The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class during “Championship Drive Presented by Capital One” on ESPN.
2022 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS
PLAYERS:
- LaVar Arrington – LB, Penn State (1997-99)
- Champ Bailey – DB, Georgia (1996-98)
- Michael Crabtree – WR, Texas Tech (2007-08)
- Sylvester Croom – C, Alabama (1972-74)
- Mike Doss – S, Ohio State (1999-2002)
- Chuck Ealey – QB, Toledo (1969-71)
- Kevin Faulk – AP/RB, LSU (1995-98)
- Moe Gardner – DT, Illinois (1987-90)
- Boomer Grigsby – LB, Illinois State (2001-04)
- Mike Hass – WR, Oregon State (2002-05)
- Marvin Jones – LB, Florida State (1990-92)
- Andrew Luck – QB, Stanford (2009-11)
- Mark Messner – DT, Michigan (1985-88)
- Terry Miller – RB, Oklahoma State (1974-77)
- Rashaan Salaam – RB, Colorado (1992-94)
- Dennis Thomas – C, Alcorn State (1971-73)
- Zach Wiegert – OT, Nebraska (1991-94)
- Roy Williams – DB, Oklahoma (1999-2001)
COACHES:
- John Luckhardt – 225-70-2 (76.1%); Washington & Jefferson [PA] (1982-98), California [PA] (2002-11)
- Billy Jack Murphy – 91-44-1 (67.3%); Memphis (1958-71)
- Gary Pinkel – 191-110-3 (63.3%); Toledo (1991-2000), Missouri (2001-15)
The 18 First Team All-America players and three standout coaches in the 2022 Class were selected from the national ballot of 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision, the 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks and the NFF Veterans Committee candidates.
“We are extremely proud to announce the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class,” said Archie Manning, NFF Chairman and a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Mississippi. “Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments.”
The 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6 (location TBD).
The inductees will also be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the fall. Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and each inductee will receive a custom ring created by Jostens, the official and exclusive supplier of NFF rings.
The announcement of the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class was made today during “Championship Drive Presented by Capital One” leading up to tonight’s College Football Playoff National Championship.
“We want to thank ESPN for the opportunity to announce the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class during today’s lead up to the College Football Playoff National Championship,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “Today’s announcement shines a light on the accomplishments of some of college football’s greatest legends.”
2022 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS NOTES
PLAYERS:
- 1 Heisman Trophy winner (Salaam)
- 10 unanimous First Team All-Americans (Arrington, Crabtree (2), Doss, Gardner, Jones, Messner, Miller, Salaam, Wiegert, Williams)
- 3 consensus First Team All-Americans (Bailey, Gardner, Jones)
- 8 multi-year First Team All-Americans (Arrington (2), Crabtree (2), Doss (3), Gardner (2), Grigsby (3), Jones (2), Miller (2), Thomas (2))
- 9 winners of college football major awards (Arrington – Bednarik, Butkus; Bailey – Nagurski; Crabtree – Biletnikoff (2); Hass – Biletnikoff; Jones – Butkus, Lombardi; Luck – Maxwell, Walter Camp; Salaam – Doak Walker, Heisman, Walter Camp; Wiegert – Outland; Williams – Nagurski, Thorpe)
- 4 member of national championship teams (Croom, Doss, Wiegert, Williams)
- 11 conference players of the year (Arrington, Doss, Ealey (3), Gardner, Grigsby (3), Luck (2), Messner, Miller (2), Salaam, Thomas, Williams)
- 9 members of conference championship teams (Croom (3), Doss, Ealey (3), Gardner, Jones, Messner (2), Miller, Wiegert (4), Williams)
- 9 players who still hold school records (Crabtree, Doss, Faulk, Grigsby, Hass, Luck, Messner, Miller, Salaam)
- 11 played for College Football Hall of Fame coaches (Arrington – Joe Paterno; Bailey – Jim Donnan; Croom – Paul “Bear” Bryant; Doss – John Cooper & Jim Tressel; Hass – Dennis Erickson; Jones – Bobby Bowden; Messner – Bo Schembechler; Salaam – Bill McCartney; Thomas – Marino Casem; Wiegert – Tom Osborne; Williams – Bob Stoops)
- 8 first-round NFL draft picks (Arrington, Bailey, Crabtree, Jones, Luck, Miller, Salaam, Williams)
- 10 offensive players (Crabtree, Croom, Ealey, Faulk, Hass, Luck, Miller, Salaam, Thomas, Wiegert)
- 8 defensive players (Arrington, Bailey, Doss, Gardner, Grigsby, Jones, Messner, Williams)
- 5 decades represented: 1970s (4) – Croom, Ealey, Miller, Thomas; 1980s (2) – Gardner, Messner; 1990s (6) – Arrington, Bailey, Faulk, Jones, Salaam, Wiegert; 2000s (5) – Crabtree, Doss, Grigsby, Hass, Williams; 2010s (1) – Luck
- 1 school with its first-ever Hall of Fame player (Illinois State – Grigsby)
COACHES:
- 18 conference championships (Luckhardt – 14, Murphy – 3, Pinkel – 1)
- Most wins in school history (Luckhardt – California [PA]; Murphy – Memphis; Pinkel – Toledo, Missouri)
- 28 bowl/postseason appearances (Luckhardt – 16, Murphy – 1, Pinkel – 11)
- 24 First Team All-Americans coached (Luckhardt – 11, Murphy – 4, Pinkel – 9)
- 28 conference coach of the year honors (Luckhardt – 21, Murphy – 3, Pinkel – 4)
- 1 school with its first-ever Hall of Fame coach or player inductee (California [PA] – Luckhardt)
SELECTION CRITERIA
1. First and foremost, a player must have received First Team All-America recognition by a selector recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its consensus All-America teams.
2. A player becomes eligible for consideration by the NFF’s Honors Court 10 full seasons 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. 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 2022 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1972 or thereafter. In addition, current professional players and/or coaches are not eligible until retirement.
5. A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years old. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
6. Nominations may only be submitted by the current athletics director, head coach or sports information director (SID) of a potential candidate’s collegiate institution. Nominations may also be submitted by the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation.
* Players that do not comply with the 50-year rule may still be eligible for consideration by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Divisional Veterans Committees. Veterans Committee candidates must still meet First Team All-America requirement.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME QUICK FACTS
- When the 2022 Hall of Fame Class is officially inducted in December, only 1,056 players and 226 coaches will have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.54 million who have played or coached the game during the past 152 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played the game have earned 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 22 coaches, including Illinois’ Red Grange, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Carlisle (PA)’s Jim Thorpe.
- 316 schools are represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer.
- Induction for the 2022 Class will take place Dec. 6 during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner.
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