The deadline for voting to choose the 2024 CFB Hall of Fame class is June 30. For fans of college football history the CFB Hall of Fame is considered an outstanding honor.
This year 78 players were nominated including former Alabama Crimson Tide star defensive back, Antonio Langham. Voters can select up to 12 players on a ballot along with two of the nine FBS coaches who were nominated.
The Chairman of the National Football Foundation (NFF) Board, which conducts the Hall of Fame selections, is former Ole Miss quarterback, Archie Manning. NFF encourages new memberships and by joining before the deadline, a new member can cast a vote this year. The current number of NFF voters is more than 12,000.
Manning provided data to show how much of an honor it is to be chosen.
"As you peruse the ballot, please keep in mind that of the 5.62 million who have played college football since the first game on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,074 players and 230 coaches have been inducted, including the members of the 2023 Class who will officially join the Hall of Fame in December. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have participated can call themselves a College Football Hall of Famer."
Archie Manning was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
This post considers which two of the coach nominees should be chosen.
Note: Coach qualifications from the NFF website,
"A coach becomes eligible three full seasons 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 football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.Nominations may only be submitted by the current athletics director, head coach or sports information director (SID) of a candidate’s collegiate institution. Nominations may also be submitted by the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation."
2024 College Football Hall of Fame Coach Nominees (summaries provided by NFF)
- LARRY BLAKENEY-TROY (1991-2014) — All-time winningest coach in
Sun Belt Conference history … Four-time conference Coach of the Year who
led the Trojans to eight conference titles (5 – Sun Belt, 3 – Southland) and
seven FCS playoff appearances in eight seasons … Led Troy to four bowl
games, including wins at the 2006 and 2010 New Orleans Bowl. - 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. - PETE CAWTHON SR.-AUSTIN COLLEGE (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. - LARRY COKER-MIAMI (2001-06), UTSA (2011-15) — Posted
a 60-15 record at Miami, including an astounding 35-3 record in his first
three seasons … Led the Canes to consecutive BCS Championship Games,
winning at the 2002 Rose Bowl and becoming the first rookie head coach
to lead his team to a national title since 1948 … Led Miami to three Big
East crowns and orchestrated a dominant 2001 offense that set a Big East
record with 475 points scored in the regular season. - MARK DANTONIO-CINCINNATI (2004-06), MICHIGAN STATE
(2007-19) — Winningest coach in Michigan State history (114 wins) who
boasts the most Big Ten titles in school annals (3) … Two-time Big Ten
Coach of the Year led teams to a Spartan-record 12 bowl games, ranking
fourth in Big Ten history for postseason wins … Just the second Cincy coach
all-time to lead the Bearcats to a bowl in his first season. - RALPH FRIEDGEN-MARYLAND (2001-10) — Two-time ACC Coach of
the Year and only ACC coach to win the conference title in his inaugural
season (2001) … Rebuilt Terps’ program that had only one winning season
and no bowl game appearances since 1990, leading Maryland to seven
bowl games in 10 seasons at the helm … Posted 50 wins after six seasons
behind only Hall of Famer Danny Ford (51). - DARRYL ROGERS-CAL STATE EAST BAY (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 …
Named 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. - FRANK SOLICH-NEBRASKA (1998-03), OHIO (2005-20) — Guided
the Huskers to an 11-2 record and appearance in the BCS championship
game at the Rose Bowl (2001 season) … Two-time Big 12 Coach of the
Year who led Nebraska to three North Division titles and the 1999 Big 12
Championship … Winningest coach in MAC history (115 wins), boasting
12-straight non-losing seasons, 11 bowl game appearances and four MAC
East crowns. - TOMMY TUBERVILLE-MISSISSIPPI (1995-98), AUBURN (1999-
2008), TEXAS TECH (2010-12), CINCINNATI (2013-16) — 2004
National Coach of the Year after leading Auburn to an SEC title and a
perfect 13-0 season … Led the Tigers to four division crowns, two SEC
championship game appearances, and ranks 10th in conference history
with 64 SEC regular season wins … Led Cincinnati to a 9-4 (7-1) record and
a share of the AAC title in 2014.
For me, Mark Dantonio is an easy first choice. I am wavering on my second choice. I believe Larry Blakeney deserves to be elected. He started with Troy being Division II and built the Trojans into something special. At the same time, Larry Coker, winning a college football National Championship at Miami makes him worthy of a vote.
For what it is worth, my last choice among the nine coaches would be Tommy Tuberville.