IRVING, Texas – North Carolina and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame will jointly honor Dré Bly with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute on Nov. 29 in Chapel Hill during the game between North Carolina and NC State. Coverage of the game will start at 12:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network and ESPN3.
“This is a tremendous honor and I'm thrilled to represent the University of North Carolina in the College Football Hall of Fame,” Bly said in a North Carolina release after the announcement on his birthday in May. “It's a dream come true that hasn't really sunk in yet. I was fortunate to play with a great group of guys in Chapel Hill who pushed me every day to become a better player. We had one of the best defenses in the country with future NFL players all over the field. I wouldn't be accepting this honor without them and the great coaching staff under the leadership of Mack Brown.”
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program is a hallowed tradition that began with the inaugural class in 1951, and to this day the salutes remain the first of numerous activities in each inductee's Hall of Fame experience. During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each inductee returns to his alma mater to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will remain on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many inductees cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and hear the crowd roar their name.
“Dré Bly absolutely terrorized wide receivers in the ACC during his career from 1996-98,” said NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell. “The only three-time First-Team All-American in ACC history, he simply was one of the best cornerbacks to ever play college football. We are thrilled to honor him in front of the North Carolina faithful at Kenan Memorial Stadium.”
Twice earning consensus First-Team All-America honors, Bly led North Carolina to three consecutive bowl wins, including victories in 1997 and 1998 Gator Bowls and the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl. A three-time All-ACC selection and finalist for the 1997 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, he set the conference record with 20 career and 11 single-season interceptions, and both marks still stand as school records. The 1996 ACC Rookie of the Year, he helped the Tar Heels to an impressive 28-8 record during his time in Chapel Hill, leading them to a No. 10 ranking in 1996 and a No. 6 ranking in 1997. One of only two North Carolina freshmen to ever earn All-ACC honors, Bly finished his career with 102 tackles, 27 pass breakups and 20 interceptions.
Drafted in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams, Bly spent 11 years in the professional ranks with the Rams, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers. The All-Pro honoree and two-time Pro Bowl selection helped the Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV during his rookie season.
The co-founder of DLH Sports & Fitness athletic complex, Bly hosts the annual Turkey Bowl Tournament in Virginia and runs a youth football and baseball organization in Charlotte, N.C. The Chesapeake, Va., native was honored as a member of the ACC's Silver Anniversary Team and as an ACC Football Legend in 2012.
Bly becomes the fourth Tar Heel to be inducted, joining Charlie Justice (1946-49), Don McCauley (1968-70) and Art Weiner (1946-49). Two coaches with stops in Chapel Hill are in the hall: Carl Snavely (1945–52) and Jim Tatum (1942, 1956–58).
Including the 2014 class, only 948 players and 207 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.06 million people who have played or coached the game over the past 145 years. In other words, only two ten-thousandths of one percent (.0002) of those who have set foot on the gridiron have earned the distinction. Click here for a complete list of players and coaches in the Hall.
The 2014 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted at the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, held at New York City's historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Tuesday, Dec. 9. This year's College Football Hall of Fame Class includes: Dré Bly (DB, North Carolina), Tony Boselli (OT, Southern California), Dave Butz (DT, Purdue), Shane Conlan (LB, Penn State), Joe Hamilton (QB, Georgia Tech), John Huard (LB, Maine), Darrin Nelson (HB, Stanford), Willie Roaf (OL, Louisiana Tech), John Sciarra (QB, UCLA), Sterling Sharpe (WR, South Carolina), Leonard Smith (CB, McNeese State), the late Derrick Thomas (LB, Alabama), LaDainian Tomlinson (TB, TCU), Wesley Walls (TE, Mississippi), and coaches Mike Bellotti (Chico State [Calif.], Oregon) and Jerry Moore (North Texas, Texas Tech and Appalachian State). For more information, please contact Will Rudd at wrudd@footballfoundation.com or by calling 972.556.1000.
About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF High School Showcases, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF Faculty Salute Initiative presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, and scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF also collaborates with the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to release the FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll; awards the William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments and prominently displayed at its official home inside the New York Athletic Club; and bestows several other major awards at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner. NFF corporate partners include the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Sports Business Journal and Under Armour. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.
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