Lou Holtz, Billy Cannon and Troy Aikman were among 15 former players and coaches elected Thursday to the College Football Hall of Fame.
As coach, Holtz led six schools to 249 victories in a 35 year career. He won a national title with Notre Dame in 1988. Cannon played tailback and defensive back for LSU from 1957-59, winning the Heisman Trophy his senior year.
The other 11 players chosen by the NFF’s selection committee included Virginia offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski; Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald; Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall; Washington State running back Ruben Mayes; Arizona State guard Randall McDaniel; Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson; Wyoming tight end Jay Novacek; Texas Tech split end Dave Parks; Florida State nose guard Ron Simmons; Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas, and Army quarterback Arnold Tucker.
The Naismith Trophy is given every year to the men’s and women’s college players of the year and is the most prestigious national award one can receive in college basketball. Hansbrough beat out fellow junior Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis), and freshmen Michael Beasley (Kansas State), and Kevin Love (UCLA) to become the 16th recipient from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to win the award, more than any other conference.
For the season, Hansbrough, who hails from Poplar Bluff, Mo.,averaged 22.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in being named the ACC Player of the Year, and led the Tar Heels to both the ACC regular-season and tournament championships this season. The 6-9 junior from joins Michael Jordan (1984) and Antawn Jamison (1998) as the third Tar Heel to win the Naismith Trophy and will become only the sixth player in school history to have his jersey retired. He’s a three-time, first-team All-America selection and an eight-time ACC player of the week choice.
