PROVO -- Former BYU All-American tight end Gordon Hudson is among 76 players and six coaches on the 2009 Football Bowl Subdivision Ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation (NFF) recently announced.
A consensus All-America First Team pick in 1982 and 1983, Hudson is still the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision record holder for most passes caught per game by a tight end (5.4), most career yards per game by a tight end (75.3) and most yards in a single game by a tight end (259). Hudson helped BYU win four conference championships (WAC) and earn four Holiday Bowl invitations during his career from 1980-83.
The 2009 FBS Hall of Fame Class will be announced live on ESPNEWS at a noon press conference in New York City on April 30 and inducted at The National Football Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner on December 8, 2009 at the landmark Waldorf-Astoria Hotel also in New York City. They will be officially enshrined at the Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. in the summer of 2010.
Of the 4.6 million individuals who have played college football, only 846 players have earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. From the coaching ranks, 182 individuals have achieved Hall of Fame distinction.
Five former Cougars have earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Legendary coach LaVell Edwards was most recently inducted in 2004, while former BYU quarterbacks Gifford Nielsen (inducted 1994), Marc Wilson (inducted 1996), Jim McMahon (inducted 1998) and Steve Young (inducted 2001) are also College Football Hall of Famers.
The 2009 class will be selected through a process that includes voting from more than 12,000 members of the NFF and current Hall of Fame members. Their votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Court, which deliberates and selects the class. Chaired by Gene Corrigan, a former ACC Commissioner and NCAA president, the 13-member NFF Honors Court includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletics directors, conference commissioners, Hall of Famers and members of the media.
To be eligible for the ballot, players must have been named a All-America First Team by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams; played their last year of intercollegiate football at least ten years prior; played within the last 50 years and cannot be currently playing professional football. Coaches must have coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games as a head coach; won at least 60% of their games; and be retired from coaching for at least three years; be retired from coaching and over the age of 70 (no waiting period); or over the age of 75 (active coaches eligible). In both cases, the candidate’s post-football record as a citizen may also be weighed.