 |
Boston College |
Miami |
|
|
|
|
  |
Virginia's Dombrowski, Florida State's Simmons & NC State's Holtz Named to the College Football Hall of Fame
May 1, 2008 NEW YORK (NFF) - From the national ballot of 75 candidates and a pool of hundreds of eligible nominees, Archie Manning, chairman of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, announced the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) Class, which includes the names of 13 First Team All- America players and two legendary coaches. The announcement includes three men with ACC ties. Virginia offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski and Florida State nose guard Ron Simmons were listed among the players tabbed, while one-time NC State head coach Lou Holtz was one of the two coaches selected. Former ACC Commissioner Gene Corrigan served as the chair of the NFF Honors Court that coordinated this year's class. "I want to commend the NFF Honors Court and its Chairman Gene Corrigan for their hard work," said Manning. "The 2008 class represents six decades of football's finest athletes, and they are all exceptionally worthy of having their accomplishments preserved forever in the College Football Hall of Fame." The 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Class will be inducted at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 9, 2008, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. They will be officially enshrined at the Hall in South Bend, Ind., during ceremonies in the summer of 2009. 2008 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS PLAYERS BIOGRAPHIES OF INDUCTEES WITH ACC TIES
A consummate leader on and off the football field, Jim Dombrowski won numerous accolades as one of the finest student-athletes in the history of the University of Virginia. The recipient of the NCAA Today's Top Six Award for his combined athletic ability, academic achievement, leadership characteristics and campus involvement, Dombrowski was a unanimous First Team All- America pick in 1984 and was a two-time First Team All-ACC selection. He also received the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in back-to-back years (1984-85) as the ACC's best offensive lineman. Equally impressive in the classroom, he earned First Team Academic All- Conference honors in 1985. The New Orleans Saints chose Dombrowski sixth overall in the 1986 NFL Draft. He spent 11 seasons with the Saints and was named to the franchise's 30th and 35th Anniversary Teams. He also received his Master's of Education in 1991. A former Toyota Leadership Award winner for his contributions to the Virginia football program, Dombroski's jersey has been retired by the university. He resides in Mandeville, La., and works as a certified financial planner.
One of Florida State's most terrifying tacklers, Ron Simmons was twice named a consensus First Team All-America en route to leading the Seminoles to three bowl berths. The fourth FSU player to be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, Simmons was a three-time First Team All-South pick and led the Seminoles to a 39-8-0 record during his career. He holds school records for career tackles for loss (44) and forced fumbles (17); ranks second all-time in career tackles (483); and owns a spot in the top five of nearly every other FSU defensive category. Simmons also finished ninth in the 1979 Heisman Trophy voting. The 235-pound nose guard played two seasons in the United States Football League (USFL) before becoming a fixture in the professional wrestling world for more than 20 years. As part of "Doom," he and partner Butch Reed became the first WCW World Tag Team title holders. He later became the first-ever African American WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Currently a semi-retired professional wrestler for the WWE named "Faarooq," Simmons was the first FSU defender to have his jersey number retired by the university. He resides in Marietta, Ga.
The only coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games, Coach Lou Holtz was a fixture in the college football coaching landscape for more than three decades. Best known for his tenure at Notre Dame, Holtz led the Fighting Irish to the 1988 National Championship and 100 wins. He won conference championships at William & Mary, North Carolina State and Arkansas and is the only coach to guide four different programs to final Top 20 rankings. The Follansbee, W.V., native produced the best four-year win-loss record in NC State history and led Arkansas to six straight bowl games and four Top Ten finishes. Holtz received Man of the Year laurels from the Walter Camp Foundation in 1997 and twice earned the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Academic Achievement Award, which annually honors the school with the highest graduation rate among members of its football team. He also coached Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and College Football Hall of Fame inductees Chris Zorich and Billy Ray Smith. Currently a motivational speaker and a studio analyst for college football on ESPN, Holtz resides in Orlando, Fla. - NFF - Founded in 1947 with leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, Play It Smart, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. For more information, please visit us on the web at www.footballfoundation.com
|
|
 |
||||||
|
|
||||||
 |
ACC RELEASE | 2008 ACC PROSPECTUS | FOOTBALL OFFICIATING | STANDINGS | STATS | SCHEDULE | NEWS | ARCHIVES |
|
|
 |
 |
JIM DOMBROWSKI
RON SIMMONS
COACH LOU HOLTZ