Erickson tapped for College Football Hall of Fame, James releases statement

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Stefan Adams

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University of Miami coaching legend and two-time national champion Dennis Erickson was among those former college football players and coaches selected as members of the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019, the organization announced Monday.

The inductees were selected from the national ballot of 76 All-America players and six elite coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and the 100 players and 32 coaches from the divisional ranks.

Erickson becomes the fourth Miami coach and 12th Hurricane overall to be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Bennie Blades (2006), Don Bosseler (1990), Andy Gustafson (1985), Jack Harding (1980), Ted Hendricks (1987), Jimmy Johnson (2012), Russell Maryland (2011), Ed Reed (2018), Vinny Testaverde (2013), Gino Torretta (2009) and Arnold Tucker (2008).

"Congratulations to Dennis Erickson on his election to the College Football Hall of Fame," Director of Athletics Blake James said. "He led the Hurricanes to two national championships, and authored one of the most dominant stretches in college football history over his six seasons as our head coach. We are thrilled and honored to have Coach Erickson as the latest representative of The U in the College Football Hall of Fame."

Highlighted by two national titles at Miami, Dennis Erickson led his teams to 12 bowl games and at least a share of six conference titles in 23 successful seasons as a head coach. In addition to his success with the Hurricanes, he became the first coach to earn Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors at three different institutions.

The announcement of the class was made today live on ESPN's "SportsCenter" in Santa Clara, California, the site of the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship

"We are extremely proud to announce the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class," said Archie Manning, NFF Chairman and a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Mississippi. "Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments. The Class will be part of a momentous year as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of college football this season."

Erickson would see his greatest success at Miami from 1989-94, posting a 63-9 record and an 87.5 winning percentage, which remains the highest in school history. The only coach to win two national titles at Miami, his Hurricanes took home the crown following the 1989 and 1991 seasons while playing in two other national championship games in 1992 and 1994. The 1989 national title earned Erickson the distinction of being only the second Division I head coach to win a national crown in his first season at a school. The 1991 Miami squad would be named national champion after becoming the second team in school history to finish 12-0. Erickson claimed conference coach of the year honors and guided the Canes to conference titles in three-of-four seasons after Miami joined the BIG EAST in 1991. Boasting a 35-1 home record at Miami, he led the team to bowl games in all six seasons and the Canes never finished lower than No. 3 in the final polls from 1989-92.

After a four-year stint as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Erickson took over the program at Oregon State in 1999 and sparked a massive turnaround. In his first season, he led the Beavers to their first winning season in 29 years and their first bowl appearance in 35 years. Erickson's best season at Oregon State came in 2000, when helped the program snap its 33-year losing streak to USC and earn a share of the Pac-10 Conference title for the first time since 1964. The Pac-10 Coach of the Year that season, he guided Oregon State to an 11-1 record, a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl (the school's first major bowl appearance since 1965) and the No. 4 final ranking (the highest finish in school history). Erickson's 64.6 win percentage is the highest among Oregon State coaches with more than three seasons at the helm.

After two seasons as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and one return season at Idaho, Erickson took his final head-coaching job at Arizona State in 2007. In his first season, he once again claimed Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors after leading the Sun Devils to a 10-win season and a share of the Pac-10 title.

Over his entire career, Erickson's teams boasted 10 top 25 finishes, including five in the top five. The two-time Sporting News College Coach of the Year coached 67 first team all-conference selections, three NFF National Scholar-Athletes and 21 First Team All-Americans, including College Football Hall of Famers Russell Maryland and Gino Torretta at Miami.

A native of Everett, Washington, Erickson was a two-time All-Big Sky quarterback while leading Montana State to three conference titles. Before his first head-coaching job at Idaho, he served as an assistant coach at Montana State, Idaho, Fresno State and San Jose State as well as one season as a high school head coach when he was just 23 years old. From 2013-16, Erickson came out of retirement to serve as an assistant coach at Utah. He is a member of the University of Miami Sports, State of Washington Sports and State of Montana Football halls of fame. Erickson has once again come out of retirement to be the head coach of the Salt Lake Stallions in the Alliance of American Football, a new professional league that will kick off in February 2019.

The 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10, 2019, at the New York Hilton Midtown. The inductees will also be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the fall. Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

"We would like to thank CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock and his staff for the continued opportunity to announce the Hall of Fame Class in conjunction with the championship game," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are also grateful for the guidance, knowledge and vision of honors court chairmen Archie Griffin (FBS) and Jack Lengyel (divisional) for the essential role that they each play in guiding the committees in the selection of the inductees."


COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME QUICK FACTS

  • Including the 2019 Hall of Fame class, only 1,010 players and 219 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.33 million who have played or coached the game during the past 150 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played the game have been deemed worthy of this distinction.
  • 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 22 coaches, including Illinois' Red Grange, Notre Dame's Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Carlisle (PA)'s Jim Thorpe.
  • 311 schools are represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer.
  • Induction for this class of Hall of Famers will take place Dec. 10, 2019, during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Hilton Midtown.
 
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Always liked DE despite that he sometimes mocked by some UM fans. Used to play basketball with Bryce E. and some UM RB from Palmetto HS at the Palmetto courts into the wee-hours of the night in the early 90s. DE came by once and shot the chit with us for awhile, seemed like a cool dude. His teams were fun to watch, congrats to the man.
 
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No lie bro I was worried. I thought we ran you off @Stefan Adams Another good piece my dude

I like how @Stefan Adams, aka Stef the Chef is letting his reporting speak for itself, not showing his *** like some unibrowed a-hole, which I say with all due love and respect to those with unibrows. He’ll either be wrong or he’ll be right. There’s nothing for him to say on the subject for the moment.

Dude is handling himself like a professional. I know that’s a foreign concept to some.
 
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Great work Stefan!

Dennis Erickson was a great coach and a great Cane.

A well deserved honor that is also a positive reflection on the University of Miami.

Coach Erickson delivered two National Championships to the "U" and did so with an innovative and wildly exciting offense. He delivered more National Championships than any other Miami coach. His winning percentage at Miami remains the highest in the history of the program.

With Erickson at the helm Miami never finished lower than No. 3 in the final polls from 1989-92.

The reality? Erickson was most accomplished UM coach ever!
 
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Always liked DE despite that he sometimes mocked by some UM fans. Used to play basketball with Bryce E. and some UM RB from Palmetto HS at the Palmetto courts into the wee-hours of the night in the early 90s. DE came by once and shot the chit with us for awhile, seemed like a cool dude. His teams were fun to watch, congrats to the man.
The HERD mocks everything UM football placing Dennis Erickson in good company.

If the HERD is not marginalized Manny Diaz, or even if it was Bill Belichick, will not be successful because the HERD is the enemy of Canes recruiting.

The CIS owner(s) moderators have the responsibility to 'help' cure the cancer known as the HERD for if not successful in doing so Miami football will not sit atop of college football ever again. Should they not take the steps to stop the hate campaign their company/message board will sooner than later become a thing of the past. This prediction is based on the past histories of other Canes message boards that were overrun by haters and now they are dust in the wind.
 
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A fifth of Black Jack in Coach E’s honor.

Third and 43 was a Swinging Pair Call. Especially against them little Irish fellas.
 
I like how @Stefan Adams, aka Stef the Chef is letting his reporting speak for itself, not showing his *** like some unibrowed a-hole, which I say with all due love and respect to those with unibrows. He’ll either be wrong or he’ll be right. There’s nothing for him to say on the subject for the moment.

Dude is handling himself like a professional. I know that’s a foreign concept to some.

Yup. I almost wrote “his” name when I said run off but it’s not even on the same level. Stef Curry is a pro out here. I can dig that.
 
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I like how @Stefan Adams, aka Stef the Chef is letting his reporting speak for itself, not showing his *** like some unibrowed a-hole, which I say with all due love and respect to those with unibrows. He’ll either be wrong or he’ll be right. There’s nothing for him to say on the subject for the moment.

Dude is handling himself like a professional. I know that’s a foreign concept to some.

Bump.
 
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