as the television crew was working with limited replay capability. In addition to this, no sideline reporter was available to provide information on the cause of the unsportsmanlike penalties that occurred as a result. This led to accusations that Jackson was protecting Hayes, who was later fired for the incident. Retirement Approaching his 70th birthday, Jackson announced his first retirement from college football at the end of the 1998 season and his intention to live full-time at his home in California. Choosing the first BCS National Championship Game as his last broadcast, Jackson called the 1999 National Championship at the Fiesta Bowl between Tennessee and Florida State. He concluded the program by stating "Tennessee 23, Florida State 16. And so it is done. I say goodbye to all of you. God bless and good night." Jackson rescinded his decision the following fall and began to do a more limited schedule of games, teamed with Dan Fouts, Tim Brant, and later Fouts again, almost exclusively sticking to venues on the West Coast, closer to his home in California. Two notable exceptions were the 2003 Michigan–Ohio State and the 2005 Oklahoma vs. Texas football game. Each was the 100th meeting between the two archrivals. He strongly hinted that he was interested in retiring for good after the 2005 season, telling The New York Times that he was feeling his age after 53 seasons and had become upset at the increased number of mistakes in his play calling in the last few years. ABC tried convincing Jackson to stay, but his decision was firm. He officially announced his retirement on April 27, 2006, noting he didn't want to "die in a stadium parking lot." His last game call was the 2006 Rose Bowl featuring Texas vs. Southern California in the BCS National Championship Game. The game was the last college football game shown on ABC under the "ABC Sports" brand, as ABC Sports was integrated with ESPN the following summer and is now known as ESPN on ABC. Big Ten Icons In March 2010, the Big Ten Conference announced that Jackson would host a 20-episode series called Big Ten Icons for the Big Ten Network which would highlight what the Big Ten Conference considers the league's top 50 student-athletes. The series was presented countdown style, and the top Big Ten student athlete was revealed during a program broadcast during the 2011 Big Ten