Steve Spurrier debuts on College Hall of Fame ballot as coach
Steve Spurrier, Peyton Manning and Marshall Faulk will be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year for the first time.
The National Football Foundation released Wednesday the names of 75 former players and six retired coaches who competed in FBS that will be up for election. The latest Hall of Fame class will be announced on Jan. 6 in Tampa, Fla., the site of the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Spurrier retired during last season, finishing a 26-year career as the winningest coach at both South Carolina and Florida.
Spurrier is already in the Hall of Fame as a player, but could also go in as a coach.
Coaches must have coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games and won at least 60 percent of their games.
Manning, the former record-setting quarterback from Tennessee, and Faulk, who led the NCAA in rushing twice during his three seasons at San Diego State, are among 15 players making their first appearance on the ballot.
Coaches on the ballot include Danny Ford, who led Clemson to its only national title, and the late Jim Carlen, who coached at South Carolina as well as Texas Tech and West Virginia.
The ballot also has 95 players and 29 coaches who competed outside of the highest division of college football, including former Mount Union coach Larry Kehres, who won 11 Division III national titles with the Purple Raiders.
To be eligible for the ballot, a player must have been a first-team All-American by one of the five organizations used by the NCAA to determine the consensus All-America team: The Associated Press; the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers of America Association; the Sporting News; and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
COACH CANDIDATE BIOS
Steve Spurrier-Duke (1987-89), Florida (1990-01), South Carolina (2005-15)-Winningest head coach in both University of Florida and University of South Carolina history, ranking second all-time in wins in SEC annals…Led Gators to 1996 National Championship and six SEC titles…Posted seven conference championships, nine conference coach of the year honors and 21 bowl appearances in 26-year career.
Jim Carlen-West Virginia (1966-69), Texas Tech (1970-74), South Carolina (1975-81)-Led teams to eight bowl games and 13 winning seasons in 16 years as head coach…1973 National Coach of the Year…Three-time Southwest Conference Coach of the Year… Coached Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers at South Carolina.
Danny Ford-Clemson (1978-89), Arkansas (1993-97)-Led Tigers to perfect 12-0 season and national title in 1981…Won five ACC championships and twice named conference coach of the year…Boasts four of the top five winningest seasons in school history and set Clemson record with 41 consecutive weeks in AP Top 20…Led Arkansas to first SEC West title in 1995.
Pete Cawthon Sr.-Austin College [Texas] (1923-27), Texas Tech (1930-40)-Led Tech to four Border Conference titles in 11 seasons at the helm…Led 1938 team to 10-0 regular season and the school’s first-ever Cotton Bowl appearance…Boasts highest win percentage (69.3) among Tech coaches with terms of three years or more.
Billy Jack Murphy-Memphis (1958-71)-All-time winningest coach in Memphis history…Had 11 winning seasons and retired as the 15th winningest coach in the nation…Member of the Memphis Hall of Fame and Mississippi State Hall of Fame.
Darryl Rogers-Cal State East Bay [formerly Cal State Hayward] (1965), Fresno State (1966-72), San Jose State (1973-75), Michigan State (1976-79), Arizona State (1980-84)-Took Fresno State to two bowl games...Achieved an unprecedented national ranking at San Jose State…Was Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1977 and National Coach of the Year by Sporting News in 1978…Won the Big Ten title in 1978.