Hampton, Harris on College Football Hall of Fame ballot

Razorback legends and teammates Dan Hampton and Leotis Harris have been nominated for the College Football Hall of Fame, appearing as one of 78 players on this year’s ballot.

Hampton was a First-Team All-America selection in 1978 and a two-time member of the All-SWC before being drafted fourth overall by the Chicago Bears in 1979. He remains one of the highest drafted Razorbacks in school history and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002 after a legendary career with the Bears, including winning Super Bowl XX. As a Hog, Hampton was a force for Frank Broyles and Lou Holtz helping the team to three Top 10 finishes with wins in the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl.

Harris became the first African-American All-American for the Razorbacks when he was named a consensus First-Team All-American in 1977. He helped the Hogs to a share of the SWC title in 1975, capped by a Cotton Bowl victory over Georgia to finish ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll. As a team captain in 1977, Harris led Arkansas to an 11-1 finish after a stunning win over No. 2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. He went on to a six-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers.

The announcement of the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2024, with specific details to be announced in the future.

The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 66th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 10, 2024, and permanently immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2024 season.

The criteria for Hall of Fame consideration include:

• First and foremost, a player must have received First-Team All-America recognition by a selector that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its consensus All-America teams.

• A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation’s Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his final 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 the candidate earned a college degree.

• Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years.* For example, to be eligible for the 2024 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1974 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire.

• A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years of age. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.

• Nominations may only be submitted by the current athletics director, head coach or sports information director (SID) of a candidate’s collegiate institution. Nominations may also be submitted by the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation.

*Players who do not comply with the 50-year rule may still be eligible for consideration by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Divisional Veterans Committees. Veterans Committee candidates must still meet First Team All-America requirement.