2024 College Football Hall of Fame ballot: Nominees, selection criteria, voting procedure and more
The College Football Hall of Fame ballot rolled out on Monday, and fans have their first glimpse of the players and coaches nominated for the 2024 CFB Hall of Fame.
HOF ballots can be a point of contention among football fans. The nomination and induction recognize an outstanding career and one of the highest honors a collegiate football player or coach can receive.
The National Football Foundation (NFF) released the ballot on Monday. Let's dive in on the nominees, the selection criteria, the voting procedure and who the next inductees will be:
The 2024 HOF nominees
The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) has 78 players and nine coaches on the ballot, while 101 players and 32 coaches are from division ranks. To fully comprehend the honor of being nominated, consider these numbers: 5.62 million people have played college football, and only 1,074 are in the College Football Hall of Fame.
The selection criteria
- Must have received First Team All-American
- A player can become eligible following ten full seasons following the final year of intercollegiate football played
- How players conduct themselves as a citizen following their playing career
- Players must have played their final collegiate game within the last 50 years
- Players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching professionally are ineligible until they retire
The voting procedure
The National Football Federation (NFF) and the College Football Hall of Fame jointly announce the players and coaches nominated for consideration. The ballot is emailed to current Hall of Famers and 12,000 members of the NFF. These votes are tabulated, and submitted to the NFF's Honor Court.
Who makes up the NFF's Honor Court? The court is a mix of Hall of Famers, athletic administrators, and media members. The NFF chairperson is a name most fans will be familiar with, a Hall of Famer in his own right, Archie Manning.
The Hall of Fame class is inducted during the 66th NFF Annual Awards Dinner. The honorees are also honored at their respective schools on the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute.
There are several notable names in the list of nominations:
Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech Hokies
Michael Vick was arguably the most dangerous weapon of his era. Vick's combination of passing and running was breathtaking to watch. He was the fastest player on the field at the QB position, something fans hadn't seen in a long time.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Pittsburgh Panthers
Larry Fitzgerald dominated at the WR position. The former Fred Biletnikoff Award winner was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and was unstoppable during his two seasons in Pittsburgh.
Terrell Suggs, DE, Arizona State Sun Devils
Terrell Suggs set the all-time sack record during his senior season at Arizona State. The all-time tackles-for-loss leader for the Sun Devils deserves to be honored and inducted into the college football Hall of Fame.