Football: Nehlen, Harris on Hall of Fame Ballot
March 05, 2004 12:07 PM | General
March 5, 2004
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| Nehlen |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Don Nehlen and Major Harris are among the candidates released today by the National Football Foundation for inclusion in the College Football Hall of Fame.
A total of 76 players and nine coaches are vying for induction in 2004.
The ballot was mailed this week to more than 13,000 members of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, whose votes will be recorded and submitted to the Foundations’ Honors Court, an 11-member panel chaired by former ACC Commissioner and past NCAA President Gene Corrigan. The Honors Court is comprised of athletic directors, conference commissioners, Hall of Fame coaches and members of the media.
To be eligible for consideration, players must have been chosen first-team All-American by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams, played their last year of college football at least 10 years prior, played within the last 50 years and be retired from professional football.
Coaches must be out of the college coaching profession at least three years, coached a minimum of 10 seasons and 100 games as a head coach, not be coaching on the professional level and have won at least 60 percent of their games.
Once nominated, all player candidates are submitted to one of eight District Screening Committees, depending on their geographic location, which conducts a vote to determine who will appear on the ballot and represent their respective districts.
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| Harris |
Major Harris was one of college football’s most exciting quarterbacks in the late 1980s, leading West Virginia to the national championship game in 1989 against Notre Dame. Harris finished third in the Hesiman Trophy balloting in 1989 and was fifth in 1988. He became one of the first players in NCAA history to rush for more than 2,000 yards and pass for more than 5,000 and earned first-team All-America honors in 1989. He broke 23 WVU passing and total offensive records.
Don Nehlen, West Virginia University’s all-time winningest coach, led the Mountaineers to 13 bowl games and 17 winning seasons. He directed two teams to perfect regular seasons including the 1988 team that played Notre Dame in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl for the national championship. Nehlen was named the 1988 AFCA, Bobby Dodd and Walter Camp national coach of the year for his efforts. He is only one of 17 Division I-A coaches to have won at least 200 games.
The Hall of Fame class will be announced in mid April and induction ceremonies will take place at the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame’s 47th Awards Dinner on Dec. 7, 2004, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
