Journalism Professor Recalls Razorbacks’ Glory Days With '22 Straight!'

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The film 22 Straight! will have its statewide broadcast premier on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 6:30 p.m. on AETN. Larry Foley, professor of journalism in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, is the film’s producer.

22 Straight! commemorates a time when the Arkansas Razorbacks dominated college football. The story celebrates a team that won a National Championship and held the longest winning streak in the 1960’s with 22 games.

The story begins on November 23, 1963, the day after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Arkansas defeated Texas Tech University to begin the streak, in a game played despite appeals that it be postponed. Arkansas would remain undefeated until January 1, 1966, when the Razorbacks lost to Louisiana State University in the Cotton Bowl.

Former NBC sports announcer Charlie Jones narrates while interviews with players and coaches and rare footage transport the audience back in time. While more than 40 years have passed since the Hogs won the Grantland Rice Award as the best team in college football, many of these stories have never been shared publically. 

The 73-minute DVD was released in 2004 and is available for purchase from the University of Arkansas Press ($19.95).

AETN, the Arkansas Educational Television Network, is Arkansas’s statewide public television station. It is a simulcast network of educational public television stations, affiliated with PBS covering the state of Arkansas.

For more information on AETN visit www.aetn.org or follow the AETN blog at www.aetn.org/engage. Go to http://www.aetn.org/programs/schedule for AETN’s program schedule and information on how ta access programming in your area.