College Football

College Football Hall of Fame ballot is stacked, but eligibility rules need a tweak

Updated Jun. 5, 2023 11:14 a.m. ET

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RJ Young

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

More than 200 people have been nominated and awarded a spot on the ballot for selection to the College Football Hall of Fame's 2024 class.

Among them are all-time great players like Mike Vick, Larry Fitzgerald and Peter Warrick. You also can scan the list and find coaches like Larry Coker, Frank Solich, Tommy Tuberville and Mark Dantonio.

Mike Leach belongs in that group. But you won't see him on the ballot for at least three years, and, even then, he still might not be there.

Despite being one of the most intelligent and entertaining coaches in the sport, with a winning percentage that's bowl-game eligible, Leach is not eligible to be nominated for the Hall under current rules.

But the National Football Foundation, which oversees the Hall, is taking a look at its rules, specifically the one that might prevent Leach from reaching the ballot at all.

"There are meetings coming up and the issue of Mike Leach will be discussed," an NFF administrator told FOX Sports.

With the passing of the former Mississippi State, Washington State and Texas Tech head coach in December, I learned he would not be eligible for the Hall of Fame under the NFF's rule for coaches selection. 

The NFF considers coaches eligible to join the Hall "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."

Leach was a head coach for 23 years.

Leach was 61 years of age when he passed last December.

Leach won 59.6% of his games — four-tenths short of the threshold for consideration.

The ballot includes 179 players and 41 coaches across all divisions of the sport, who will be considered for induction by the more than 12,000 members of the National Football Foundation. It's a star-studded group led by former Virginia Tech quarterback and Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

The criteria for selection as a player, according to the NFF:

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

"A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation's Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his final year of intercollegiate football played.

"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 the candidate earned a college degree.

"Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years.* For example, to be eligible for the 2024 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1974 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."

Nominations can only be made by coaches, athletic directors or athletic communications directors at a candidate's school. Votes must be submitted by June 30.

Following the vote's tally, the NFF's Honors Court, chaired by former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin "will deliberate and select the class."

More than 5.6 million people have played the sport in more than 153 years, according to the NFF, but only 1,074 have been selected for the Hall. The most significant reason for this is that the Hall's rules for selection include that a player must have been selected as a First Team All-American.

When this rule fell short, I wrote about it on behalf of former Toledo quarterback Chuck Ealey in 2021. Ealey, who was undefeated in three years at Toledo, was named a First Team All-American by Football News in 1971, but Football News was not a selector the NFF recognized, and he was running out of time.

The NFF's FBS and Divisional Veterans Committee, which has authority to consider players past the 50-year threshold, reexamined Ealey's résumé and voted him into the Hall. He was selected to the Hall in 2022.

"The Hall's requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell in a release. "Being in today's elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game."

But such an elite group does not always encompass the scope of a player or coach's accomplishments, nor what they mean to those who matter most — the fans.

I count myself among them. I care about how this sport's story is told, and who the Hall selects is representative of that story. The criteria might mandate that the AP, AFCA, FWAA, Sporting News and Walter Camp All-America teams act as gatekeepers, but it's far from perfect.

Take Trevor Lawrence, for instance. He was the first quarterback to lead his team to a 15-0 season, and he was the first true freshman quarterback since Jamelle Holieway to lead his team to a national championship.

But if the Football Writers Association of America — of which I am a member — had not selected the Clemson quarterback to its First Team, he would not have been eligible for nomination for the Hall when his time comes.

If you're making a stinky face like a toddler who refuses to eat her carrots, then you're getting the idea: That would not be right. 

And, though, it can be fixed by the failsafe veterans committee, it should never come down to that. A player of Lawrence's caliber should not fall on the mercy of an NCAA-designated selector who damn well knew Mac Jones was the best quarterback in the sport in 2020, Joe Burrow was in 2019 and Kyler Murray was in 2018.

Turns out, there's more to the sport than who made an All-American First Team as designated by the NCAA. And there's more to a head coach's impact than his winning percentage when he retires or passes away. Turns out, there's more to the game than who won what win — just like every football player or coach will tell you.

All I'm asking is that you walk it like you talk it and change the rules to reflect the soul of the game.

The following is the list of players who are on the ballot for the first time.

• Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin
• Greg Eslinger, C, Minnesota
• Deon Figures, CB, Colorado
• Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Pitt
• Michael Huff, DB, Texas
• Daymeion Hughes, CB, California
• Ed King, OG, Auburn
• Olin Kruetz, C, Washington
• Andy Levitre, OL, Oregon State
• Terence Newman, DB, Kansas State
• Michael Oher, OL, Ole Miss
• Richard Seymour, DT, Georgia
• Darrin Smith, LB, Miami (FL)
• Takeo Spikes, LB, Auburn
• Terrell Suggs, DE, Arizona State
• Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The Number One College Football Show" on YouTube.

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