Michael Oriard played football for the University of Notre Dame and the Kansas City Chiefs and is now retired from Oregon State University, where he was distinguished professor of American Literature and Culture and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He is the author of seven books, including a football memoir, The End of Autumn, and four volumes on the cultural history of American football, and has written on football for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Slate, and Deadspin. The documentary film Gladiators: The Uncertain History of American Football, for which he wrote the script, debuted at the Twin Cities Film Festival in October 2013.
