Peyton Manning hosts as NBC revives quiz show 'College Bowl'

The kids are the stars of "College Bowl," but the Manning brothers Peyton and Cooper certainly make a solid supporting cast.

Premiering at 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, NBC's revival of the classic quiz show that aired on CBS and NBC from 1959 to 1970 brings in 12 schools that are historical or regional rivals to compete head-to-head in a bracketed tournament over four rounds. Each team of three answers questions on a variety of subjects to score the most points. The two teams that make it to the final will compete for $1 million in scholarship money.

Along the way, they'll receive messages of encouragement from their school's famous alumni. Two-time Super Bowl champ Peyton Manning is the host and his older brother Cooper is the sideline reporter. Both are executive producers, along with younger brother Eli (also a two-time Super Bowl winner) and showrunner David Friedman, who thinks the Mannings' playful chemistry will be a draw for viewers.

"It was really important to them to enjoy the experience but also support the kids," Friedman explains. " ... It's very infectious to watch them. They obviously have a great relationship; they get a kick out of each other."

But "College Bowl" is about the students. Though there is only one champion, no one will walk away empty-handed as kids from all 12 participating schools receive some amount of tuition money. That was important to Peyton Manning, who has personally endowed 45 scholarships to support students at his alma mater of the University of Tennessee, as well as the show's sponsor, Capital One.

Tuesday's opener pits SEC adversaries Auburn against Alabama and Michigan versus Minnesota, both of the Big Ten. Future matchups are Morehouse and Columbia, USC and UCLA, Virginia and Xavier, and Peyton's Tennessee versus Cooper's alma mater Mississippi. As teams advance, they're reseeded according to points and pitted against new opponents until two teams are left in the final.

And it's all based on how many questions the players answer correctly.

"We really wanted to have a full range of questions, so that it was viewer-friendly and you could play along at home from the couch and also it challenges the kids ...," Friedman says. "You have to be a student and you have to have a wealth of knowledge and information to do well - and you had to work together as a team."