University of North Carolina Athletics
Brown Inducted Into NFF College Football Hall Of Fame
December 4, 2018 | Football
NEW YORK --- The New York Hilton Midtown's Grand Ballroom played host to an all-star cast of history's greatest football legends and the sport's most promising student-athletes during the 61st National Football Foundation (NFF) Annual Awards Dinner tonight.
A celebrity-laden College Football Hall of Fame class took center stage at the event during their formal induction, and 13 of the game's current-leading student-athletes collected $241,000 in postgraduate scholarships as NFF National Scholar-Athletes. The festivities began with Clemson's Christian Wilkins being declared the recipient of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® as the top football scholar-athlete in the nation, and the evening culminated with a poignant speech from Hall of Fame inductee Mack Brown responding on behalf of the 2018 class.
A packed house of 1,600, including more than 80 current collegiate head coaches and 40 returning Hall of Famers attended the event, which took place for the second year at the New York Hilton Midtown. ESPN's Joe Tessitore, the voice of "Monday Night Football," entertained the crowd as the emcee for the annual celebration, which lived up to its historic role of bringing the college football community together at the end of the regular season to pay tribute to the game and its greatest legends.
The 2018 College Football Hall of Fame Class was introduced by NFF Board Member Archie Griffin, a Hall of Fame running back from Ohio State. The class included Trevor Cobb (Rice), Kerry Collins (Penn State), Dave Dickenson (Montana), Dana Howard (Illinois), Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech), Paul Palmer (Temple), Ed Reed (Miami [Fla.]), Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia), Aaron Taylor (Nebraska), Charles Woodson (Michigan) and coaches Frank Beamer (Murray State, Virginia Tech), Mack Brown (Appalachian State, Tulane, North Carolina, Texas) and Mel Tjeerdsma (Austin College [Texas], Northwest Missouri State). NFF Chairman and Hall of Fame inductee Archie Manning (Mississippi) conducted the Official Hall of Fame Ring Ceremony.
The 10 players and three coaches bring the total number of players in the Hall of Fame to 997 and the number of coaches to 217. Brown, the former coach and current ESPN broadcaster who won a national championship at Texas and led his teams to 22 bowl games during a remarkable 30-year career at four schools, responded on behalf of the 2018 Class.
"I'm honored to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame," said Coach Brown. "I'm also very appreciative that I get to speak tonight. First we'd all like to thank our families, because coaches' and players' families are really on a rollercoaster. It's up and down, coaches are gone a lot and you spend a lot more time with other people's kids sometimes than your own. And our families have been wonderful examples for us, and all of us have great families here with us tonight, so thank you very much…
"Football is the ultimate team sport. It's not about any of us. It's about a village. It's about family. It's about years of people that have pulled together to make something really, really special…When you ask yourself, 'Why football?' When you ask yourself, 'Does coaching matter?' And you ask yourself, 'Does football matter?' Just look around. Yes it does."
To read the full release, visit http://bit.ly/2018NFFDinner.
A celebrity-laden College Football Hall of Fame class took center stage at the event during their formal induction, and 13 of the game's current-leading student-athletes collected $241,000 in postgraduate scholarships as NFF National Scholar-Athletes. The festivities began with Clemson's Christian Wilkins being declared the recipient of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® as the top football scholar-athlete in the nation, and the evening culminated with a poignant speech from Hall of Fame inductee Mack Brown responding on behalf of the 2018 class.
A packed house of 1,600, including more than 80 current collegiate head coaches and 40 returning Hall of Famers attended the event, which took place for the second year at the New York Hilton Midtown. ESPN's Joe Tessitore, the voice of "Monday Night Football," entertained the crowd as the emcee for the annual celebration, which lived up to its historic role of bringing the college football community together at the end of the regular season to pay tribute to the game and its greatest legends.
The 2018 College Football Hall of Fame Class was introduced by NFF Board Member Archie Griffin, a Hall of Fame running back from Ohio State. The class included Trevor Cobb (Rice), Kerry Collins (Penn State), Dave Dickenson (Montana), Dana Howard (Illinois), Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech), Paul Palmer (Temple), Ed Reed (Miami [Fla.]), Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia), Aaron Taylor (Nebraska), Charles Woodson (Michigan) and coaches Frank Beamer (Murray State, Virginia Tech), Mack Brown (Appalachian State, Tulane, North Carolina, Texas) and Mel Tjeerdsma (Austin College [Texas], Northwest Missouri State). NFF Chairman and Hall of Fame inductee Archie Manning (Mississippi) conducted the Official Hall of Fame Ring Ceremony.
The 10 players and three coaches bring the total number of players in the Hall of Fame to 997 and the number of coaches to 217. Brown, the former coach and current ESPN broadcaster who won a national championship at Texas and led his teams to 22 bowl games during a remarkable 30-year career at four schools, responded on behalf of the 2018 Class.
"I'm honored to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame," said Coach Brown. "I'm also very appreciative that I get to speak tonight. First we'd all like to thank our families, because coaches' and players' families are really on a rollercoaster. It's up and down, coaches are gone a lot and you spend a lot more time with other people's kids sometimes than your own. And our families have been wonderful examples for us, and all of us have great families here with us tonight, so thank you very much…
"Football is the ultimate team sport. It's not about any of us. It's about a village. It's about family. It's about years of people that have pulled together to make something really, really special…When you ask yourself, 'Why football?' When you ask yourself, 'Does coaching matter?' And you ask yourself, 'Does football matter?' Just look around. Yes it does."
To read the full release, visit http://bit.ly/2018NFFDinner.
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