Thaddeus D. Matula

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN

On the streets of Hollywood, a recently retired NFL player is saved from scandal by a homeless veteran. With their "glory days" behind them, the two men bond in search of purpose and identity.

On the heels of a tragedy and the COVID-19 pandemic, a Dallas-based theatre troupe comprised of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are determined to write, rehearse, and perform their 11th annual original musical.

From 1981-1984, a small private school in Dallas owned the best record in college football. The Mustangs of Southern Methodist University were riding high on the backs of the vaunted "Pony Express" backfield. But as the middle of the decade approached, the program was coming apart at the seams. Wins became the only thing that mattered as the University increasingly ceded power of the football program to the city's oil barons and real estate tycoons and flagrant and frequent NCAA violations became the norm. In 1987, the school and the sport were rocked, as the NCAA meted out "the death penalty" on a college football program for the first and only time in its history. SMU would be without football for two years, and the fan base would be without an identity for 20 more until the win in the 2009 Hawaii Bowl. This is the story of Dallas in the 1980's and the greed, power, and corruption that spilled from the oil fields onto the football field and all the way to the Governor's Mansion.

In some ways, Barry Switzer and Brian Bosworth were made for each other. The Oklahoma coach and the linebacker he recruited to play for him were both out-sized personalities who delighted in thumbing their noses at the establishment. And in their three seasons together (1984-86), the unique father-son dynamic resulted in 31 wins and two Orange Bowl victories as Bosworth was awarded the first two Butkus Awards. But then Bosworth's alter ego: "The Boz," took over both their lives and ultimately destroyed their careers. In "Brian and The Boz," Bosworth looks back on the mistakes he made and passes on the lessons he learned to his son. It's a revealing portrait of a man who had and lost it all, and a trip back to a time when enough just wasn't enough.

A deep dive into the lives and experiences of those impacted by the Fidel Castro era in Cuba.

Evan Thompson showed his dedication to our country by waving his flag at passing fighter jets for forty-five years. His passing on October 2nd, 2020 leave pilots wondering why the flags no longer fly.

Fresh off their 2024 College Football Playoff appearance, Thunder On: Resurgence of the SMU Mustangs chronicles SMU's dramatic fall from grace after its football program was issued the harshest penalty in NCAA history and follows the Mustangs' long, improbable climb back to college football relevance. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing college football landscape, the film explores how one private school in Dallas defied history, politics, and financial odds to earn its way back into the big leagues with swagger, strategy, and Texas-sized pride.

A look into the prison industrial complex through the eyes of three houseless men in Dallas.