Did you know that Tommie Frazier wasn't in the College Football Hall of Fame? Me neither. It begs the question exactly what it takes to make it to this elite group of the .002 of the college football players to ever play the game. However, that travesty of all travesties is about to come to an end, at least according to Matt Hayes of The Sporting News.
Source tells Sporting News: Tommie Frazier has been elected to College Football Hall of Fame.
— Matt Hayes(@Matt_HayesSN) May 6, 2013
The official announcement of the class of 2013 for the College Football Hall of Fame will be made tomorrow afternoon.
For those of us who grew up in the 90's and were college football fans it's likely the name Tommie Frazier is etched into your memory. How can it not be? All the guy did was led the Huskers to back-to-back National Championships in 1995 and 1996 over teams like Miami and Florida. Or, how about the fact that he still holds all sorts of season and career records at Nebraska?
So, why the long wait for one of the decade's most celebrated players? Good question. Your guess is as good as mine. It surely isn't because he was playing professional football for the better part of the last decade or anything.
According to the NFF's (National Football Foundation) website a player or coach is eligible for the Hall of Fame if they meet the following criteria:
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 Court ten years 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. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree.
– In accordance to the 50-year rule*, players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years. For example, to be eligible for the 2013 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1961 or thereafter. In addition, current professional players and / or coaches are not eligible until retirement.
– A coach becomes eligible three years 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 coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage*.
So, by all calculations Tommie Frazier has been eligible since 2005 to be elected to the Hall of Fame. How has it taken this long again? It couldn't have happened last year thanks to the rule that schools can not have players elected in back-to-back years either, but there have been plenty of chances since he became eligible….
If tomorrow Frazier is officially announced as a member of the class of 2013 it's a great move for the sport and removes one of the most head-scratching omissions from the Hall. Thanks to the voters for finally getting this one right, it's about freaking time.
