IRVING, Texas (May 22, 2014) – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced today the 2014 College Football Hall of Fame Class, which includes the names of 14 First Team All-America players and two legendary coaches. The inductees were selected from the national ballot of 75 All-America players and six elite coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and the 87 players and 26 coaches from the divisional ranks. PrimeSport, the leader in providing direct access to the biggest sporting events on the planet, served as the official presenting sponsor of the announcement, which took place at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.

2014 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

                                             Players:

·       DRE BLY– DB, North Carolina (1996-98)

·       TONY BOSELLI –OT, Southern California (1991-94)

·       DAVE BUTZ –DT, Purdue (1970-72)

·       SHANE CONLAN– LB, Penn State (1983-86)

·       JOE HAMILTON –QB, Georgia Tech (1996-99)

·       JOHN HUARD –LB, Maine (1964-66)

·       DARRIN NELSON –HB, Stanford (1977-78, 1980-81)

·       WILLIE ROAF –OL, Louisiana Tech (1989-92)

·       JOHN SCIARRA –QB, UCLA (1972-75)

·       STERLING SHARPE –WR, South Carolina (1983, 1985-87)

·       LEONARD SMITH –CB, McNeese State (1980-82)

·       DERRICK THOMAS(deceased) –LB, Alabama (1985-88)

·       LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON –TB, TCU (1997-00)

·       WESLEY WALLS –TE, Mississippi (1985-88)

                                             Coaches:

·       MIKE BELLOTTI –137-80-2 (63%); Chico State (Calif.) (1984-88) and Oregon (1995-08)

·       JERRY MOORE –242-135-2 (64.1%); North Texas (1979-80), Texas Tech (1981-85) and Appalachian State (1989-12)

"We are extremely proud to announce the 2014 College Football Hall of Fame Class," said Archie Manning, NFF Chairman and a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Ole Miss. "Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments at the new Hall of Fame in Atlanta as an inspiration to future generations."

For the first time in the history of the organization, the NFF has combined the inductees from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, Division III and the NAIA into one class. In 1996, the NFF started formally inducting players from the divisional ranks. College Football Hall of Fame coach Eddie Robinson called the change one of the best things to ever happen in college football at the time, and the change has proven to be extremely successful during the past 18 years with the 144 divisional inductees.  

"Combining the inductees into one class allows us to create a unified platform for honoring the game's greatest legends," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "The change completes the process that we began in 1996, creating a cohesive process for what it means to be a Hall of Famer. We are grateful for the guidance, knowledge and vision of honors court chairmen Gene Corrigan (FBS) and Jack Lengyel(divisional) for making the change possible and the essential role that they play each in selecting the inductees."

The 2014 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be inducted together at the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 9, 2014, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The inductees will also be honored at the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2015, and they will be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with on-campus salutes during the fall. Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized in the new $66.5 million College Football Hall of Fame, currently under construction in Atlanta and scheduled to open in August of 2014.

2014 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS NOTES

PLAYERS:

·       FOURNFF National Scholar-Athletes (Boselli, Nelson, Sciarra, Walls)

·       TWOunanimous First Team All-Americans (Thomas, Tomlinson)

·       SEVENconsensus First Team All-Americans (Bly – 2, Boselli, Butz, Conlan, Hamilton, Roaf, Sciarra)

·       THREEmulti-year First Team All-Americans* *(Bly – 3, Boselli – 2, Huard – 2)

·       THREE winners of college football major awards (Hamilton – Davey O'Brien; Thomas – Butkus; Tomlinson – Doak  Walker)                      

·       FOURconference player of the year honorees (Bly, Smith, Thomas, Tomlinson)

·       FIVEbowl game MVP (Butz, Conlan – 2, Hamilton – 2, Sciarra, Thomas, Tomlinson – 2)

·       ONEmember of a national championship team (Conlan)

·       FOURmembers of conference championship teams (Hamilton, Sciarra, Smith, Tomlinson)

·       NINEfirst-round NFL draft picks (Boselli, Butz, Conlan, Nelson, Roaf, Sharpe, Smith, Thomas, Tomlinson)

·       EIGHToffensive players (Boselli, Hamilton, Nelson, Roaf, Sciarra, Sharpe, Tomlinson, Walls)

·       SIXdefensive players (Bly, Butz, Conlan, Huard, Smith, Thomas)

·       FIVE decades represented: 1960s(1)*– Huard;1970s(4) – Butz, Nelson, Sciarra;1980s(6) – Conlan, Nelson, Sharpe, Smith, Thomas, Walls;1990s(5) – Bly, Boselli, Hamilton, Roaf, Tomlinson;2000s* (1) – Tomlinson

·       TWOschools have players in the Hall for the first time (Maine – Huard; McNeese State – Smith)

COACHES:

·       THREE national championships (Moore)

·       12conference championships (Bellotti – 2, Moore – 10)

·       12bowl berths (Bellotti)

·       18 playoff appearances (Moore)

·       Winningest football coach in school history (Bellotti, Oregon – 67.8%)

·       Most wins in schools history (Moore, Appalachian State – 215)

·       THREENFF National Scholar-Athletes coached (Bellotti – Dennis Dixon [Oregon]; Moore – Donald Campbell and Tony  Washington [Appalachian State])

SELECTION CRITERIA

1. First and foremost, a player must have received First Team All-America recognition by a selector organization that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise their consensus All-America teams.

2. A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation's honors courts ten years after his final year of intercollegiate football played.

3. While each nominee's football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post football record as a citizen is also weighed.  He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community and fellow man.  Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree.

4. Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years*.  For example, to be eligible for the 2014 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1964 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire.

5. A coach becomes eligible three years after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years of age. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage*.

• Players that do not comply with the 50-year rule may still be eligible for consideration by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Divisional Honors Review Committees, which examine unique cases.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME QUICK FACTS

·     Including the 2014 Hall of Fame class, only 948 players and 207 coaches, have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.06 million who have played or coached the game during the past 145 years. In other words, less thantwo ten-thousandths of one percent (.0002) of the individuals who have played the game have been deemed worthy of this distinction.

·    Founded in 1947, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame inducted its first class of inductees in 1951. The first class included 32 players and 19 coaches, including Illinois' Red Grange, Notre Dame's Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Carlisle's Jim Thorpe.

·      300 schools are represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer.

·      Induction for this class of Hall of Famers will take place Dec. 9, 2014 at the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City's historic Waldorf Astoria.

TONY BOSELLIUniversity of Southern California* *Offensive Tackle, 1991-94

One of the most successful offensive linemen of his era both on and off the field, Boselli ended his decorated career at USC as a two-time All-American and a 1994 NFF National Scholar-Athlete. He becomes the 30th Trojan to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.

Earning consensus First-Team All-America honors his senior season, the 1994 team captain and MVP was a finalist for the Outland Trophy and a two-time semifinalist for the Lombardi Award. The 1994 Morris Trophy winner as the top offensive lineman in the Pac-10, Boselli led the Trojans to three consecutive bowls, including victories in the 1993 Freedom Bowl and 1995 Cotton Bowl. A three-time All-Pac 10 selection and USC's Offensive Player of the Year his rookie season, he earned academic all-conference honors three times and received the Trojans' Howard Jones Football Alumni Club Academic Award as a senior. Boselli played under Hall of Fame coach John Robinson and coach Larry Smith.

The first-ever draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Boselli was selected as the second overall pick in 1995. The five-time Pro Bowl selection played seven seasons with the Jaguars before finishing his career with the Houston Texans in 2002.

The Modesto, Calif., native was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. A founding partner of IF Marketing, he established the Boselli Foundation in 1995 to work with at-risk youth and help them to cultivate high self-esteem and to succeed at home, at school and at play. He currently works as a radio analyst for Jacksonville Jaguars games and show host on AM 1010XL.