Finalists Nominated For Rose Bowl Game All-Century Class

By City News Service

Barry Alvarez, Ron Dayne and Keyshawn Johnson have been nominated as finalists for the Rose Bowl Game All-Century Class as representatives from the 1990s, according to a news statement.

Alvarez is the Athletic Director at the University of Wisconsin. He began his career with the Badgers as head football coach in 1990 and spent 16 seasons in that capacity before retiring in 2005 to his current post.

Dayne started four years as running back for the University of Wisconsin and won the Heisman Trophy in 1999. He rushed for 246 yards in the Rose Bowl Game that year and 200 yards the following year and was named Player of the Game in both appearances. He was the third player in the history of the Rose Bowl Game to win the award more than once and the first Big Ten player, a record still held today.

Johnson was named Player of the Game in USC's 41-32 win against Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl Game after pulling in 12 passes for 216 yards, a Rose Bowl Game record that still stands. He was the top pick in the 1996 NFL Draft for the New York Jets, a member of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl XXXVII Championship team and a three-time Pro Bowler. He now works for ESPN as an NFL analyst.

Players and coaches representing each decade are selected by a committee of members of the Football Writers Association of America, according to the news statement.

The committee will select one representative from each decade for the All-Century Class, which will be announced Dec. 8; and one overall player and one overall coach will be highlighted at a news conference that day, according to the news statement.