ESPN Makes Heisman Announcement on Thursday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hugh Green | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 1:04 PM ET

The Heisman Memorial Trophy is the most prestigious award in all of college football. It has been awarded to the top player in college football every year since 1935, when the award was first introduced.

The trophy ceremony has been a staple of the end of the college football regular season for decades, as it has aired on ESPN for 31 consecutive years. The last time it was aired on broadcast television was in 1993, when NBC held the event.

This year's ceremony will honor the 91st recipient of the Heisman Trophy, which has been awarded to all-time great college football players such as Barry Sanders, Charles Woodson, Lamar Jackson, Tim Tebow and last year's winner, Travis Hunter.

Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow poses with the prize after being awarded the 2007 Heisman Trophy.© James Lang-Imagn Images

On Thursday, ESPN made a major announcement about this year's ceremony on its Instagram Story. The network announced that the 2025 trophy ceremony will be broadcast on ABC for the first time in the award's history.

"For the 1st time, @abc will broadcast the @heismantrophy Ceremony Presented by Nissan," ESPN wrote in the post.

Another change with the news is the time of the ceremony, as the presentation has historically been held at 8 p.m. ET. This year, it will move up one hour to 7 p.m. ET. For the fifth straight year, the presentation will take place at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in New York City.

ESPN NFL and college football analyst and commentator Chris Fowler will continue his duties of emceeing the ceremony this year. It will be the 32nd consecutive year Fowler has hosted it.

Along with Fowler on the telecast will be reporters Holly Rowe and Marty Smith, along with three analysts and former Heisman winners in Tebow, Desmond Howard and Andre Ware.

Ahead of Week 7, Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (+500) is the favorite to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy, followed by Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck (+700), Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (+800) and Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (+800), according to BetMGM.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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