FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket, the destination for CIF Southern Section athletics, celebrates a century of CIF-SS greatness with educational and inspirational original programming. This fall, the regional sports networks will showcase a 90-miute special and 11 original half-hour shows in honor of the contributions and achievements of former Southern California high school student-athletes.
On Thursday, Aug. 29 at 8 p.m., Prime Ticket debuts "100 Years of the CIF Southern Section." The 90-minute program – hosted by Jim Watson – presents the CIF-SS’'s 100th Anniversary evening with special guests, interviews, features and more. Sit down discussions with Watson include, Pat Haden, Ann Meyers-Drysdale, Eric Wynalda, Joanna Hayes, and John Naber. Additionally, Prime Ticket looks back at some of the great names, incredible games, and historical achievements that the CIF-SS has helped to create in the past century of high school athletics here in Southern California.
"I want to thank our incredible partners at FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket for all of their help and support with our 100th Anniversary Celebration," said Rob Wigod, Commissioner, CIF Southern Section. "We are truly grateful for the tremendous effort they have made to showcase the outstanding history and traditions of our organization. This television show will be a final gift to all of us and we can't wait to see all that it has to offer."
"It has been an honor working with our CIF Southern Section partners on this incredible project," said Steve Simpson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket. "Our team has done a wonderful job showcasing the remarkable history of the CIF-SS and this show serves as the true culmination of a century of greatness."
Full-length encore presentations of "100 Years of the CIF Southern Section" air on Prime Ticket as follows: Saturday, Aug. 31 at 1 p.m.; Monday, Sept. 2 at 10 a.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 1:30 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 5 at 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Saturday Sept. 7 at 4 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m.; and Monday, Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m.
The shorter form tribute pieces, entitled "100 Athletes for 100 Years," will air on Fridays throughout the high school football season on FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket. Each half-hour show will spotlight some of the greatest athletes in the 100 year history of SoCal high school sports, and bring back to life important moments which shaped their competitive futures. The eleven Individual tribute shows are as follows:
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Football" – Friday, October 4
NFL Hall of Famers Ronnie Lott, Ron Yary, and certain future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, lead off this CIF-SS celebration of gridiron greats, which also includes Mater Dei HS Heisman winners, John Huarte and Matt Leinart.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Trojans" – Friday, October 11
It’s no surprise some of the CIF-SS's greatest athletes remain in the region for college. In this installment, FOX Sports West/Prime Ticket spotlight five who continued their careers at USC, including two-time national champion quarterback Pat Haden, and arguably the most intimidating defensive back in NFL history, Ronnie Lott.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Long Beach" – Friday, October 18
Long Beach is the seventh most populous city in the state, and is well represented in the list of the 100 Greatest Athletes in the 100 years of the CIF-SS. Profiles in this half hour include: Long Beach Poly alums Bryshon Nellum, who overcame gunshot wounds to win silver in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Inland Empire" – Friday, October 25
Often neglected, the Inland Empire has produced some of the greatest athletes in sports history. In this half-hour, FOX Sports West / Prime Ticket profile the early lives of football greats Ronnie Lott and Anthony Munoz, as well as track and field stars Joanna Hayes and Bob Seagren.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: South Bay" – Friday, November 1
The small corner of Southern California known as the South Bay has produced an incredible pool of talent, including Hall of Fame baseball player George Brett, Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsay Davenport, and track star turned World War II hero, Louis Zamperini.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Santa Barbara" – Friday, November 8
Santa Barbara, though small in size, has produced a disproportionate number of the CIF-SS top 100 athletes in the section’s 100 years. In this show, Basketball Hall of Famer Jamaal Wilkes, water polo icon Terry Schroder, and beach legends Karch Kiraly and Todd Rogers will take center stage.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Female Icons" – Friday, November 15
Some of sports greatest female athletes got their start right here in Southern California, including tennis great Billie Jean King, multi Olympic Gold Medalist Janet Evans, and basketball Hall of Famer Ann Meyers-Drysdale.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Basketball" – Friday, November 22
Arguably one the most accomplished and influential female athletes, Ann Meyers-Drysdale, will be featured along with four other remarkable basketball players who got their start playing high school basketball in the CIF-SS.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Track and Field" – Friday, November 29
No other area of the country has produced more Olympic track and field medalists than Southern California. In this half hour, FOX Sports West/Prime Ticket spotlights five greats in the sport, including 2012 London Gold Medal Winner, Allyson Felix, and 1968 Pole Vault Gold Medal Winner, Bob Seagren.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: on the Diamond" – Friday, December 6
Fourteen members of the Baseball Hall of Fame are on the CIF-SS’s 100 greatest athlete list. In this half hour, the early lives of Jackie Robinson (Muir HS), Tony Gwynn (LB Poly HS), George Brett (El Segundo HS), and softball Legend Lisa Fernandez (St. Joseph HS, Lakewood) are all profiled.
"100 Athletes for 100 Years: Beach" – Friday, December 13
The best volleyball players in the nation grew up playing on the Southern California sand. Highlighting this program are Santa Barbara natives Karch Kiraly and Todd Rogers, along with Newport Coast HS alum Misty May-Treanor.
