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SEC Storied
2011 - 2022 10.0 (1 votes) 10 Seasons
Genres
Documentary
Networks
SEC Network
ESPN

SEC Storied

Overview

ESPN Films launched the SEC Storied documentary series in September 2011, presenting fans the opportunity to explore the rich athletic history of the Southeastern Conference. From extraordinary athletes and coaches to defining games and moments, the series has featured films that focus on the SEC's recent and more distant past, including one of the most-viewed documentaries in ESPN history.

Seasons

Season 1 (2011)

No overview available.

10 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: Herschel Walker
2011-09-07

Produced in conjunction with NASCAR Media Group, Herschel explores how Herschel Walker’s career in the SEC was legendary, but his journey off the field was filled with struggle, pain, and ultimately, redemption. Growing up in rural Georgia, Walker was relentlessly bullied for being overweight and having a severe stutter. He turned those taunts into motivation, transforming himself into a superior athlete. Unable to afford weight training equipment, Walker self-trained by doing 5,000 pushups and sit-ups every day after school, racing oncoming locomotive trains and running barefoot in 100-degree heat while pulling a 50-pound tire. He would become a star running back in high school and shatter state records. At Georgia, Walker led the school to its only undisputed national championship, was a three-time All-American and winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy. He is considered one of the SEC’s and college football’s greatest players ever.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 2: The Play That Changed College Football
2011-12-01

Directed by Jeff Cvitkovic Narrated by Luke Perry Two decades ago, the SEC decided to expand to 12 schools and host a conference championship game for the first time in college football history. Many thought that this would jeopardize national title aspirations for the schools involved. The additional game was scheduled at the end of the regular season, pitting the league’s two division champions against one other. It was a risk, as the inaugural game in 1992 indicated. Undefeated Alabama normally would have gone straight to a matchup with Miami in the Sugar Bowl with the national championship on the line, but instead was forced to play Steve Spurrier’s Florida squad first for the SEC title. Alabama was on a 21-game winning streak, but the last school to beat the Crimson Tide was Florida, 35-0, just one year earlier. In the fourth quarter of the ’92 title game, it looked like Florida would march to victory once again.

Runtime: 50 min
Episode 3: 40 Minutes of Hell
2012-02-11

In the early 1990’s, Arkansas enjoyed unprecedented attention and success. Former Governor Bill Clinton was sworn in as President of the United States while the University of Arkansas became one of the top men’s college basketball programs in America. The man behind the Razorbacks’ rise to prominence was head coach Nolan Richardson and his “40 minutes of hell” playing style – turn up the pressure for an entire game and the opponent will eventually break down. It was an approach that embodied Richardson’s personality. Growing up in El Paso, Texas, the coach endured segregation that he carried with him into adulthood. When Richardson became a coach after his playing days at Texas Western University, he looked for players who could execute his intense full court system. After a successful run at Tulsa, in 1985 Richardson became the first African-American head coach in the Southwest Conference when he took over the Arkansas men’s team.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 4: Lolo
2012-05-21

Lolo Jones began chasing her dream in high school. After years of living in poverty and an unstable home life she was determined to be the first in her family to go to college. Constantly looking to improve, Lolo earned a scholarship from the famed Louisiana State University Track and Field program and fought to become the best, among the best. With the help of coach Dennis Shaver, Lolo became one of the most dominant athletes in the history of the LSU Women’s Track and Field dynasty, winning three NCAA Titles and 11 All-American honors, most notably in the hurdles. After failing to qualifying for the 2004 Olympics, Lolo turned again to Shaver for inspiration to continue fighting for her dream. After four years of intense training, Lolo found herself right where she wanted to be—on the 2008 US Olympic team and favored to win gold in the 100 Meter Hurdles.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 5: Croom
2012-09-25

As the first African American center at the University of Alabama, and one of the school’s first black players, Croom earned All-American honors, won three SEC championships and displayed the “can-do” attitude first instilled by his father, Rev. Sylvester Croom Sr. After playing for legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and then coaching under him for a decade, Croom moved on to the NFL as an assistant coach for 17 years before emerging as a leading candidate for what he considered to be the ultimate position—head coach at Alabama. Though it appeared in the spring of 2003 that Croom was on the verge of being named Alabama’s next head coach, it was Mike Shula who ended up getting the job. But the following year, Croom was named head coach at another SEC school, Mississippi State University, making him the first African American head football coach in the history of the conference as well as leaving him with the formidable task of rebuilding a football program facing NCAA sanctions.

Runtime: 60 min
Episode 6: Going Big
2012-12-20

In high school Sam Bowie was considered a potential franchise player. Arguably the top recruit in a national class that included Ralph Sampson, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins and Isiah Thomas, the 7-foot-1 center out of Pennsylvania got off to a strong start at the University of Kentucky and as a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic basketball team. After Bowie resisted pressure to jump early to the NBA, he continued to raise his level of play as a sophomore. But in a game against Vanderbilt late in the regular season, he suffered what would later prove to be a stress fracture in his left leg. Soon plagued by a long recovery that forced him to sit out two consecutive seasons, he struggled to get healthy. Still, Bowie bounced back as a fifth-year senior in 1984 and helped lead Kentucky to the Final Four.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 7: Miracle 3
2013-03-03

On March 14, 2008, Alabama found itself trailing Mississippi State 59-56 in the final seconds of the first quarterfinal game of the evening session. Crimson Tide guard Mykal Riley sank a last-second three-pointer as time expired, sending the game into overtime. That shot not only extended Alabama’s season for the moment, but it may have prevented thousands of fans from pouring into the city streets just as a tornado touched down outside the Georgia Dome a few minutes later. Though no one in the Georgia Dome was injured, the building felt the effects of the twister. Enough damage was done to the Georgia Dome to not only delay the completion of the Alabama-Mississippi State game and eventually cause a postponement of the last quarterfinal game of the day, but also to force SEC officials to find a new home to finish the tournament on schedule.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 8: The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story
2013-01-13

"The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story,” takes an in-depth look at Condredge Holloway, the first African American starting quarterback in the SEC. Kenny Chesney idolized Holloway and even wore his jersey number (No. 7) during his high school football years.

Runtime: 60 min
Episode 9: Abby Head On
2013-05-15

A phenom from Rochester, NY, Abby Wambach defied convention by spurning soccer dynasty North Carolina in favor of the University of Florida, an upstart program which, at the time, was only in its fourth year of existence. That decision paid off quickly, as in her 1998 freshman season Wambach helped the Gators nab the SEC’s first and only national championship in soccer – defeating the powerhouse Tar Heels in the final. With four SEC Tournament titles, two SEC Player of the Year awards and the title of all-time leading scorer at Florida, Wambach positioned herself as a top pick in the 2002 WUSA draft. Selected by the Washington Freedom, she starred alongside icon Mia Hamm and earned a roster spot on an already talent-laden U.S. women’s national team, for which she has starred for the last decade.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 10: Episode 10

Runtime: N/A min
Season 5 (2015)

No overview available.

9 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: Shaq and Dale
2015-03-15

An in-depth look at the relationship between Shaquille O'Neal and his basketball coach at LSU, Dale Brown.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 2: Coach Bernie
2015-04-20

Examining Rick Pitino's journey as the coach of Kentucky basketball team and how he turned the program around with the help of his new assistant coach, Bernadette Locke.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 3: Dominique Belongs to Us
2015-04-27

A look back at basketball star Dominique Wilkins, his dominance at Washington High School and his surprising decision to join the University of Georgia - a choice that left his home town stunned.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 4: Thunder and Lightning
2015-05-04

The story of the 1985 Misissippi State Bulldogs baseball team, focusing on the complicated relationship between two key players Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro who became known as 'Thunder and Lightning'.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 5: Wuerffel's Way
2015-09-01

Danny Wuerffel was on top of the world at the end of the 1996 college football season. The University of Florida quarterback had just won the Heisman Trophy and led the Gators to a national championship. But drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the spring of 1997, he struggled to attain the same kind of success in the NFL. It was in that first year as a pro that he began volunteering in New Orleans' Desire neighborhood, one of the poorest locales in the country.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 6: Miracles on the Plains
2015-09-08

The story of the 2013 Auburn Tigers football team. Expectations were at an all-time low entering the season, but what followed was a year of implausible finishes, cinematic heroics, and a turnaround for the ages.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 7: The Bo You Don't Know
2015-09-15

The story of a lesser known "Bo" - That of Robert Rein, a talented athlete and promising young coach whose future was cut short by tragedy.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 8: Tigers United
2015-09-22

The story of Michael Sam's announcement that he is gay, and the close bond that was made between him and his teammates as a result.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 9: In Search of Derrick Thomas
2015-09-29

The highs and lows of former Alabama linebacker Derrick Thomas, who proved anybody can turn their life around if given a second chance.

Runtime: N/A min
Season 8 (2018)

No overview available.

5 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: Stacy's Gift
2018-08-26

At age 11, promising Houston golfer Stacy Lewis was diagnosed with scoliosis, and spent seven years in a back brace, taking it off only to play golf. Then, she faced surgery that would likely end her career-after earning a scholarship to Arkansas. While the school honored the scholarship, she arrived in Fayetteville only able to swing a putter-but went on to become an SEC and NCAA individual champion, and still later one of the LPGA's top players. In 2017, a week after Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on her hometown, she broke a long tournament drought

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 2: Scramblin' Fran
2018-09-04

Maybe the most important decision Fran Tarkenton ever made was in 1957, when as a high school senior leading Athens High School to the Georgia state championship, he went with his heart and chose to go to the University of Georgia over Georgia Tech and Auburn. The rest is football history. Directed by Jay Jackson and Ryan Kelly of NFL Films, "Scramblin' Fran" tells the story of the quarterback's unlikely rise at Georgia, highlighted by a memorable SEC title in 1959. The film traces his steps toward a long, successful pro career that saw him go from an unconventional,

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 3: The Sweat Solution
2018-09-18

"The Sweat Solution" explores the inception of the original Gatorade formula set against the 1965 and 1966 seasons of the Florida Gators football team. Originally produced for the 50th anniversary of Gatorade's creation, the film revisits the stories of so many of those who were involved in testing the original formula, including Dr. Robert Cade's wife, co-inventor Dana Shires, players Steve Spurrier, Larry Smith, Jim Yarbrough, coach Ray Graves and others.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 4: By Grantland Rice
2018-09-25

In the annals of sports writing, there is no more hallowed figure than Vanderbilt graduate Grantland Rice. By his own estimate, over his half-century career, Rice wrote more than 22,000 columns, 7,000 sets of verse, and over a thousand magazine articles. Rice was friendly with Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Christy Mathewson, Babe Didrikson, and Bobby Jones, and with his pen, maintained a ruling perch across the sports world for the first half of the twentieth century.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 5: Rowdy
2018-09-30

In the early 1980's, Auburn University boasted three superstar athletes who would become among the most famous names in the history of their sports. There was Charles Barkley, there was Bo Jackson, and then, there was Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines IV. And the story of what Rowdy overcame during his time at Auburn, and in the years to follow, speaks to what he learned there and how the school, and its legendary coach Richard Quick, impacted the life of an Olympic champion.

Runtime: N/A min
Season 10 (2020)

No overview available.

6 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: The All-American Cuban Comet
2020-10-27

Chronicling late-'60s Florida wide receiver Carlos Alvarez, a Cuban immigrant who assimilated into what was an anti-Cuban American culture by excelling at football (172 catches, 19 TDs). In 2011, Alvarez entered into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Runtime: 52 min
Episode 2: No Experience Required
2020-11-24

The story of the Texas A&M "12th Man" kickoff coverage team made up entirely of walk-on players. Coming off a losing season in 1982 in his first year as Texas A&M's head football coach, Jackie Sherrill sought to light a fire under his team and connect to the passion of the student body.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 3: Once Upon a Comeback
2021-02-22

The story of swimming sensation Dara Torres, who pushed boundaries for both her gender and age, breaking records and forging new paths for women.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 4: Win or Else
2021-03-15

An in-depth look at the Kentucky team that delivered the first NCAA championship for an integrated team in the school's renowned basketball history when it won the 1978 title.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 5: Vandy Rolls
2021-04-12

The story of Vanderbilt University’s path to the 2007 NCAA Championship in women’s bowling, the school’s first national title in any sport.

Runtime: N/A min
Episode 6: Hold the Rope
2021-05-24

The next documentary in the SEC Storied series is “Hold the Rope,” the story of legendary LSU baseball head coach Skip Bertman and his quest to turn the Bayou Bengals into a perennial power. The hour-long film debuts on Monday, May 24 at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Runtime: N/A min

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