document_title: Country Music Association Awards

question_text: who has won the cma entertainer of the year the most

text: Country Music Association Awards

text: History[edit]

text: The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in 1967; the Entertainer of the Year award that night went to Eddy Arnold. The second annual CMA awards were presented in October 1968; NBC taped the ceremony and televised it a few weeks later. Since then, the awards have been televised live, usually in October or November, by NBC from 1969 through 1971, by CBS from 1972 through 2005, and by ABC beginning in 2006. Starting in 1968 they were held at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry (initially at Ryman Auditorium, and from 1974 through 2004 at the new Grand Ole Opry House).

text: In 2005, the awards show was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Since 2006, they have been held at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.[3]

text: The awards are generally held on the first Wednesday in November, but the 2017 ceremony was held on November 8 (the second Wednesday), rescheduled to avoid a potential conflict with game seven of the 2017 World Series, a game that turned out to be inevitable (as it was with the previous Series).

text: Eligibility and voting[edit]

text: Albums and songs released between July 1 of the previous calendar year and June 30 of the award show's year are eligible for consideration.[4] More than 7,300 individuals from the Country Music Association trade group vote for the nominees and winners through three rounds of balloting.[4]

text: Awards[edit]

text: Annual awards are given in the following twelve categories: Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, New Artist (previously known as the Horizon Award until 2008), Vocal Group, Vocal Duo (introduced in 1970), Single, Album, Song, Musical Event (split off from the Vocal Duo award in 1988 as Vocal Event), Music Video (introduced in 1985), and Musician.[1] The distinction between the Duo and Event awards is that the former is presented to two artists who normally perform together, while the latter was specifically created to honor one-off collaborations. Nine awards are also given to radio broadcasters for Station of the Year and Personality of the Year (divided into four categories each, based on market size), as well as National Personality of the Year to the host of a nationally syndicated show.[1] Since 2012, the ceremony features a Lifetime Achievement Award.[5]

text: Major awards[edit]

text:
Year
Entertainer of the Year
Male Vocalist of the Year
Female Vocalist of the Year
New Artist of the Year
Song of the Year
Album of the Year

Horizon Award

2017
Garth Brooks
Chris Stapleton
Miranda Lambert
Jon Pardi
Taylor Swift – "Better Man"
From A Room: Volume 1

2016
Carrie Underwood
Maren Morris
Lori McKenna – "Humble and Kind"
Mr. Misunderstood

2015
Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey – "Girl Crush"
Traveller

2014
Blake Shelton
Brett Eldredge
Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark – "Follow Your Arrow"
Platinum

2013
George Strait
Kacey Musgraves
Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary – "I Drive Your Truck"
Based on a True Story...

2012
Blake Shelton
Hunter Hayes
Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton – "Over You"
Chief

2011
Taylor Swift
The Band Perry
Kimberly Perry – "If I Die Young"
My Kinda Party

2010
Brad Paisley
Zac Brown Band
Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin – "The House That Built Me"
Revolution

2009
Taylor Swift
Brad Paisley
Taylor Swift
Darius Rucker
Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto – "In Color"
Fearless

2008
Kenny Chesney
Carrie Underwood
Lady Antebellum
Jennifer Nettles – "Stay"
Troubadour

2007
Taylor Swift
Bill Anderson, Jamey Johnson, Buddy Cannon – "Give It Away"
It Just Comes Natural

2006
Keith Urban
Carrie Underwood
Craig Wiseman, Ronnie Dunn – "Believe"
Time Well Wasted

2005
Keith Urban
Gretchen Wilson
Dierks Bentley
Bill Anderson, Jon Randall – "Whiskey Lullaby"
There's More Where That Came From

2004
Kenny Chesney
Martina McBride
Gretchen Wilson
Craig Wiseman, Tim Nichols – "Live Like You Were Dying"
When the Sun Goes Down

2003
Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson
Joe Nichols
Doug Johnson, Kim Williams – "Three Wooden Crosses"
The Man Comes Around

2002
Rascal Flatts
Alan Jackson – "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"
Drive

2001
Tim McGraw
Toby Keith
Lee Ann Womack
Keith Urban
Larry Cordle, Larry Shell – "Murder on Music Row"
O Brother, Where Art Thou?

2000
Dixie Chicks
Tim McGraw
Faith Hill
Brad Paisley
Mark D. Sanders, Tia Sillers – "I Hope You Dance"
Fly

1999
Shania Twain
Martina McBride
Jo Dee Messina
Beth Neilsen Chapman, Annie Roboff, Rob Lerner – "This Kiss"
A Place in the Sun

1998
Garth Brooks
George Strait
Trisha Yearwood
Dixie Chicks
Steve Wariner, Billy Kirsch – "Holes in the Floor of Heaven"
Everywhere

1997
LeAnn Rimes
Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison – "Strawberry Wine"
Carrying Your Love with Me

1996
Brooks & Dunn
Patty Loveless
Bryan White
Vince Gill – "Go Rest High on That Mountain"
Blue Clear Sky

1995
Alan Jackson
Vince Gill
Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Gretchen Peters – "Independence Day"
When Fallen Angels Fly

1994
Vince Gill
Pam Tillis
John Michael Montgomery
Alan Jackson, Jim McBride – "Chattahoochee"
Common Thread

1993
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mark Chesnutt
John Barlow Jarvis, Vince Gill – "I Still Believe in You"
I Still Believe in You

1992
Garth Brooks
Suzy Bogguss
Max D. Barnes, Vince Gill – "Look at Us"
Ropin' the Wind

1991
Tanya Tucker
Travis Tritt
Tim DuBois, Vince Gill – "When I Call Your Name"
No Fences

1990
George Strait
Clint Black
Kathy Mattea
Garth Brooks
Don Henry, Jon Vezner – "Where've You Been"
Pickin' on Nashville

1989
Ricky Van Shelton
Clint Black
Max D. Barnes, Vern Gosdin – "Chiseled in Stone"
Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume II

1988
Hank Williams, Jr.
Randy Travis
K. T. Oslin
Ricky Van Shelton
K. T. Oslin – "80's Ladies"
Born to Boogie

1987
Reba McEntire
Holly Dunn
Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz – "Forever and Ever, Amen"
Always & Forever

1986
Reba McEntire
George Strait
Randy Travis
Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz – "On the Other Hand"
Lost in the Fifties Tonight

1985
Ricky Skaggs
Sawyer Brown
Lee Greenwood – "God Bless the USA"
Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind

1984
Alabama
Lee Greenwood
The Judds
Larry Henley, Jeff Silbar – "Wind Beneath My Wings"
A Little Good News

1983
Janie Fricke
John Anderson
Wayne Carson Thompson, Johnny Christopher, Mark James – "Always on My Mind"
The Closer You Get...

1982
Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Always on My Mind

1981
Barbara Mandrell
George Jones
Barbara Mandrell
Terri Gibbs
Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman – "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
I Believe in You

1980
Emmylou Harris
No award presented
Coal Miner's Daughter Soundtrack

1979
Willie Nelson
Kenny Rogers
Barbara Mandrell
Don Schlitz – "The Gambler"
The Gambler

1978
Dolly Parton
Don Williams
Crystal Gayle
Richard Leigh – "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue"
It Was Almost Like a Song

1977
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Milsap
Roger Bowling, Hal Bynum – "Lucille"
Ronnie Milsap: Live

1976
Mel Tillis
Dolly Parton
Larry Weiss – "Rhinestone Cowboy"
Wanted! The Outlaws

1975
John Denver
Waylon Jennings
John Denver – "Back Home Again"
A Legend in My Time

1974
Charlie Rich
Ronnie Milsap
Olivia Newton-John
Don Wayne – "Country Bumpkin"
A Very Special Love Song

1973
Roy Clark
Charlie Rich
Loretta Lynn
Kenny O'Dell – "Behind Closed Doors"
Behind Closed Doors

1972
Loretta Lynn
Charley Pride
Freddie Hart – "Easy Loving"
Let Me Tell You About a Song

1971
Charley Pride
Lynn Anderson
I Won't Mention It Again

1970
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Tammy Wynette
Kris Kristofferson – "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down"
Okie from Muskogee

1969
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
Bob Ferguson – "The Carroll County Accident"
Johnny Cash at San Quentin

1968
Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Bobby Russell – "Honey"
Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison

1967
Eddy Arnold
Jack Greene
Loretta Lynn
Dallas Frazier – "There Goes My Everything"
There Goes My Everything

text: CMA Awards hosts[edit]

text: Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood have co-hosted the ceremonies together since 2008. Vince Gill has been the longest consecutive host from 1992 to 2003, co-hosting with Reba McEntire in 1992 and Clint Black in 1993. The first ceremony in 1967 was co-hosted by Sonny James and Bobbie Gentry, but that ceremony was not televised.


document_title: Coming to America

question_text: who played the jewish man in coming to america

root

text: Coming to America

text: Plot

text: In the fictional African nation of Zamunda, crown prince Akeem lives a pampered life, but he wishes to do more for himself. When his parents, King Jaffe and Queen Aeoleon, present him with an arranged bride-to-be, Akeem takes action. Seeking an independent woman who loves him for himself, not his social status, Akeem and his best friend/personal aide, Semmi, travel to the New York City borough of Queens and rent a squalid tenement in the neighborhood of Long Island City under the guise of poor foreign students. Beginning their search for Akeem's bride, they end up invited by some locals to a rally that is raising money for the inner city. During the rally, Akeem encounters Lisa McDowell, who possesses all the qualities he is looking for, and upon his insistence he and Semmi get entry-level jobs working at the local fast food restaurant called McDowell's — an obvious ripoff of McDonald's — owned by widower Cleo McDowell, Lisa's father.

tag: p

text: Akeem's attempts to win Lisa's love are complicated by Lisa's lazy and obnoxious boyfriend, Darryl Jenks (Eriq La Salle), whose father owns Soul Glo (a Jheri curl–like hairstyling aid). After Darryl announces their engagement — without Lisa's consent — to their families, she starts dating Akeem, who claims that he comes from a family of poor goat herders. Meanwhile, although Akeem thrives on hard work and learning how commoners live, Semmi is not comfortable with living in such meager conditions. After a dinner date with Lisa is thwarted when Semmi furnishes their apartment with a jacuzzi and other luxuries, Akeem confiscates his money and donates it to two homeless men. Semmi wires a telegraph to King Jaffe for more money, prompting Akeem's parents to travel to Queens and expose his identity as a prince.

text: Mr. McDowell, initially disapproving of Akeem as he did not want to see his daughter with a poor man, is ecstatic that he is actually an extremely wealthy prince. Lisa, however, becomes angry and confused that Akeem lied to her about his identity. Akeem explains that he wanted her to love him for who, not what he is, even offering to renounce his throne; but Lisa, still hurt and angry, refuses to marry him. Despondent, Akeem resigns himself to the arranged marriage, but as they leave, King Jaffe is reprimanded by Queen Aeoleon for clinging to out-dated traditions instead of thinking of his son's happiness.

text: At the wedding procession, a still-heartbroken Akeem waits at the altar as his veiled bride-to-be makes her way down the aisle, but when Akeem lifts the veil to kiss her, he finds Lisa in the wedding gown. Following the ceremony, they ride happily in a carriage to the cheers of Zamundans. Witnessing such splendor, Lisa is both surprised and touched by the fact that Akeem would have given it up just for her. Akeem offers again to abdicate if she doesn't want this life, but Lisa playfully declines.

text: Cast

text:
Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem Joffer, the prince of Zamunda; Randy Watson, a soul singer with the fictional band Sexual Chocolate.[3] Eddie Murphy also plays Saul, the Jewish barbershop customer, as well as Clarence, the owner of the barber shop.[4][5]
Arsenio Hall as Semmi, Akeem's friend; Reverend Brown;[6] Morris the barber; and an unattractive clubgoer.[7][8]
James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer, Akeem's father and King of Zamunda.[9]
John Amos as Cleo McDowell, Akeem's employer and Lisa's father.
Madge Sinclair as Queen Aeoleon, Akeem's mother and the Queen of Zamunda.
Shari Headley as Lisa McDowell, Cleo's oldest daughter and Akeem's love interest.
Paul Bates as Oha, a royal servant.
Eriq La Salle as Darryl Jenks, Lisa's boyfriend whom she eventually breaks up with.

tag: ul

text: The cast also includes: Frankie Faison[10] as Mr. Townsend, Akeem and Semmi's landlord in Queens; Vanessa Bell as Imani Izzi, Akeem's arranged wife, and Calvin Lockhart as Colonel Izzi, her father; Louie Anderson as Maurice, a McDowell's employee; Allison Dean as Patrice McDowell, Cleo's youngest daughter and Lisa's sister; Samuel L. Jackson as a robber; Vondie Curtis-Hall as the Basketball game vendor; Garcelle Beauvais as a rose bearer; Victoria Dillard as one of Akeem's Zamundan attendants, and Clint Smith as Sweets. Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Cuba Gooding Jr. made their film debuts as a street hustler and a barber shop customer respectively (for the latter, he was credited as Boy Getting Haircut). Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy reprise their roles as, respectively, Mortimer and Randolph Duke from Landis' 1983 Murphy-starring comedy film Trading Places.[11] A segment of the Trading Places score can be heard during their scene. The Dukes' limo driver from that film also cameos as the driver of Akeem and Semmi's limo.[citation needed]

text: Coming to America features Murphy and Hall in several different roles, which, following the success of this film, became a Murphy staple.[12] Hall plays Reverend Brown, who introduces Randy Watson (Murphy).[13] Murphy and Hall play elderly barbers Clarence and Morris respectively, who engage in debate with Saul, the old Jewish man (Murphy). Hall also plays a woman (credited as Extremely Ugly Girl) who flirts with Akeem and Semmi.

text: Production

text: Coming to America reunited star Eddie Murphy with director John Landis. The two had previously worked together on the comedy hit Trading Places (1983); however, Landis later recalled the differences in working with Murphy on the two movies: "The guy on Trading Places was young and full of energy and curious and funny and fresh and great. The guy on Coming to America was the pig of the world... But I still think he's wonderful in the movie."[14]

text: "We had a tussling confrontation… We didn't come to blows. Personalities didn't mesh. I grabbed him, and he thought I was playing. So he tried to grab my balls and I pushed him away. But I wasn't kidding. He was doing some silly shit that made me mad. He directed me in Trading Places when I was just starting out as a kid, but he was still treating me like a kid five years later during Coming to America. And I hired him to direct the movie! I was gonna direct Coming to America myself, but I knew that Landis had just done three fucked-up pictures in a row and that his career was hanging by a thread after the Twilight Zone trial. I figured the guy was nice to me when I did Trading Places, so I'd give him a shot… I was going out of my way to help this guy, and he fucked me over. Now he's got a hit picture on his resumé, a movie that made over $200 million, as opposed to him coming off a couple of fucked-up movies – which is where I'd rather see him be right now (laughs)." – Eddie Murphy[15]

text: Despite the experience, Landis and Murphy collaborated again six years later on Beverly Hills Cop III.

text: South African chorus Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings Mbube during the opening sequence (the song also known as The Lion Sleeps Tonight). The group has gone on to record several different versions of Mbube; however, the version heard in Coming to America had not been released on its soundtrack or on CD as of 2006.

text: Landis' calling card/easter egg, "See You Next Wednesday", appears on a science-fiction movie poster in the subway station after Lisa storms off the train.

text: A promotional song for the film, also titled "Coming to America", was written and performed by The System.

text: Release

text: Paramount cancelled press screenings of the film, after initial negative reactions to a press screening in New York.[16]

text: Box office

text: Released on June 29, 1988, by Paramount Pictures in the United States, it was a commercial box-office success, both domestically and worldwide.[17][18] The film debuted at number one with $21,404,420 from 2,064 screens, for a five-day total of $28,409,497. The film made $128,152,301 in the United States and ended up with a worldwide total of $288,752,301.[19] It was the highest earning film that year for the studio and the third-highest-grossing film at the United States box office.[20]

text: It opened a month later in the UK and earned $7,712,622 during its seven-week run. It opened on September 2 in West Germany, where it debuted at number one with $3,715,791 from 297 screens. It ended its run after 13 weeks with $15,743,447.

text: Reception

text: Coming To America received positive reviews upon release. Review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 68%, based on reviews from 37 critics.[21]

text: Sheila Benson in the Los Angeles Times called it a "hollow and wearying Eddie Murphy fairy tale" and bemoans, "That an Eddie Murphy movie would come to this."[22] Vincent Canby in The New York Times was also critical of the writing, calling it a "possibly funny idea" but suggesting the screenplay had escaped before it was ready. Canby viewed the film as essentially a romantic comedy but said the romantic elements fell flat, and the film instead goes for broad slapstick.[23] Siskel & Ebert had mixed opinions on the film. Siskel enjoyed the acting from Murphy and Hall but Ebert was disappointed that Murphy did not bring his usual more lively performance, and Ebert was also critical of the unoriginal script.[24]

text: Awards

text: The film was nominated for two Oscars: Best Costume Design by Deborah Nadoolman Landis and Best Makeup by Rick Baker,[25] who designed the makeup effects for both Murphy's and Arsenio Hall's multiple supporting characters.[26]

text: Lawsuit

text: The film was the subject of the Buchwald v. Paramount civil suit, which the humorist Art Buchwald filed in 1990 against the film's producers on the grounds that the film's idea was stolen from his 1982 script treatment about a rich, despotic African potentate who comes to America for a state visit. Paramount had optioned the treatment from Buchwald, and John Landis was attached as director and Eddie Murphy as the lead, but after two years of development hell Paramount abandoned the project in March 1985. In 1987, Paramount began working on Coming to America based on a story by Eddie Murphy.[27][28] Buchwald won the breach of contract action and the court ordered monetary damages. The parties later settled the case out-of-court prior to an appeal going to trial.[29]

text: Soundtrack

text:
Coming to America: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Soundtrack album by Various artists

Released
July 1988

Genre
Pop

Length
40:16

Label
Atco Records

Singles from Coming to America

"Coming to America"
"Come into My Life"
"That's the Way It Is"
"Better Late Than Never"

tag: table

text: The soundtrack to the film was released on LP, cassette and CD. The songs "Coming to America" by The System, "Better Late Than Never" by The Cover Girls and "Come into My Life" by Laura Branigan and Joe Esposito were released as singles from the album. "That's The Way It Is" by Mel & Kim had been released as a single in the UK, prior to the film's release, in February 1988, and became a top ten hit. It was released as a single in the USA at the time of the film's release.

text:
"Coming to America" — The System (3:49)
"Better Late Than Never" — The Cover Girls (4:02)
"All Dressed Up (Ready to Hit the Town)" — Chico DeBarge (4:50)
"I Like It Like That" — Michael Rodgers (4:01)
"That's the Way It Is" — Mel and Kim (3:25)

tag: ol

text:
"Addicted to You" — LeVert (3:54)
"Comin' Correct" — J.J. Fad (3:56)
"Livin' the Good Life" — Sister Sledge (3:46)
"Transparent" — Nona Hendryx (3:50)
"Come into My Life" — Laura Branigan and Joe Esposito (4:39)

text: Legacy

text: Television pilot

text: A television pilot of a weekly sitcom version of the film was produced for CBS, following the film's success, starring Tommy Davidson as Prince Tariq, and Paul Bates reprising his role as Oha. The pilot went unsold, but was televised on July 4, 1989 as part of the CBS Summer Playhouse pilot anthology series.[30][2]

text: Movie remakes

text: A Tamil movie, My Dear Marthandan, was produced based on the plot of Coming to America. A Hong Kong movie, The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon, also has the same plot.

text: Influences in music

text: The melody heard in the bathroom scene, where Prince Akeem is being washed by female servants, was sampled in Snoop Dogg's 2006 song "That's That" featuring R. Kelly; a remix of the song featuring rapper Nas includes a woman's voice saying "the royal penis is clean your highness", a line taken from the same scene. Also, the music videos for Busta Rhymes' 1997 single "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and Action Bronson's 2015 single "Baby Blue" are loosely based on the film. The song "Coming 2 America" by Ludacris from the album Word of Mouf features samples[31] and lyrics[32] referencing the film.

text: Planned sequel

text: In early 2017, an announcement was publicized which addressed the impending production of a sequel to the film. Kevin Misher was named as producer, and Sheffield and Blaustein, the original screenwriters, were also attached to the project. However, a possible participation of lead actors Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall was left undefined.[33][34] According to several public accounts, Murphy himself apparently posted an announcement regarding the film project a month prior on Facebook, but later claimed that his account had been hacked and completely deleted it.[33]


document_title: National Invitation Tournament

question_text: when did the ncaa tournament became more important than the nit

text: National Invitation Tournament

text: History[edit]

text: Founding[edit]

text: The post-season National Invitation Tournament was founded in 1938 by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association, one year after the NAIA Tournament was created by basketball's inventor Dr. James Naismith, and one year before the NCAA Tournament. The first NIT was won by the Temple University Owls over the Colorado Buffaloes.

text: Responsibility for the NIT's administration was transferred in 1940 to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Committee, a body of local New York colleges: Fordham University, Manhattan College, New York University, St. John's University, and Wagner College. This became the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA) in 1948.

text: Originally the tournament invited a field of 6 teams, with all games played at Madison Square Garden in downtown Manhattan.

text: The field was expanded to 8 teams in 1941, 12 in 1949, 14 in 1965, 16 in 1968, 24 in 1979, 32 in 1980, and 40 from 2002 through 2006. In 2007, the tournament reverted to the current 32-team format.[3][4]

text: Early advantages over the NCAA Tournament[edit]

text: In its early years, the NIT offered some advantages over the NCAA tournament:

text:
There was limited national media coverage of college basketball in the 1930s and '40s, and playing in New York City provided teams greater media exposure, both with the general public and among high school prospects in its rich recruiting territory.
The NCAA tournament selection committee invited only one team each from eight national regions, potentially leaving better quality selections and natural rivals out of its field, which would opt for the NIT.[5][6]
Some conferences, such as the Southeastern Conference, were racially segregated, making hosting non-segregated early round games on their campuses problematic.[citation needed]

text: Preeminence[edit]

text: From its onset and at least into the mid-1950s, the NIT was regarded as the most prestigious showcase for college basketball.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] All-American at Princeton and later NBA champion with the New York Knicks and United States Senator Bill Bradley states:

text: In the 1940's, when the NCAA tournament was less than 10 years old, the National Invitation Tournament, a saturnalia held in New York at Madison Square Garden by the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association, was the most glamorous of the post-season tournaments and generally had the better teams. The winner of the National Invitation Tournament was regarded as more of a national champion than the actual, titular, national champion, or winner of the NCAA tournament.

text: Several teams played in both the NIT and NCAA tournaments in the same year, beginning with Colorado and Duquesne in 1940. Colorado won the NIT in 1940 but subsequently finished fourth in the NCAA West Region.[19] In 1944, Utah lost its first game in the NIT but then proceeded to win not only the NCAA tournament, but also the subsequent Red Cross War Charities benefit game in which they defeated NIT champion St. Johns at Madison Square Garden. In 1949, some Kentucky players were bribed by gamblers to lose their first round game in the NIT.[20] This same Kentucky team went on to win the NCAA.[21] In 1950, City College of New York won both the NIT and the NCAA tournaments in the same season, coincidentally defeating Bradley University in the championship game of both tournaments, and remains the only school to accomplish that feat because of a rule change in the early 1950s prohibiting a team from competing in both tournaments.

text: The champions of both the NCAA and NIT tournaments played each other for a few years during World War II. From 1943 to 1945, the American Red Cross sponsored a postseason charity game between each year's tournament champions to raise money for the war effort.[22] The series was described by Ray Meyer as not just benefit games, but as "really the games for the national championship".[23] The NCAA champion prevailed in all three games.[24]

text: The Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected the NIT champion as its national champion for 1938 (Temple), and chose the NIT champion over the NCAA champion once, in 1939 (Long Island).[25] More recently, the mathematically based Premo-Porretta Power Poll published in the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia retroactively ranked teams for each season prior to 1949, with the NIT champion finishing ahead of the NCAA champion in 1939 and 1941.[26] Premo-Porretta ranks four NCAA champions as the best for each season, the rest being non-championship winning teams. Between 1939 and 1970, when teams could compete in either tournament, only DePaul (1945),[27] Utah (1947),[28], San Francisco (1949)[29] and Holy Cross (1954) [30] claim or celebrate national championships for their teams based solely on an NIT championship,[31][32][33][34] although Long Island recognizes its selection as the 1939 national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation,[35] made in 1943.[36][37]

text: In 1943 the NCAA tournament moved to share Madison Square Garden with the NIT in an effort to increase the credibility of the NCAA Tournament.[23] In 1945, The New York Times indicated that many teams could get bids to enter either tournament, which was not uncommon in that day.[38] In any case, since the mid-1950s, the NCAA tournament has been popularly regarded by most individuals as the major post season tourney, with conference champions and the majority of the top-ranked teams participating in it.[18][23]

text: Nevertheless, as late as 1970, Coach Al McGuire of Marquette, the 8th-ranked team in the final AP poll of the season, spurned an NCAA at-large invitation because the Warriors were going to be placed in the NCAA Midwest Regional (Fort Worth, Texas) instead of closer to home in the Mideast Regional (Dayton, Ohio).[39] The team played in the NIT instead, which it won. This led the NCAA to decree in 1971 that any school to which it offered a bid must accept it or be prohibited from participating in postseason competition, reducing the pool of teams that could accept an NIT invitation.[40]

text: Decline[edit]

text: As the NCAA over time expanded its field to include more teams, the reputation of the NIT suffered. In 1973, NBC moved televised coverage of the NCAA championship from Saturday afternoon to Monday evening,[40] providing the NCAA Tournament with prime-time television exposure the NIT could not match. Even more crucially, when the NCAA eliminated the one-team-per-conference rule in 1975, its requirement that teams accept its bids relegated the NIT to a collection of teams that did not make the NCAA grade.

text: Compounding this, to cut costs the NIT moved its early rounds out of Madison Square Garden in 1977, playing games at home sites until the later rounds. This further harmed the NIT's prestige, both regionalizing interest in it and marginalizing it by reducing its association with Madison Square Garden.[40] By the mid-1980s, its transition to a secondary tournament for lesser teams was complete.[40]

text: NCAA takes control[edit]

text: In 2005, the NCAA purchased 10-year rights to the NIT from the MIBA for $56.5 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit, which had gone to trial and was being argued until very shortly before the settlement was announced. The MIBA alleged that compelling teams to accept invitations to the NCAA tournament even if they preferred to play in the NIT was an illegal use of the NCAA's powers. In addition, it argued that the NCAA's expansion of its tournament to 65 teams (68 since 2011) was designed specifically to bankrupt the NIT. Faced with the very real possibility of being found in violation of federal antitrust law for the third time in its history, the NCAA chose to settle. (The first two violations were related to restrictions on televising college football and capping assistant coach salaries.) As part of the purchase of the NIT by the NCAA, the MIBA disbanded.

text: Reputation[edit]

text: The status of the post-season National Invitation Tournament as a "consolation" fixture has led to somewhat of a stigma in the minds of many fans. When teams with tenuous hopes of an NCAA Tournament berth lose away from home late in the season, opposing fans may taunt the players in the closing seconds with chants of "NIT! NIT!". This is done regardless of whether the home team is headed for the NCAA Tournament or not. Irv Moss, a journalist for the Denver Post, once wrote of such a taunt to a defeated team, "The three-letter word... was far more cutting than any four-letter word they could have hollered." [41]

text: Because the post-season NIT consists of teams that failed to receive a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the NIT has been nicknamed the "Not Invited Tournament", "Not Important Tournament", "Never Important Tournament", "Nobody's Interested Tournament", "Needs Improvement Tournament", "No Important Team", "National Insignificant Tournament," or simply "Not In Tournament".[1] It has also been called a tournament to see who the "69th best team" in the country is (since there are now 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament).

text: David Thompson, an All-American player from North Carolina State, called the NIT "a loser's tournament" in 1975. NC State, which had been the previous year's NCAA champion, refused to play in the tournament that year, following the precedent set by ACC rival Maryland the previous season after losing the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game to the top-ranked Wolfpack. In succeeding years, other teams such as Oklahoma State, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, and LSU[42][43] have declined to play in the NIT when they did not make the NCAA tournament. One such team was Maryland; after being rejected by the NCAA selection committee in 2006, head coach Gary Williams announced that 19-11 Maryland would not go to the NIT, only to be told that the university had previously agreed to use Comcast Center as a venue for the NIT. The Terrapins were eliminated in the first round by the Manhattan College Jaspers. In 2008, however, Williams announced that if invited, the Terps would play, because it would serve as a chance to further develop six freshman players on his squad and to give senior forward James Gist more exposure.[44] At UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, there are individual championship banners for all 11 NCAA titles, various other banners touting many other NCAA and other tournament championships for other sports, but no mention of UCLA's 1985 NIT championship.

text: For other teams, however, the NIT is perceived as a step up in a program climbing from mediocrity or obscurity, and the response is more enthusiastic. For example, at the University of Tulsa, which won the NIT in 1981 and 2001, the Golden Hurricane's NIT "championship tradition" is viewed with pride and as a "lure" for players to join the program.[45] The University of Connecticut also regards the NIT as the beginning of its success.[46] The NIT is also held in generally higher regard than the three newer tournaments that have debuted since 2008 (the Vegas 16, College Basketball Invitational and CollegeInsider.com Tournament); Saint Bonaventure, a school that has a policy of refusing to play in those three tournaments (the school, tiny by Division I standards, is unwilling to spare the expense of participating in those tournaments), still accepts bids to the NIT if it is invited.[47]

text: The NIT Season Tip-Off carries none of the postseason tournament's stigma, and is one of many popular season-opening tournaments held every year around the country (alongside events such as the Maui Invitational and the Great Alaska Shootout).

text: Selection process[edit]

text: In the past, NIT teams were selected in consultation with ESPN, the television home of the NIT.[48] The goal of the NIT was to sustain the MIBA financially. Therefore, schools selected to play in the NIT were often major conference teams with records near .500 that had large television fan bases and would likely have a respectable attendance for tournament games on their home court. The latter is one reason why New Mexico was invited virtually every year — the Lobos often had a winning season but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament.[49] Seeding considerations and home court advantage included the number of fans willing to show up to each game. In an effort to maintain some quality, a rule saying that a team must have a .500 or better record[clarification needed] to qualify for the NIT was imposed.

text: The NCAA announced a revamped selection process starting with the 2006 tournament. The main highlights are:

text:
Teams are no longer required to have .500 or greater records[clarification needed] to receive bids.
Similar to the automatic bids the NCAA Tournament grants for all conference tournament champions, all teams that won regular-season conference championships but failed to earn NCAA tournament bids are guaranteed places in the NIT.

text: In addition, the selection process was changed. ESPN no longer had a hand in the selection of the teams. Instead, a committee of former NCAA head coaches, chaired by Newton, and including Gene Keady (Purdue), Don DeVoe (Tennessee), Rudy Davalos, Les Robinson (NC State), Reggie Minton (Air Force), John Powers, and Carroll Williams among others, prepared a list of potential teams in advance.[50]

text: Beginning with the 2016 NIT, the committee makeup was restructured; committee members will serve a maximum four-year term, and the committee will feature a mix of current athletics administrators who are actively working at NCAA schools or conferences and former head college basketball coaches. Previously, the NIT Committee had eight members, all of whom had been former head college basketball coaches or athletics directors. The previous structure had no term limits or succession plan.[51]

text: ESPN continues to provide television coverage of the tournament. In 2011 the NCAA and ESPN agreed to a $500 million agreement through 2023–24 for rights to cover championships in several sports, including the NIT;[52] this compares with the 11-year, $6.2 billion TV contract with CBS for the NCAA tournament.

text: These changes are intended to encourage participation by good college teams that would rather stay home than play in the NIT – to make it the "Little Dance" instead of the "loser's tournament". Former NIT Committee chair and former Alabama and Vanderbilt head coach C. M. Newton stated, "What we want to have is a true basketball event, a real tournament, one where there's no preconceived ideas of who gets to New York. We'd love to have great crowds, but this is not a financial consideration. We want good television coverage, but we're not going to play this thing for television and move games around". [53] Another consideration is that a number one-seeded team that goes to the semifinals will have three home games, which helps ticket sales.

text: Since the 2007 tournament, the 32-team field used from 1980 through 2001 is the same, eliminating the eight-game "play-in" opening round where teams played to qualify for second round games against the top eight seeds used 2002–2006. The tournament features four eight-team regions. The format won't affect the NIT's automatic bid to any regular-season conference champion that do not make the NCAA's field of 68, since 2011. Seven teams earned an NIT bid that way in 2006.

text: A new attendance record for an NIT game was set at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome on March 19, 2007, at the Syracuse-San Diego State game. Syracuse won the game 80–64 with an attendance total of 26,752. The previous record of 23,522 was set by Kentucky in 1979.

text: Women's tournaments[edit]

text: From 1969 to 1996, a National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) existed; the tournament was resurrected under the same name in 1998, and has been known as the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) since 1999. The original NWIT was an eight-team tournament held in Amarillo, Texas throughout its history. The revived tournament began with 16 teams, expanded to 32 in its second season, and has since expanded further to 40, 48, and (since 2010) 64 teams. However, the WNIT is affiliated with the NIT in name only. Neither the NWIT nor WNIT was connected with MIBA, and the WNIT was not purchased by the NCAA.

text: Men's postseason NIT champions[edit]

text:
Year
Champion
Runner-up
MVP

2018
Penn State
Utah
Lamar Stevens, Penn State

2017
TCU
Georgia Tech
Kenrich Williams, TCU

2016
George Washington
Valparaiso
Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington

2015
Stanford
Miami (FL)
Chasson Randle, Stanford

2014
Minnesota
SMU
Austin Hollins, Minnesota

2013
Baylor
Iowa
Pierre Jackson, Baylor

2012
Stanford
Minnesota
Aaron Bright, Stanford [54]

2011
Wichita State
Alabama
Graham Hatch, Wichita State

2010
Dayton
North Carolina
Chris Johnson, Dayton

2009
Penn State
Baylor
Jamelle Cornley, Penn State

2008
Ohio State
Massachusetts
Kosta Koufos, Ohio State

2007
West Virginia
Clemson
Frank Young, West Virginia

2006
South Carolina
Michigan
Renaldo Balkman, South Carolina

2005
South Carolina
Saint Joseph's
Carlos Powell, South Carolina

2004
Michigan
Rutgers
Daniel Horton, Michigan

2003
Vacated [note 1]
Georgetown
Vacated [note 2]

2002
Memphis
South Carolina
Dajuan Wagner, Memphis

2001
Tulsa
Alabama
Marcus Hill, Tulsa

2000
Wake Forest
Notre Dame
Robert O'Kelley, Wake Forest

1999
California
Clemson
Sean Lampley, California

1998
Vacated [note 3]
Penn State
Vacated [note 4]

1997
Vacated [note 5]
Florida State
Vacated [note 6]

1996
Nebraska
Saint Joseph's
Erick Strickland, Nebraska

1995
Virginia Tech
Marquette
Shawn Smith, Virginia Tech

1994
Villanova
Vanderbilt
Doremus Bennerman, Siena

1993
Minnesota
Georgetown
Voshon Lenard, Minnesota

1992
Virginia
Notre Dame
Bryant Stith, Virginia

1991
Stanford
Oklahoma
Adam Keefe, Stanford

1990
Vanderbilt
Saint Louis
Scott Draud, Vanderbilt

1989
St. John's
Saint Louis
Jayson Williams, St. John's

1988
Connecticut
Ohio State
Phil Gamble, Connecticut

1987
Southern Miss
La Salle
Randolph Keys, Southern Miss

1986
Ohio State
Wyoming
Brad Sellers, Ohio State

1985
UCLA
Indiana
Reggie Miller, UCLA

1984
Michigan
Notre Dame
Tim McCormick, Michigan

1983
Fresno State
DePaul
Ron Anderson, Fresno State

1982
Bradley
Purdue
Mitchell Anderson, Bradley

1981
Tulsa
Syracuse
Greg Stewart, Tulsa

1980
Virginia
Minnesota
Ralph Sampson, Virginia

1979
Indiana
Purdue
Butch Carter and Ray Tolbert, Indiana

1978
Texas
North Carolina State
Jim Krivacs and Ron Baxter, Texas

1977
St. Bonaventure
Houston
Greg Sanders, St. Bonaventure

1976
Kentucky
Charlotte
Cedric Maxwell, Charlotte

1975
Princeton
Providence
Ron Lee, Oregon

1974
Purdue
Utah
Mike Sojourner, Utah

1973
Virginia Tech
Notre Dame
John Shumate, Notre Dame

1972
Maryland
Niagara
Tom McMillen, Maryland

1971
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Bill Chamberlain, North Carolina

1970
Marquette
St. John's
Dean Meminger, Marquette

1969
Temple
Boston College
Terry Driscoll, Boston College

1968
Dayton
Kansas
Don May, Dayton

1967
Southern Illinois
Marquette
Walt Frazier, Southern Illinois

1966
Brigham Young
NYU
Bill Melchionni, Villanova

1965
St. John's
Villanova
Ken McIntyre, St. John's

1964
Bradley
New Mexico
Levern Tart, Bradley

1963
Providence
Canisius
Ray Flynn, Providence

1962
Dayton
St. John's
Bill Chmielewski, Dayton

1961
Providence
Saint Louis
Vin Ernst, Providence

1960
Bradley
Providence
Lenny Wilkens, Providence

1959
St. John's
Bradley
Tony Jackson, St. John's

1958
Xavier
Dayton
Hank Stein, Xavier

1957
Bradley
Memphis State
Win Wilfong, Memphis State

1956
Louisville
Dayton
Charlie Tyra, Louisville

1955
Duquesne
Dayton
Maurice Stokes, St. Francis (Pa.)

1954
Holy Cross
Duquesne
Togo Palazzi, Holy Cross

1953
Seton Hall
St. John's
Walter Dukes, Seton Hall

1952
La Salle
Dayton
Tom Gola and Norm Grekin, La Salle

1951
Brigham Young
Dayton
Roland Minson, Brigham Young

1950
CCNY
Bradley
Ed Warner, CCNY

1949
San Francisco
Loyola
Don Lofgran, San Francisco

1948
Saint Louis
NYU
Ed Macauley, Saint Louis

1947
Utah
Kentucky
Vern Gardner, Utah

1946
Kentucky
Rhode Island
Ernie Calverley, Rhode Island

1945
DePaul
Bowling Green
George Mikan, DePaul

1944
St. John's
DePaul
Bill Kotsores, St. John's

1943
St. John's
Toledo
Harry Boykoff, St. John's

1942
West Virginia
Western Kentucky
Rudy Baric, West Virginia

1941
Long Island
Ohio
Frankie Baumholtz, Ohio

1940
Colorado
Duquesne
Bob Doll, Colorado

1939
Long Island
Loyola
Bill Lloyd, St. John's

1938
Temple
Colorado
Don Shields, Temple

text:
Jump up ^ St. John's won the 2003 NIT title, but later vacated the title due to an ineligible player.
Jump up ^ Marcus Hatten of St. John's was the MVP of the 2003 tournament, but vacated the award with St. John's title.
Jump up ^ Minnesota won the 1998 NIT title, but later vacated the title due to academic fraud.
Jump up ^ Kevin Clark of Minnesota was the MVP of the 1998 tournament, but vacated the award with Minnesota's title.
Jump up ^ Michigan won the 1997 NIT title, but later vacated the title and forfeited its entire 1996-97 schedule due to ineligible players.
Jump up ^ Robert Traylor of Michigan was the MVP of the 1997 tournament, but was later declared ineligible and his award vacated.


document_title: Theme from New York, New York

question_text: when did frank sinatra first sing new york new york

text: Theme from New York, New York

text: History[edit]

text: In 1979, "Theme from New York, New York" was re-recorded by Frank Sinatra for his album Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980), and has since become closely associated with him. He occasionally performed it live with Minnelli as a duet. Sinatra recorded it a second time for his 1993 album Duets, with Tony Bennett.

text: The first line of the song is:

text:
Start spreadin' the news, I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it: New York, New York.

text: The song concludes with the line:

text:
If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere,
It's up to you, New York, New York.

text: Minnelli's original recording of the song (also used in the Tony Bennett version in Duets) uses the following closing line:

text:
If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere,
Come on come through, New York, New York.

text: It should not be confused with the song "New York, New York", from Leonard Bernstein/Adolph Green/Betty Comden's musical On the Town (1944), which features the lyric "New York, New York, it’s a helluva town / The Bronx is up and the Battery's down..."

text: Composers Kander and Ebb stated on the A&E Biography episode about Liza Minnelli, that they attribute the song's success to actor Robert De Niro, who rejected their original theme for the film because he thought it was "too weak".

text: The song did not become a popular hit until it was picked up in concert by Frank Sinatra during his performances at Radio City Music Hall in October 1978. (It was not even nominated for the Academy Award for 'Best Song'). Subsequently, Sinatra recorded it in 1979 for his 1980 Trilogy set (Reprise Records), and it became one of his signature songs. The single peaked at #32 in June 1980, becoming his final Top Forty charting hit. It was also an Adult Contemporary hit, reaching #10 in the US[1] and #2 in Canada.[2] The song made a minor showing in the UK (#59), however, recharted several years later and reached #4 in 1986. Sinatra made two more studio recordings of the song in 1981 (for his NBC TV special The Man and His Music) and 1993 (for Capitol Records). From the latter, an electronic duet with Tony Bennett was produced for Sinatra's Duets album.

text: The lyrics of the Sinatra versions differ slightly from Ebb's original lyrics. Notably, the phrase "A-number-one", which does not appear at all in the original lyrics, is sung twice at the song's rallentando climax. (Ebb has said he "didn't even like" Sinatra's use of "A-number-one").[3] The phrase is both the first and fourth on a list of three superlative titles the singer strives to achieve — "A-number-one, top of the list, king of the hill, A-number-one" — where Ebb's original lyrics (performed by Minnelli) were "king of the hill, head of the list, cream of the crop, at the top of the heap."

text: Despite Sinatra's version becoming more familiar, original singer Minnelli had two of the tune's most memorable live performances – during the July 4, 1986 ceremony marking the rededication of the Statue of Liberty after extensive renovations, and in the middle of the seventh inning of a New York Mets game, that was the first pro sports event in the metro area after the September 11, 2001 attacks. She also sang it in the Olympic stadium during the 1984 Summer Olympics, accompanied by 24 pianos and strobe lights.

text: Certifications[edit]

text:
Region
Certification
Certified units/Sales

United Kingdom (BPI)[4]
Silver
250,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: The song has been embraced as a celebration of New York City, and is often heard at New York-area social events, such as weddings and bar mitzvahs. Many sports teams in the New York area have played this song in their arenas/stadiums, but the New York Yankees are the most prominent example. It has been played over the loudspeakers at both the original and current Yankee Stadiums at the end of every Yankee home game since July 1980. Originally, Sinatra's version was played after a Yankees win, and the Minnelli version after a loss.[5] However, due to a complaint from Minnelli, the Sinatra version is now heard regardless of the game's outcome.[6] As of the 2005 season, at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark following Staten Island Yankees games, the Sinatra version is heard regardless of the game's outcome, and was formerly done at Shea Stadium at the end of New York Mets games after the September 11, 2001 attack. Previously, Mets fans felt it was a "Yankee song", and began booing it when it was played. It actually first had snippets of the song played after World Series home runs by Ray Knight and Darryl Strawberry during Game 7 of the 1986 World Series. The song is also sometimes played at New York Knicks games. The Sinatra version is played at the end of every New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. It was played at the opening faceoff of Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals at the Garden.[7] The song has also been the post parade song for the Belmont Stakes from 1997 to 2009,[8] and again from 2011 to the present.[9] Sinatra's version of the song has been played at the end of all four Super Bowls that the New York Giants have won to date, as well as before kickoff of Super Bowl XLVIII, while Minnelli's version was heard after the Giants' Super Bowl XXXV loss.

text: The song was the musical basis for Jimmy Picker's 1983 three-minute animated short, Sundae in New York, which won the Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated) that year, with a likeness of then-mayor Ed Koch somewhat stumbling through the song, with clay caricatures of New York-based celebrities (including Alfred E. Neuman) and finishing the song with "Basically I think New York is very therapeutic. Hey, an apple a day is...uh...great for one's constitution!" and burying his face in a big banana split with "THE END" written on his bald head. (Koch used the same rallentando climax Sinatra used, albeit with one big difference: "A-number one, top of the list, king of the hill..." followed by his impression of Groucho Marx completing, "...and incidentally a heckuva nice guy!")[10]

text: An instrumental version of the song is used as the main theme music for NBC's broadcasts of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is also played during the annual Times Square New Year's Day celebrations, immediately after "Auld Lang Syne".[11]

text: Queen covered the song for the 1986 fantasy film Highlander. Unlike the other songs recorded for the film, it has never appeared on a Queen album.

text: The song is performed by Brain Gremlin in the 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

text: In DreamWorks' Madagascar (2005), the song is introduced in Central Park Zoo, and Marty later sings the song in the midst of Alex the Lion's delirium.[12]

text: The song can be heard in the pilot episode of Blue Bloods which aired September 24, 2010.

text: In the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, the instrumental introduction of the song was played inside the Aston Martin DB10 for a few seconds, when Bond presses one of the control buttons during a car chase scene in Rome.

text: Parodies[edit]

text:
Swedish comedy group Galenskaparna och After Shave made a version of the song in 1985, called "Borås, Borås", about a town that is the mail order center of Sweden.
Martin Short sang a parody named "North Pole, North Pole" during the 2006 theatrical feature film The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
Stephen Colbert sang a parody of the song on the 10 June 2014 episode of The Colbert Report. His version talked about New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's role in the state's success in a hockey tournament.
Professional wrestling team The New Day sang a parody on an episode of WWE Raw the night after they won the Tag Team Championships at SummerSlam in 2015. The episode was filmed at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.


document_title: Sister Wives

question_text: who is the first wife on sister wives

question_tokens: who is the first wife on sister wives

text: Sister Wives

text: Concept[edit]

text: The show follows the lives of advertising salesman Kody Brown, his wives Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn, and their 18 children.[1] In the first season the show televised Brown's courting and marriage of his fourth wife, Robyn Sullivan, in 2010.[2][3][4] Sullivan was the first new wife to enter the family in 16 years.[5]

text: The only legal marriage was between Kody and his first wife Meri, until their legal divorce in September 2014. (He legally married fourth wife Robyn in December 2014 in order to legally adopt her three children). The other marriages are considered spiritual unions.[3][6] As of 2015 Kody has been married to Meri for 25 years, Janelle for 22 years, Christine for 21 years, and Robyn for 5 years.[7] Kody and Meri have a daughter named Mariah, their only child. Kody and Janelle have six children: daughters Madison and Savanah and sons Logan, Hunter, Garrison, and Gabriel. Kody and Christine have six children: daughters Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn, Ysabel, and Truely and son Paedon.[8][9] Robyn had three children from her first marriage, which was monogamous: Dayton, Aurora, and Breanna. Kody legally adopted them in June 2015. Kody and Robyn have two children: son Solomon and daughter Ariella. The family has one grandchild, Axel, from Kody and Janelle's daughter, Madison.

text: Meri, Robyn, and Christine were all raised in polygamist families, but Janelle was not. Although Christine's mother left the faith she still supports them. Months before the marriage of Janelle and Kody, however, Janelle's mother entered into a polygamist marriage with Kody's father.[5] The Brown family belongs to the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB.) For years before the series, the family kept their polygamist lifestyle what they called a "quasi-secret".[10]

text: Development[edit]

text: In the autumn of 2009, independent producers Timothy Gibbons and Christopher Poole approached Figure 8 Films, a North Carolinian company, with the concept of a reality series about the Brown family. Bill Hayes, the president of Figure 8 Films, said the company agreed to the idea after meeting with the Browns and deciding their lives would make a great story. Camera crews shot footage of the family in mid-2010 to be used in the first season,[10] ending in May with the marriage of Kody Brown and Robyn Sullivan.[11] The crews continued to film them afterward in case the series was picked up for a second season. Sister Wives was publicly introduced on August 6, 2010, at the Television Critics Association summer media tour in Beverly Hills, California. The series' first episode, an hour long, was broadcast on TLC on September 26, 2010, and the first season continued with six half-hour chapters until October 17, 2010.[10][12]

text: The broadcast of Sister Wives came at a time that polygamy and multiple marriages were a prevalent topic in American pop culture. Big Love, the hit HBO series about fictional Utah polygamist Bill Henrickson, his three sister wives, and their struggle to gain acceptance in society, had already been on the air for several years. In early September 2010, the drama series Lone Star, about a con man on the verge of entering into multiple marriages, premiered on Fox but was quickly canceled after two episodes, and when Sister Wives debuted, actress Katherine Heigl was in the process of developing a film about Carolyn Jessop, a woman who fled from a polygamist sect.[13]

text: In October 2010, TLC announced it had commissioned a second season, which began in March 2011.[14] A TLC interview with the Brown family was broadcast on October 31, 2010,[15] and a one-hour program featuring the honeymoon of Kody Brown and Robyn Sullivan aired on November 22, 2010.[16]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Average Viewership
(in millions)
Originally aired

Season premiere
Season finale

1
9
2.14
September 26, 2010
November 21, 2010

2
23
1.95
March 13, 2011
November 27, 2011

3
21
2.01
May 13, 2012
December 30, 2012

4
20
2.07
July 21, 2013
February 23, 2014

5
20
TBD
June 8, 2014
March 1, 2015

6
22
TBD
September 13, 2015
November 22, 2015

7
TBA
TBD
November 27, 2016
TBA

text: Season 1[edit]

text: The nine-episode first season ran from September 26 to November 21, 2010. The season premiere introduced viewers to Kody Brown and his three wives, Meri, Janelle, and Christine, and their twelve children, all of whom lived in a ranch-style home with three interconnected apartments.[6][7] It also chronicled Kody's dating and engagement to Robyn Sullivan, who herself has three children, marking the first time in 16 years Kody had courted another wife.[17] The new relationship creates insecurity and jealousy among the other three wives, but they ultimately accept her and welcome her into the family.[18] During the fourth episode of the season, Christine gives birth to her sixth child, Truely, which brings the family to 16 children including Robyn's three kids.[18]

text: Later, Kody and Meri go to Mexico to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary, where Meri discussed her sadness about her infertility problems and the jealousy that has arisen from Kody's engagement to Robyn. Kody proposes in vitro fertilisation, but she turns down the idea as she is only interested in a naturally occurring conception.[18] As Robyn's wedding approaches, the three sister wives help Robyn prepare, and they begin to bond. However, Kody upsets his wives when he reveals he secretly chose Robyn's wedding dress himself, which makes Christine feel so betrayed that she angrily walks away in mid-interview. Kody eventually apologizes, and the five reconcile.[17] The first season finale ends with the wedding of Kody and Robyn, where Meri, Janelle, and Christine present her with a Claddagh ring to welcome her into the family.[19]

text: Season 2[edit]

text: Season 2 ran 23 episodes from March 13, 2011 to November 27, 2011, though many sources refer to the episodes airing from September 25, 2011 to November 27, 2011 as Season 3. This is due to a short hiatus from June 5, 2011 to September 25, 2011.[20]

text: Season 2 begins with the Browns heading to New York to appear on national television for the first time as open polygamists, while back home the kids head off to their first day of public school. Throughout the season, the Browns visit various friends and family members and reflect on how their relationships have changed with these people since they became open polygamists. These friends and family members include Kody's parents (also polygamists), Kody's high school friends, and various monogamous couples that Kody and the sister wives know. Part 1 of Season 2 also follows the Browns through Kody and Janelle's anniversary camping trip, preparing and participating in Halloween, and Christmas, which the Browns celebrate in a snowy mountain cabin. During Season 2 we also learn more about Meri's personal struggle with her risk of cancer and the loss of her sister. In episode 5, Kody, Christine, and their children take a trip to Las Vegas, which we later learn is the beginning of the Browns' subsequent move to Las Vegas. The final episodes of Season 2 follow the Browns with their real estate agent Mona Riekki through their struggle to find a home in Las Vegas suitable for polygamists, telling the kids that they are moving, and the subsequent move to Las Vegas. Realtor, Mona Riekki finds rental homes for each of the wives and Kody. Once the Browns settle into their new homes they discuss the possibility of finding a home for all of them to live together or four homes in one cul-de-sac. In the last episode before the hiatus, Robyn announces that she is expecting her and Kody's first child.[21]

text: The second part of Season 2 brings the announcement of the sex of Robyn and Kody's baby and the Browns' struggle to adjust to life in Las Vegas. The episodes following the Season 2 hiatus focus largely on Robyn's pregnancy and the kids' adjustment to their new lives. The abrupt move to Las Vegas brings about behavioral problems in some of the older kids, which is also discussed largely in the second half of Season 2. During these episodes the Browns also explore possible businesses that the five of them (Kody and the sister wives) can run together. Several episodes after the hiatus discuss specific topics such as jealousy among the sister wives, especially regarding courting a new wife, how the parents combat the influence of Las Vegas on their children, and how the Browns are preparing the older children for college. Mona Riekki is back in this season and is working with the family on finding a permanent home in Vegas. In the finale, Robyn gives birth to baby Solomon on October 27, 2011[22] and the possibility of Meri having more children once again resurfaces.

text: Although the ongoing investigation of the Browns is brought up during Season 2, it is not extensively discussed, and the progress of the investigation is unknown.

text: Season 3[edit]

text: Season 3 premiered on May 13, 2012 after vague details surfaced about the show's spring return on the Twitter account of sister wife Robyn Sullivan Brown. The twenty one episode season mainly dealt with the family's inability to be a cohesive unit while living in four separate homes. Meri explains more about the infertility problems she has experienced, while Christine discloses more on her jealousy of Robyn. The season returned from hiatus on November 18, 2012, to the Brown family still discussing their options into moving their family onto one property, and invest in a cul-de-sac where they can build four homes. It is more evident this season that living in separate homes is tearing the family apart. Towards the end of the season, the family plans a three-day trip to Nauvoo, Illinois, the birthplace of American polygamy. In the last episode on December 30, 2012, the family also deals with the upcoming departure to college of the eldest Brown child, Logan.

text: Season 4[edit]

text: Season 4 premiered on July 21, 2013.[23] It chronicles the family as they move into four adjacent houses within the same neighborhood. The wives are still working on starting their jewelry business. Meri comes to a decision following Robyn's offer to be her surrogate.

text: Season 5[edit]

text: Season 5 includes seven episodes, eight if you include the "Tell All" at the end, and eleven if you include the "Sitting Down with the Browns", "Meri-Behind the Scenes", and the "Robyn-Behind the Scenes" episodes. Season 5 begins with two daughters, Mykelti and Madison, graduating high school. The grown ups plan to lip sync a song to celebrate, but it brings out some negative feelings for Janelle, who is not comfortable being so outgoing and admits to being embarrassed in public by the others' behavior. And a deeper issue of feeling like she's not heard bubbles to the surface and she sees a therapist to discuss that along with her challenging relationship with first wife Meri. On a business level, the family discusses whether to turn down investors' money and keep full ownership of Sisterwives' Closet and whether to keep the products all their own creations or branch out and resale other artists' designs and products. Christine's mother moves in with her in Las Vegas, and in episode four, the Browns allow two anthropologists to live with them for two days to see the inner workings of polygamy, an arrangement that could either put their lifestyle in a positive or negative light.

text: Finally, after five years of mental deliberation, Meri files for legal divorce from Kody so Kody can adopt Robyn's three children from her previous marriage. By the end of the season, Meri and Kody maintained that they would continue their relationship.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text:
Considering its sensational subject matter, TLC's "Sister Wives" has been refreshingly modest. The stars [have] a natural, honest presence in a genre fabled for the camera-hogging antics of Jersey Shore. Rather than merely emphasizing what's different about the Brown family — most obviously, their "plural marriage" — Sister Wives shows us how normal they seem: loving and good-natured around their children, occasionally prone to envy and feelings of betrayal.
“
”

Schuyler Velasco, Salon.com[24]

tag: div

text: Sister Wives drew national media attention after its first season[25] and garnered generally mixed reviews from critics. Washington Post staff writer Hank Stuever called it "refreshingly frank" and found most interesting the small details of the family's everyday life, such as the food supply, division of labor, and minor arguments.[6] Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara said she was intrigued by the matriarchal nature of the polygamist family, a unit that is traditionally considered patriarchal. McNamara said the wives form the center of the family and that "their bonds appear far stronger and more vital than the casual fondness with which they all treat Kody".[26] Salon.com writer Schuyler Velasco praised Sister Wives for introducing viewers to unfamiliar subject matter and called it "refreshingly modest" considering its controversial subject matter. Velasco said it has "a natural, honest presence in a genre fabled for the camera-hogging antics of Jersey Shore".[24] Shelley Fralic of The Vancouver Sun called it fascinating and surprising and was impressed with the sensible and articulate way in which the family defended their lifestyle.[5] When the Brown family made an October 2010 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, talk show host Oprah Winfrey said she found particularly fascinating the relationship between the sister wives.[27]

text: Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald criticized Kody Brown for opening himself and his family up to potential criminal prosecution by appearing in the series, describing him as "a lawbreaker who is risking himself and the family he claims is so precious just to star in his own TV show".[7] Elizabeth Tenety of The Washington Post called the series "one part domestic drudgery, another part sensationalism" and claimed it relied on a "familiar reality TV recipe" shared by other TLC series such as 19 Kids and Counting and Kate Plus 8.[1] Religion Dispatches writer Joanna Brooks shared Tenety's perspective, criticizing the show for presenting polygamy in a manner that "is about as interesting to me as Kate Gosselin's latest makeover." In this vein Brooks criticized the show for not engaging the theology of plural marriage and for letting Kody Brown's superficial comments about the dissimilarity of Fundamentalist and mainstream Mormonism pass onto the viewers without any critical scrutiny or added nuance.[28] Shari Puterman, television columnist with the Asbury Park Press, felt the sister wives had issues with jealousy and self-worth, and she compared Kody to a cult leader. Puterman added, "I can't speak for everyone, but I believe in the sanctity of marriage. It's sad to see that TLC's capitalizing on people who don't."[29] Former prosecutor and television personality Nancy Grace criticized the show and said she believed Kody Brown should go to jail, but she expressed doubt he would based on Utah's history of overlooking polygamy.[30] Christine Seifert, an associate professor of communications at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, said the show could give viewers who are unfamiliar with the LDS church the incorrect assumption that polygamy is accepted by the mainstream church.[25] Several commentators have taken notice of the fact that the family's religious convictions are downplayed in Sister Wives.[26][28][31]

text: Ratings[edit]

text: According to Nielsen Media Research, the September 26, 2010, one-hour premiere episode of Sister Wives drew 2.26 million viewers,[32] a strong rating for the network. It marked the biggest series debut for TLC since Cake Boss launched in 2009 and was a stronger rating than any of the season premieres for HBO's Big Love.[33] The remaining episodes of the first season were each a half-hour long, with two broadcast together each Thursday. In the second week, the first episode drew 1.88 million viewers, while the second drew 2.13 million.[34] The third week drew similar results, with 1.89 million viewers watching the first episode and 2.05 million watching the second.[35] Sister Wives drew its strongest ratings during the fourth and final week of the first season, with 2.67 million viewers for the first episode and 2.74 million for the season finale.[12] As a result of the 2.7 million average viewership for the two episodes, TLC ranked first among all ad-support cable channels in the 18–49 and 25–54 age groups. The series drew double- and triple-digit ratings gains in all key demographics and ranked second in ad-supported cable network shows during its time period.[36]

text: Brown Family[edit]

text: Parents[edit]

text:
Name
Date of birth
Wedding Date

Kody Winn Brown
(1968-01-19) January 19, 1968 (age 50)

Meri Caroline Brown
(1971-01-16) January 16, 1971 (age 47)
April 21, 1990

Janelle Brown
(1969-05-05) May 5, 1969 (age 48)
January 17, 1993

Christine Ruth Brown
(1972-04-18) April 18, 1972 (age 45)
March 25, 1994

Robyn Alice Brown
(1978-10-09) October 9, 1978 (age 39)
May 22, 2010

text: Children[edit]

text:
Name
Date of birth
Parents
Notes

1
Logan Taylor
(1994-05-21) May 21, 1994 (age 23)
Janelle & Kody
Engaged to Michelle Petty

2
Aspyn Kristine
(1995-03-14) March 14, 1995 (age 22)
Christine & Kody
Engaged to David Mitchell Thompson

3
Mariah Lian
(1995-07-29) July 29, 1995 (age 22)
Meri & Kody
Dating Audrey Kriss

4
Madison Rose
(1995-11-03) November 3, 1995 (age 22)
Janelle & Kody
Married to Caleb Brush with one child

5
Mykelti Ann
(1996-06-09) June 9, 1996 (age 21)
Christine & Kody
Married to Antonio "Tony" Padron

6
Hunter Elias
(1997-02-08) February 8, 1997 (age 20)
Janelle & Kody

7
Paedon Rex
(1998-08-07) August 7, 1998 (age 19)
Christine & Kody

8
Robert Garrison
(1998-10-31) October 31, 1998 (age 19)
Janelle & Kody

9
David Dayton
(2000-01-16) January 16, 2000 (age 18)
Robyn
Born David Preston, Changed name when adopted by Kody.

10
Gabriel
(2001-01-08) January 8, 2001 (age 17)
Janelle & Kody

11
Gwendlyn
(2001-07-23) July 23, 2001 (age 16)
Christine & Kody

12
Aurora Alice
(2002-06-04) June 4, 2002 (age 15)
Robyn
Adopted by Kody

13
Ysabel Paige
(2003-03-07) March 7, 2003 (age 14)
Christine & Kody

14
Savanah
(2004-12-07) December 7, 2004 (age 13)
Janelle & Kody

15
Breanna Rose
(2005-07-10) July 10, 2005 (age 12)
Robyn
Adopted by Kody

16
Truely Grace
(2010-04-13) April 13, 2010 (age 7)
Christine & Kody

17
Solomon Kody
(2011-10-26) October 26, 2011 (age 6)
Robyn & Kody

18
Ariella Mae
(2016-01-10) January 10, 2016 (age 2)

text: Children-In-Law[edit]

text:
Name
Date of birth
Spouse
Wedding Date

1
Caleb James Brush
1987 (age 30–31)
Madison Brown
June 4, 2016

2
Antonio "Tony" Padron
1994 (age 23–24)
Mykelti Brown
December 17, 2016

text: Grandchildren[edit]

text:
Name
Date of birth
Parents

1
Axel James
(2017-05-20)May 20, 2017 (age &&&&&&&&&&&&02508 months 5 days)
Madison & Caleb

text: Litigation[edit]

text: This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2018)


document_title: Benue State

question_text: list of local government area in benue state

text: Benue State

text: History of Benue State[edit]

text: Population Structure and Distribution[edit]

text: The State which is in the has a total population of 4,253,641 in 2006 census, with an average population density of 99 persons per km2. This makes Benue the 9th most populous state in Nigeria. However, the distribution of the population according to Local government areas shows marked duality.

text: There are areas of low population density . such as Guma, Gwer East, Ohimini, Katsina-Ala, Apa, Logo and Agatu, each with less than seventy persons per km2, while Vandeikya, Okpokwu, Ogbadibo, Obi and Gboko have densities ranging from 140 persons to 200 persons per km2. Makurdi LGA has over 380 person per km2. The males are 49.8 percent of the total population while females constitute 50.2 per cent.

text: Settlement Pattern and Urbanization[edit]

text: Benue State region was depleted of its human population during the slave trade. It is largely rural, with scattered settlements mainly in tiny compounds or homesteads, whose population range from 630 people, most of whom are farmers.

text: Urbanization in Benue State did not predate the colonial era. The few towns established during colonial rule remained very small(less than 30,000 people) up to the creation of Benue State in 1976.

text: Benue towns can be categorised into three groups. The first group consists of those with a population of 80,000 to 500,000 people. These include Makurdi, the State Capital, Gboko and Otukpo the "headquarters" of the two dominant ethnic groups (125,944 and 88,958 people respectively). The second group comprises towns with a population of between 20,000 and 50,000 people and includes Katsina-Ala, Zaki-Biam, Ukum￼￼, and Adikpo, Kwande. These are all local government headquarters. The third category comprises towns with a population of 10,000 to 19,000 people and includes Vandeikya, Lessel, lhugh, Naka, Adoka, Aliade, Okpoga, lgumale, Oju, Utonkon, Ugbokolo, Wannune, Ugbokpo, Otukpa, Ugba and Korinya. Most of these towns are headquarters of recently created Local Government Areas and/or district headquarters or major market areas. Some of the headquarters of the newly created LGAs have populations of less than 10,000 people. Such places include Tse-Agberaba, Gbajimba, Buruku, Idekpa, Obagaji and Obarikeito. Apart from earth roads, schools, periodic markets and chemists(local drug stores), the rural areas are largely used for farming, relying on the urban centres for most of their urban needs. Benue State has no problem of capital city primacy. Rather, three towns stand out very clearly as important urban centres which together account for more than 70 per cent of the social amenities provided in the state and almost all the industrial establishments. These centres are Makurdi, Gboko and Otukpo. They are amongst the oldest towns in the state and are growing at a much faster rate than the smaller younger towns.

text: Makurdi doubles as the capital of the state and the headquarters of Makurdi LGA, while Gboko, Otukpo and Oju double as local government and ethnic headquarters (i.e. for Tiv, Idoma, and Igede). All the roads in the state radiate from these three centres. As an administrative unit, Benue State was first created on 3 February 1976. It was one of the seven states created by the military administration headed by General Murtala Mohammed, which increased the number of states in the country from 13 to 19. In 1991, its boundaries were re-adjusted with the creation of Kogi State. The new Benue State of today has twenty (23) local government areas, which are administered by local government councils.

text: Geology and Environment[edit]

text: Benue State lies within the lower river Benue trough in the middle belt region of Nigeria. Its geographic coordinates are longitude 7° 47' and 10° 0' East. Latitude 6° 25' and 8° 8' North; and shares boundaries with five other states namely: Nasarawa State to the north, Taraba State to the east, Cross-River State to the south, Enugu State to the south-west and Kogi State to the west. The state also shares a common boundary with the Republic of Cameroon on the south-east. Benue occupies a landmass of 34,059 square kilometres.

text: Geology[edit]

text: Based on Köppen climate classification, Benue State lies within the AW climate and experiences two distinct seasons, the Wet season and the Dry season. The rainy season lasts from April to October with annual rainfall in the range of 100-200mm. The dry season begins in November and ends in March. Temperatures fluctuate between 21 – 37 degrees Celsius in the year. The south-eastern part of the state adjoining the Obudu-Cameroun mountain range, however, has a cooler climate similar to that of the Jos Plateau.

text: Much of Benue State falls within the Benue Valley/trough which is believed to be structurally developed. During the Tertiary and possibly the Interglacial periods of the Quaternary glaciation, the Benue and Niger Valleys, otherwise known as the Niger/Benue trough, were transgressed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, marine sediments form the dominant surface geology of much of Benue State.

text: Mineral Resources[edit]

text: Benue State is blessed with abundant mineral resources. These resources are distributed in the Local Government Areas of the state. Of these mineral resources, only Limestone at Tse-Kucha near Gboko and Kaolinite at Otukpo are being commercially exploited. Other mineral deposits include Baryte, Gypsum, Feldspar, Wolframite, Kaolinite, mineral salts and Gemstone etc.

text: Natural Resources[edit]

text: Benue State is the nation's acclaimed food basket because of its rich agricultural produce which include Yam, Rice, Beans, Cassava, Sweet-potato, Maize, Soybean, Sorghum, Millet, Sesame, cocoyam etc. The state accounts for over 70% of Nigeria's Soybean production.

text: Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, engaging over 75% of the state farming population. The State also boasts of one of the longest stretches of river systems in the country with great potential for a viable fishing industry, dry season farming through irrigation and for an inland water highway.

text: The vegetation of the southern parts of the state is characterised by forests, which yield trees for timber and provide a suitable habitat for rare animals types and species. The state thus possesses potential for the development of viable forest and wildlife reserves.

text: Relief and Drainage[edit]

text: The land is generally low lying (averaging 100m-250m) and gently undulating with occasional inselbergs, Knoll, Laterite etc. It is only at the boundary area with Cameroon, also Kwande and Oju Local Government Areas that hilly terrain with appreciable local relief is encountered. Here, the terrain is characterised by steep slopes, deep incised valleys and generally rugged relief. Elsewhere, gradients average less than 4°. River Benue is the dominant geographical feature in the state. It is one of the few large rivers in Nigeria. The Katsina-Ala is the largest tributary, while the smaller rivers include Mkomon, Amile, Duru, Loko Konshisha, Kpa, Okpokwu, Mu, Be, Aya, Apa Ogede and Ombi. The flood plains which are characterised by extensive swamps and ponds are good for dry season irrigated farming.

text: Though Benue State has high drainage density many of the streams are seasonal. Hence, there is an acute water shortage in the dry season in Local Government Areas such as Guma, Okpokwu, Ogbadibo, Gwer West (Naka, Nigeria) and Oju.

text: People and culture[edit]

text: The state is populated by several ethnic groups: Tiv, Idoma, Igede, Etulo, Abakpa, Jukun, Hausa, Igbo, Akweya and Nyifon. The Tiv are the dominant ethnic group, occupying 14 local government areas with the Etulo and Jukun , while the Idoma, Igede, Igbo, Akweya and Nyifon occupy the remaining nine local government areas.

text: Most of the people are farmers while the inhabitants of the river areas engage in fishing as their primary or important secondary occupation. The people of the state are famous for their cheerful and hospitable disposition as well as rich cultural heritage.

text: Traditional Rulers[edit]

text: The Benue State Government accords high respect to traditional rulers in recognition of their role as custodians of culture and as agents of development. Also, their roles in enhancing peace and order at the grassroots level are also recognised. To enhance their contribution to the affairs of the state, government has established a three-tier traditional council system made up of Local Government Area Traditional Councils, Area Traditional Councils and the State Council of Chiefs with the Tor Tiv (Tiv king) as chairman.

text: The two Area Councils are the Tiv Traditional Council and the Idoma Traditional Council. The former has the Tor Tiv(Tiv King) as chairman of all the traditional rulers from the Tiv dominant Local Government Areas, while the latter has the Och' Idoma (Idoma king) as the chairman of all the traditional rulers from the Idoma dominant Local Government Areas.

text: The State Council of Chiefs had the Tor Tiv, Orchivirigh Professor James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse (Tor Tiv V) ([5]), with Och'Idoma and all second class Chiefs/Chairmen of the Local Government Traditional Council as members.

text: Culture[edit]

text: Benue State possesses a rich and diverse cultural heritage which finds expression in colourful cloths, exotic masquerades, supplicated music and dances. Traditional dances from Benue State have won acclaim at national and international cultural festivals. The most popular of these dances include Ingyough, Ange, Anchanakupa, Swange and Ogirinya among others.

text: The socio-religious festivals of the people, colourful dances, dresses and songs are also of tourist value. The Alekwu ancestral festival of the Idoma people, for instance, is an occasion when the local people believe their ancestors re-established contact with the living in the form of masquerades.

text: The lgede-Agba is a Yam Festival, marked every year in September by the lgede people of Oju and Obi local government areas. Among the Tiv, the Tiv Day, marriage ceremonies and dance competitions (e.g. Swange dance) are often very colourful. Kwagh-hir is a very entertaining Tiv puppet show.

text: Social life in Benue State is also enriched by the availability of diverse recreational facilities. Apart from parks, beaches, dancing and masquerades mentioned above, the big hotels in Makurdi, Gboko and Otukpo are equipped with several indoor sporting facilities. There are golf clubs, the Makurdi Club, Railway Club, Police Club and Air Force Club, where, apart from the sale of drinks and snacks, various types of games are played.

text: There is a standard Arts Theatre, a modern Sports Complex which includes the Aper Aku Stadium, which has provisions for such games as tennis, basketball, volleyball and handball, an indoor sports hall and Olympic size swimming pool in Makurdi. A Smaller stadia exist in Gboko (J. S. Tarka Stadium), Katsina-Ala, Adikpo, Vandeikya and Otukpo. The BCC Lawn Tennis tournament attracts players from all over the country. Benue State has three teams in the professional soccer ranks, Lobi Stars F.C. in Division One, BCC Lions FC in Division Two, Mark mentors as the basketball premier league team.

text: The State Capital[edit]

text: Makurdi, the state capital was established in the early twenties and gained prominence in 1927 when it became the headquarters of the then Benue Province. Being a river port, it attracted the establishment of trading depots by companies such as United Africa Company of Nigeria and John Holt plc. Its commercial status was further enhanced when the Railway Bridge was completed and opened in 1932. In 1976, the town became the capital of Benue State and today, doubles as the headquarters of Makurdi Local Government Area.

text: The town is divided by the River Benue into the north and south banks, which are connected by two bridges: the railway bridge, which was built in 1932, and the new dual carriage bridge commissioned in 1978.

text: The southern part of the town is made up of several wards, including Central Ward, Old GRA, Ankpa Ward, Wadata Ward, High Level, Wurukum (Low Level), New GRA etc. Important establishments and offices located here include the Government House, The State Secretariat, The Federal Secretariat, The Central Bank of Nigeria Regional headquarters, Commercial Banks, Telecommunication companies, Police Headquarters, Nigeria Prisons Service, Aper Aku Stadium, Nigeria Air force Base, Makurdi, The Makurdi Modern Market, the Federal Medical Centre, Nigeria Railway Station, Benue Printing and Publishing Company Limited, Radio Benue, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Nigerian Postal service, Benue Hotels Makurdi, Benue Plaza hotel, Benue State University, Benue State Breweries.

text: The North bank area of the town houses among other establishments, the Federal University of Agriculture, the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering, the headquarters of the 72 Airborne Battalion and the State Headquarters of the Department of Customs and Excise.

text: Owing to its location in the valley of River Benue, Makurdi experiences warm temperatures most of the year. The period from November to January, when the harmattan weather is experienced is, however, relatively cool.

text: Makurdi can be reached by air, rail, road and water. The major northern route is the Makurdi – Lafia – Jos road. The southern routes are Makurdi – Otukpo – Enugu and Makurdi – Yandev – Adikpo – Calabar roads. Traffic from the west comes through Makurdi – (3) Naka – Adoka Ankpa (3) – Okene (1) roads and from the east through Makurdi – Yandev – Katsina Ala – Wukari roads. These Makurdi Rail Bridge provides the only rail link between the northern and eastern parts of Nigeria.

text: Makurdi Airport has the Nigerian Airways and other private airlines provide air links between Makurdi and the rest of the country. The beautiful beaches of River Benue can be exploited to provide good sites for relaxation. The river itself provides tourist opportunities for boating angling and swimming. The Makurdi Moratorium that houses a variety of animals including some rare species also serves as another feature of tourist attraction.

text: Local Government Areas[edit]

text: Benué State consists of twenty-three (23) Local Government Areas. They are:

text:
Local Government Area
Headquarters

Ado
Igumale

Agatu
Obagaji

Apa
Ugbokpo

Buruku
Buruku

Gboko
Gboko

Guma
Gbajimba

Gwer East
Aliade

Gwer West
Naka

Katsina-Ala
Katsina-Ala

Konshisha
Tse-Agberagba

Kwande
Adikpo

Logo
Ugba

Makurdi
Makurdi

Obi
Obarike-Ito

Ogbadibo
Otukpa

Ohimini
Idekpa

Oju
Anyuwogbu-ibilla

Okpokwu
Okpoga

Otukpo
Otukpo

Tarka
Wannune

Ukum
Sankera

Ushongo
Lessel

Vandeikya
Vandeikya

text: Economy[edit]

text: Agricultural production[edit]

text: Agriculture forms the backbone of the Benue State economy, engaging more than 70 per cent of the working population. This has made Benue the major source of food production in the Nation. It can still be developed because most of the modern techniques are not yet popular to 98% of Nigeria. Mechanization and plantation agriculture/agro-forestry are still at its infancy. Farm inputs such as fertilizers, improved seed, insecticides and other foreign methods are being increasingly used. However, cost and availability is still a challenge. Important cash crops include Soy-beans, Rice, Peanuts, mango varieties, Citrus etc. Other cash crops include Palm oil, Melon, African pear, Chili pepper, Tomatoes etc. Food crops indude Yam, Cassava, Sweet potato, Beans, Maize, Millet, Guinea corn, Vegetables etc. There is very little irrigation agriculture and techniques.

text: Animal production include, Cattle, Pork, Poultry and Goat but no dairy and dairy products yet.

text: Commerce and industry[edit]

text: Banking services are available as all the banks in Nigeria have branches in the state with the Central Bank of Nigeria having its regional headquarters in Makurdi. Dangote Cement Company is a private company that operates within the state and provides a little employment to the people.

text: This is a rough estimated employment percentage in the state: 75% are farmers, 10% traders, 6% civil servants, 9% private.

text: Benue State has the capacity to support a wide range of industries using local agricultural and mineral resources although potentials are yet to be exploited. Private initiatives in commerce and industry, particularly by indigenes, is as also on a small scale and is limited to carpentry, shoe repairs and manufacturing, small scale rice mills, leather and plastic industries, weaving, printing, catering, block making, food processing etc. Industry and commerce have been greatly retarded by the absence of capital funds, basic infrastructure and the frequent political changes.

text: Infrastructure and Transportation[edit]

text: The location of Benue State in the centre of the country plus the presence of bridges on two large rivers, the Benue River and Katsina-Ala River, make the state a major cross-roads centre. Two major highways connect the Eastern States to the North and North East. The present government has shown commitment to the construction of roads within the state capital Makurdi and other major roads leading in and out of the state. The roads are in an excellent condition.

text: The Federal government is also remodelling and expanding the Makurdi Airport to become the largest agricultural cargo airport in the country.

text: The rivers Benue and Katsina-Ala only needs to be dredged and a modern river port built at Makurdi, Turan, Buruku and Katsina-Ala to transport goods all over the nation since the state is at the middle of the country. Ships are sighted very occasionally offloading cargo for Benue company at the Abinsi jetty.

text: The eastern rail line connects Makurdi, Otukpo, Taraku, Utonkon and lgumale with the rest of the country. Altogether, about 180 km of rail line traverses the state.

text: Power supply[edit]

text: Electricity is not yet stable but industrialists use private power plants.

text: Telecommunications[edit]

text: Benue has facilities for the GSM service companies operating in the Country The state also has 4 radio stations and 2 television stations.

text: Tourism and Recreation[edit]

text: Benue State possesses immense tourism potentials which are yet to be exploited. Since some of the tourist attractions are best selected by the tourist, Benue State in her bid to develop tourism embarked on infrastructural development necessary for the overall well being of the tourist. The options are still opened to foreign investors.

text: The programme of road development, hotels, postal, telephone and Email services, electricity, potable water, recreational facilities and the general hospitality of the people will eventually open up the state to tourists. An amusement park and Zoo have been developed at Makurdi. There is a wild life park at lkwe where a conference hall and chalets have been built to serve tourists. Tourist attractions in the state may be grouped into natural scenic, historical monuments and festivals.

text: Natural Attractions in Benue State include hills and ranges such as Ikyogen, Abande, Ngokur, Mkar, Ushongo and Harga. There is a heavily wooded natural trench at Tse-Mker which is believed to be inhabited by dangerous creatures including Pythons. Gurgul is a waterfall on Katsina Ala River. The border stretch adjoining the Obudu/South Cameroon Plateau ranges features a beautiful scenery of forests, dissected hills, Dykes, dozens of fast flowing streams and incised valleys. In the Dry season, the water level in both the Benue River and Katsina-Ala River falls, giving rise to beautiful sandy river beaches and clean shallow waters. The waters are excellent for recreational boating and swimming. At Orokam in Ogbadibo Local government areas, occurs the Enumabia Warm Spring.At Epwa-Ibilla, Andi-Ibilla, Uchenyum-Ibilla, Okochi-Uwokwu, Irachi-Uwokwu, Ette-Uda-Uwokwu, Odepa-Uwokwu, Igbegi-Ipinu-Uwokwu, Edde-Ibilla-Uwokwu, and Ohuma-Uwokwu of Oju, are springs of clean water. There are masses of unusually tall trees in the deep valleys and on the pretty steep highlands, which are all however inhabited.

text: Historical monuments in the state include the Royal Niger Company Trading Stores at Makurdi and Gbileve near Katsina-Ala; the tombs of the first Dutch missionaries at Harga and Sai in Katsina-Ala Local Government Areas; the tombs of the legendary politician, Mr. J. S. Tarka and past three Tor Tiv in Gboko town; and the trench fortifications in Turan district of Kwande local government areas which were dug by the Tiv to ward off Chamba invasions in the 19th century.

text: At Utonkon, is a thick forest with tall giant trees, the centre of which used to serve as a slave trade market, but is now the site of shrines and a periodic market. Swem is a shrine site at the foot of the Cameroon range in Kwande local government area from where the Tivs were said to have originated.