Welcome to the official site for the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, GA. Visit us today or learn more at CFBHall.com!
www.cfbhall.com
COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
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Founded in 1951 by the National Football Foundation, the College Football Hall of Fame immortalizes the greatest of the amateur gridiron. 5.1 million people have coached or played the game and less than 1,300 are inductees in the Hall. This makes the College Football Hall of Fame an extremely selective group of individuals.
Originally slated to be built on the Rutgers University campus – home of the first college football game in 1869 – the Hall ultimately found its first home in Kings Mills, Ohio in 1978. The Ohio location closed in 1992 and the Hall relocated to South Bend, Indiana where it resided from 1995 to 2012.
In 2014, the College Football Hall of Fame opened in Atlanta, a major hub of college football activity, a convention and tourist destination, and home of one of the nation’s busiest airports. It’s a $68.5 million, 95,000 square foot, state-of-the-art tribute to 977 players, 211 coaches, and countless fans.
Located in the heart of Atlanta’s sports, tourism and entertainment districts, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame is steps away from the iconic Centennial Olympic Park and surrounded by other attractions including the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, and much more.
In addition to celebrating the best of college football, the Hall serves as one of the most unique and popular private event spaces in Atlanta. The Hall also provides a platform for character development initiatives, community outreach and education throughout the city.
Three floors, five themed galleries and over 50 interactive exhibits, including a 47-yard football field and a three-story wall of over 750 college football helmets, awaits visitors.
College Football Hall of Fame Criteria:
- FIRST AND FOREMOST, A PLAYER MUST HAVE RECEIVED FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITION BY A SELECTOR RECOGNIZED BY THE NCAA AND UTILIZED TO COMPRISE THEIR CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA TEAMS.
- A player becomes eligible for consideration by the NFF's Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his last year of intercollegiate football played.
- 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 fellow man. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree.
- Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years.* For example, to be eligible for the 2024 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1974 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.
- A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years old. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
* Players who do not comply with the 50-year rule may still be eligible for consideration by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Divisional Veterans Committees. Veterans Committee candidates must still meet First Team All-America requirement.
Voting Procedure:
- NOMINATIONS MAY ONLY BE SUBMITTED BY THE CURRENT ATHLETICS DIRECTOR, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH OR SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR (SID) OF A POTENTIAL CANDIDATE’S COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION. NOMINATIONS MAY ALSO BE SUBMITTED BY THE PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF A DUES-PAYING CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION.
- Statistics, newspaper/magazine clippings, records and personal recommendations by coaches, fellow players and opponents are all considered.
- The National Football Foundation staff will screen each candidate. After ascertaining that the nomination satisfies all requirements, FBS nominees are submitted to the District Screening Committee (DSC) nearest to the institution where the nominee played. New nominees as well as individuals who appeared on the previous year's ballot will be included in this process each year.
- Only the top vote-getters (approx. 60 players) from the DSC are forwarded to the National Football Foundation staff for inclusion on the ballot. The ballot also carries names of candidates held over from the previous year. These carryover names are referred to as "automatic holdovers" and are decided upon by the Honors Court. Please note: even though your player is nominated, his name WILL NOT appear on the national ballot if he does not first pass through the DSC.
- The national ballot of players and coaches is emailed to all dues-paying NFF chapter members, NFF academic members and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) members for a vote. The results are compiled and provided to the Honors Court, which determines the final class members, to be used as a reference.
- Any candidate not selected to the current year's Hall of Fame class will automatically go through the voting procedures again the following year. Candidates do not need to be re-nominated, but additions/updates to a candidate’s file are always welcome.
