cooperate in many academic ventures and have joint programs, especially in the sciences. They do not, however, cooperate in athletic endeavors and, in fact, compete fiercely in all sports, especially football. Since 1958, when they first started playing football against each other, they have met 60 times, twice in postseason bowl games, one of which was for the national championship. The two teams have each had three Heisman Trophy winners and have won the national championship in Division I a total of 13 times: five for Florida and eight for Florida State. This then is the story of one of this country's fiercest football rivalries, complete with outstanding players and coaches, as well as controversies.

Did you know that the Florida State Seminoles play in garnet and gold uniforms? The team first adopted these colors in 1904. Learn more about this college team’s history, traditions, uniforms, team records, coaches, and legendary players in Florida State Seminoles, part of the Inside College Football series.

On its 25th anniversary, relive the legend-stacked, dynasty-packed, most iconic sports year ever with the athletes, teams, and more whose collective influence affected every aspect of a generation of sports and pop culture fans—Jordan, Shaq, Iverson, Kobe, Gretzky, Tiger, Griffey, Jeter, Tyson, the Cowboys, the Yankees, the Bulls, The Rock, Stone Cold, Kentucky, Florida, Agassi, Graf, the Williams Sisters, Happy Gilmore, Space Jam, the Olympics in Atlanta, Muhammad Ali, the Magnificent Seven and more! Take a rollicking tour through the sports world of 1996, when debuts, comebacks, movies, and pop culture crossover changed the sports landscape forever. From college to the Olympics to the pros; from the NBA to golf, tennis, and boxing, 1996 was home to athletes and teams who were among the best marketed, most beloved, colorful, and greatest in history. In 1996: A Biography, sportswriter and author Jon Finkel uncovers the stories behind the stories while interviewing a who’s who of ’96ers to reveal in thrilling detail how their collective influence on sports and pop culture still resonates to this day. For those of us who remember when Iverson, Kobe, The Rock and Stone Cold, the MLS and the WNBA all debuted; when the US Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team—the Magnificent Seven—won gold for the first time in history; when Mike Tyson and Magic Johnson made their comebacks; when MTV’s Rock n’ Jock, Michael Jordan’s Space Jam, and ESPN’s Dan Patrick and Stuart Scott were the bomb; when the Fun ’n’ Gun offense changed college football; when Ken Griffey Jr. ran for president (really! remember?); when Derek Jeter won Rookie of the Year, Favre marched to his first Super Bowl and Jerry Maguire had everyone saying “show me the money”. . . . 1996 is a sports time machine you’ve got to take for a spin.

In this New York Times bestseller, legendary coach Bobby Bowden gives readers an inside look at the path that led him to become one of college football’s most successful coaches. Coach Bobby Bowden was an icon of college football who ran his legendary, top-ranking program with a trademark southern charm. Here, Bowden gives fans and readers the behind-the-scenes story of his 55-year career and the path that helped him become one of college football's most successful coaches and patriarch of the sport's most famous coaching family. In this book, Bowden shares never-before-published details of the moments and events that have defined his life, including: * The tragic death of his grandson and son-in-law in a 2004 automobile accident. * The details of his retirement as FSU's coach at the end of the 2009 season.