''Summer House'' is a reality series that aired on

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...

and was hosted by

Chris Spielman Charles Christopher Spielman (born October 11, 1965) is a former American football player and is a special assistant to the owner and CEO for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played linebacker at Ohio State University, ...

. The show debuted on July 25, 2006 and ran for eight episodes.

Premise

The show takes six of the nation's top

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

incoming freshmen and put them in a house in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

for one week. ''Summer House'' gives viewers an inside look at the future college football stars. The players compete against each other to be named "The King of the House". The competitors earn points for each challenge they compete in, leading up to the final day and the crowning of the "King". Between competitions and their day-to-day interactions with each other and sports celebrities, the players learn what it takes to succeed on the field and off the field.

Production

The ESPN production was produced by Intersport, a Chicago-based production company, with head producers Michael Kolodny and Jim Gorman planning each day. ESPN also had producers Adam Briles and Paul Gordon assist in its productions. Special guests on the first season included

Jennie Finch Jennie Lynn Finch Daigle (born September 3, 1980) is an American former softball player. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002, where she won the 2001 Women's College World Series and was named collegiate All-Americ ...

(USA Olympic gold medalist),

Trent Green Trent Jason Green (born July 9, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fifteen seasons. He played college football for Indiana University. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in ...

and Larry Johnson (

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

Todd Heap Todd Benjamin Heap (born March 16, 1980) is a former American football tight end who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Arizona State University, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in ...

and

Derrick Mason Derrick James Mason (born January 17, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for fifteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tennessee Oilers in the fourth round of the ...

(

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

), Greg Lewis (

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Saye ...

(

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Hall of Famer) and Ken Williams (

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

GM). Mike Hall (

's signature anchor) and Bob Davie (

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

college football analyst) also appeared. The contestants included

Terrence Austin Terrence La'Mar Austin (born August 25, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was selected by Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at University of California, Los Angeles (UC ...

(four star wide receiver,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Jarred Fayson Jarred Michael Fayson (born October 13, 1987) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Illinois. Professional ...

(four star wide receiver/quarterback,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Cart Kelly A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

(two star wide receiver/cornerback,

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

London Crawford London Crawford (born October 19, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Columbus Lions of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at the University of Arkansas. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Ho ...

(three star wide receiver,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Cody Hawkins Cody Norman Hawkins (born March 24, 1988) is an American college football coach and a former professional and college football player. He is the head football coach at Idaho State University. Hawkins played as a quarterback for the Colorad ...

(three star quarterback,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

) and

Taylor Potts Taylor Potts (born October 13, 1987) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Texas Tech, and was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He was waived during training camp, and then signed ...

(three star quarterback,

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

).Star ratings range from 2-5 and are gleaned fro
rivals.com
The show's main sponsors are

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European hea ...

Direct TV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

and

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores an ...

References

Press Release: NEW REALITY SERIES: ESPNU SUMMER HOUSE

External links

ESPN.tv show pageESPNU.com show page
ESPNU original programming 2000s American reality television series 2010s American reality television series 2006 American television series debuts American sports television series Television shows filmed in Illinois Television shows set in Chicago {{US-reality-tv-stub