July 20, 2007 DALLAS - College football fans from across the country will join the National Football Foundation from July 20-21 at the organization's annual Enshrinement Festival in South Bend, Ind. Held at the College Football Hall of Fame, thousands will gather to pay tribute to the storied careers of 14 of the game's greatest Division IA stars. "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to enshrine another exceptional class of college football legends," said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "Each year our hard-working Honors Court, chaired by Gene Corrigan, does an outstanding job in ensuring the game's legends are duly recognized." When it comes to collegiate success, few can match the amount of team and personal accolades that Washington's Emtman earned in 1991. A unanimous First Team All-America that season, Emtman became only the ninth player in college football history to win both the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy in the same season. After placing fourth in the 1991 Heisman Trophy voting, he was named Co-Most Valuable Player in a Rose Bowl victory that earned the Huskies a share of the National Championship.
Drafted as the first overall selection in the 1992 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts, Emtman played six injury shortened seasons in the NFL for three teams. Emtman is currently a successful businessman and land developer and resides Veradale, Wash. "To me first of all, it's a great honor to sit up here with a great group of men," said Emtman. "To me football is really in two words, respect and family... I know that the team I was part of in college had great success because of the tremendous respect we had for our coach... You realize that the big difference between great football teams and great football players truly relates back to those two things. If you're part of a team that respects each other and works hard and well together, they will be successful and play well as a team." The weekend's celebration will include a celebrity golf tournament, an outdoor concert, a grand parade, a flag football game, a youth clinic, culminating with the Enshrinement Dinner and Show on Saturday night. 2007 Football Bowl Division Enshrinement Class SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FRIDAY, JULY 20 ENSHRINEMENT CARIBBEAN BEACH PARTY AND OUTDOOR CONCERT ENSHRINEMENT AUTOGRAPH SESSION
SATURDAY, JULY 21 ENSHRINEMENT GRAND PARADE ENSHRINEE FLAG FOOTBALL GAME ENSHRINEMENT YOUTH FOOTBALL CLINIC ENSHRINEMENT AUTOGRAPH SESSION ENSHRINEMENT DINNER, SHOW, AND MAYOR'S AFTER PARTY CELEBRATION 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 19 coaches, including Illinois' Red Grange, Notre Dame's Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Carlisle's Jim Thorpe. Out of the more than 4.6 million individuals who have played college football over the past 138 years, only 817 players and 176 coaches have been immortalized with a place in the sport's most hallowed institution. 268 schools are represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer. The current building in South Bend, Ind. was built in 1995 as a $17 million state-of- the-art interactive facility for fans of all ages. The next class of College Football Hall of Famers will be inducted at the 50th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 4, 2007, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. They will be officially enshrined at the Hall in South Bend during ceremonies in July of 2008. Hall of Fame Selection Criteria 1. First and foremost, a player must have received First Team All-America recognition by a selector organization that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise their consensus All-America teams. 2. A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation's Honors Courts ten years 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 and his fellow man with love of his country. 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 2007 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1957 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. 5. A coach becomes eligible three years 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 coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage*. (*Those players that do not comply with the 50-year rule and coaches that have not won 60% of their games may still be eligible for consideration by the FBS (Formerly Division I-A) and Divisional Honors Review Committees, which examine unique cases.) About the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame About the College Football Hall of Fame |
