Black College Football Hall of Fame - Class of 2024 Finalists

 

Class of 2024 Finalists

11/30/2023

At a glance:

• 28 Finalists have been selected from over 200 nominees.
• The Class of 2024 Inductees will be announced on December 14th, 2023.
• Inductees will be honored during the Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on June 8th, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia.

ATLANTA, GA (November 30th, 2023) – The Black College Football Hall of Fame announced today the 28 Finalists for induction into the Class of 2024. The list includes 23 players and five coaches.

“We would like to congratulate the Class of 2024 Finalists”, said Doug Williams, Super Bowl XXII MVP, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Hall of Fame. “Each of these men represents the absolute best of Black College Football.”

The Finalists were selected from a field of over 200 nominees by a 10-member Selection Committee composed of prominent journalists, commentators, historians, former NFL General Managers and football executives.

“Thank you to the selection committee for their dedication and hard work in selecting this year’s Finalists,” said Committee Chairman Charlie Neal. “The job of the selection committee is not easy, but the passion for preserving the history of Black College Football shows in this year’s group of Finalists.”

The Class of 2024 will be announced on December 14th, 2023. They will be recognized for the first time at the Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans on February 24th, 2024 and honored during the 15th Annual Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, June 8th, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, please visit www.BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org

PLAYER FINALISTS (23 Players)

• Julius Adams (DE, Texas Southern University, 1967-1970)
• Joe “747” Adams (QB, Tennessee State University, 1977-1980)
• George Atkinson (S, Morris Brown, 1965-1968)
• Antoine Bethea, (DB, Howard University, 2002-2005)
• Dwaine Board (DE, North Carolina A&T State University, 1975-1978)
• Larry Brooks (DT, Virginia State University, 1969-1972)
• Vince Buck (DB, Central State University, 1986-1989)
• Waymond Bryant (LB, Tennessee State University, 1970-1973)
• Kevin Dent (S, Jackson State University, 1985-1988)
• Henry Dyer (RB, Grambling State University, 1963-1965)
• Vernon Holland (OL, Tennessee State University, 1967-1970)
• Richard Huntley (RB, Winston-Salem State University, 1992-1995)
• Ezra Johnson (DL, Morris Brown University, 1973-1976)
• Rashean Mathis (DB, Bethune-Cookman University, 1999-2002)
• Jacquay Nunnally (WR, Florida A&M University, 1997-2000)
• Lemar Parrish (RB, Lincoln University, 1966-1969)
• Tyrone Poole (DB, Fort Valley State University, 1991-1994)
• Anthony Pleasant (DE, Tennessee State University, 1987-1990)
• Jake Reed (WR, Grambling State University, 1987-1990)
• Eddie Robinson, Jr. (LB, Alabama State University, 1988-1991)
• Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (DB, Tennessee State University, 2004-2007)
• John Thierry (DE, Alcorn State University, 1991-1994)
• Jay “Sky” Walker (QB, Howard University 1991-1994)

COACH FINALISTS (5 Coaches)

• Rod Broadway (Head Football Coach, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina A&T, Grambling State University, 2003-2017)
• Rudy Hubbard (Head Football Coach, Florida A&M University, 1974-1985)
• Eddie Hurt (Head Football Coach, Morgan State University, 1929-1959)
• Fred “Pop” Long (Head Football Coach, Wiley College 1921- 1965)
• Doug Porter (Head Football Coach, Mississippi Valley State University 1961-1965, Howard University 1974-1985, Fort Valley State University 1987-1996)

ABOUT THE BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

The Black College Football Hall of Fame was founded in 2009 by African-American pioneers, quarterbacks James Harris and Doug Williams to preserve the history and honor the greatest football players, coaches and contributors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There have been over 100 Inductees since inception, including Mel Blount, James Harris, Willie Lanier, Art Shell and Doug Williams, who serve as Trustees.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) soon will have a permanent home at the Pro Football Hall of Fame (PFHOF) to tell the story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

www.BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org
www.Twitter.com/BCFHOF

www.Facebook.com/BCFHOF

ABOUT THE ALLSTATE HBCU LEGACY BOWL

The Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl, presented by the Black College Football Hall of Fame is a postseason all-star game that showcases the top 100 NFL draft-eligible football players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The game will be played on the Saturday, February 24, 2024, in New Orleans, Louisiana at Tulane University, and broadcast live on NFL Network. More than a football game, the week-long celebration of Black culture and history will provide invaluable exposure for HBCU students. HBCU Legacy Bowl Founding Partners include Allstate, the National Football League, adidas, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and his 15 and the Mahomies Foundation, Coca-Cola, Coors Light, The New Orleans Saints, The State of Louisiana, Riddell, The Sugar Bowl, Zebra Technologies, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Follow the HBCU Legacy Bowl on social media via @HBCULegacyBowl or visit www.HBCULegacyBowl.com for more information.

Fans of the modern era love Phil Dawson – Hey, Terry!

 

Published: Nov. 24, 2023, 5:20 a.m.

 

By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com

 

Hey, Terry: The Browns did a masterful job bringing out Chubb and Jim Donovan for the Pittsburgh game. The crowd was the loudest I’ve heard in many years. Can you think of any other ex-players or Cleveland icons who could fire up the home crowd at a possible playoff game? – Tim O’Hara.

 

Hey, Tim: Bernie Kosar? Brian Sipe? Both? Fans of the modern era love Joshua Cribbs and Phil Dawson. The Donovan/Chubb combination is unique. Jimmy is coming back from leukemia. Chubb has had two knee operations in the last three months. That’s a special moment.

 

 

Aaron Kampman enjoyed 'tremendous ride' in Green Bay

 

Pass rusher went from unheralded arrival to Packers Hall of Famer

Nov 13, 2023 at 05:10 PM

 

Mike Spofford

packers.com editor

GREEN BAY – If Aaron Kampman arrived in Green Bay in 2002 somewhat overlooked as a fifth-round draft pick, he learned pretty quickly it wouldn't be easy to change that perception.

 

"Funny story, early in my career when we set out the third-down pass rush depth chart, I remember that I thought I'd be the second, maybe third team," Kampman recalled. "I actually wasn't even on the depth chart to start things out. So that gave me a little indication about where I was starting."

 

He's finishing, though, in the Packers Hall of Fame, as Kampman and fellow pass rusher Clay Matthews will be the next two inductees in August 2024.

A small-town kid from Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Iowa who played college football for his home-state Hawkeyes, Kampman went on to earn two second-team All-Pro selections and two Pro Bowl honors during eight years with the Packers.

 

He's always shared credit with the teammates and coaches around him, but Kampman's own drive and work ethic played probably the biggest role in his success. His small-town, humble upbringing was the genesis of that, which is what he plans to talk about during his induction ceremony next summer.

 

"The work ethic there was instilled in me at a young age," he said, speaking with the media Monday. "That was something that exemplified itself all the way through my career, and I wanted to be the best.

 

"Being a 10-year-old, I had a dream I wanted to play in the NFL, and that was something I was very fortunate to be able to do. It was a tremendous ride."

 

It didn't start out like gangbusters, as Kampman had to persevere, steadily but surely working his way into a full-time starting role. Three years into his career, he had a total of seven sacks.

 

Then Jim Bates arrived as the Packers' new defensive coordinator in 2005, and the change benefited Kampman as an every-down defensive end.

 

"We started to play a little different defense at that time, which allowed me to get a little wider and start to rush a little bit differently," he said. "That's when I think I had more opportunities to get on the field, and to rush and show some of that ability."

 

Kampman nearly doubled his career sack total that year with 6½, and then when Bob Sanders arrived as defensive coordinator along with head coach Mike McCarthy in 2006, his career really took off.

 

He posted 15½ sacks in '06 and 12 more in '07, earning his All-Pro and Pro Bowl accolades those seasons. The 15½ sacks remain the third-highest single-season total in team history (since sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982), and his 113 tackles that year still stand as a franchise record for a defensive lineman.

He added 9½ more sacks in 2008, capping a five-year run in which he started 89 of a possible 90 regular-season games, missing only the '07 finale when starters were resting for the playoffs.

 

A knee injury ended his season early in 2009 and, as it turned out, his time in Green Bay, which concluded with 54 total sacks, good for fifth on the franchise's all-time list. He finished his career with two injury-riddled seasons in Jacksonville.

 

He couldn't have asked for a better fit than coming to the NFL's smallest market, though, and for that he's forever thankful. He and his wife, Linde, became very involved in a number of community and charitable endeavors as three of their four children were born in Green Bay.

 

"It was a great time in our lives," said Kampman, who now runs a leadership development company called Align that he started seven years ago. He's also coached football at Solon High School in Iowa for roughly the past decade.

 

"When I was coming out of Iowa, I had three draft visits to the New York Jets, to San Diego and to Green Bay, and my wife and I, we've both reminisced about what life may have looked like if we would've ended up on one of the coasts. We're very blessed and fortunate that Green Bay was the spot for us."