Lou Holtz and Troy Aikman Headline College Football Hall of Fame Class

Sports Betting News - July 19th, 2009 - Written by Bruce

Twenty one former players and coaches were enshrined Saturday night into the College Football Hall of Fame. The event was held at South Bend, Indiana and the huge crowd favorite was legendary Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz. Holtz led Notre Dame to an undefeated season and a National Championship in 1988. His 100-30-2 record while coaching at Notre Dame made him an icon among Irish fans. He also coached at five other schools and finished with a remarkable 249-132-7 record for his college coaching career. Troy Aikman was also enshrined on Saturday and he is now a member of both the college and NFL Hall of Fames. Troy started his college career at the University of Oklahoma. He led the team to some big wins in his first year as a starter but after he broke his ankle he decided to transfer to UCLA to play quarterback for the Bruins. As a junior he led the team to a 10-2 record and a bowl win. Aikman then won the Davey O'brien Award his senior season as the nation's top quarterback. Ultimately he found greater success in the NFL as he was the first overall pick of the 1989 NFL Draft and led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl Championships over his career.

Holtz and Aikman were not the only big names to be honored on Saturday. Legendary Ohio State Head Coach John Cooper was among the Hall of Fame inductees. He coached the Buckeyes for thirteen seasons and compiled a very impressive 111-43-4 record. He led them to two seasons where they finished at No. 2 in the country and he won three Big Ten Championships. Cooper coached three seasons at Arizona State before going to Ohio State. In 1986 he led Arizona State to a Rose Bowl win and a Pac Ten Championship. His head coaching career began at Tulsa and he led them to five straight Missouri Conference titles from 1980-1984. Thurmon Thomas also was honored as he had a brilliant college career playing for Oklahoma State. He compiled 21 100 yard rushing games, had 43 touchdowns, and finished his career with 4,595 rushing yards. This rushing total is still an Oklahoma State record.

Other notables who were honored are Don McPherson and Billy Cannon. McPherson was the former Syracuse quarterback who was the Heisman Trophy runner up in 1987. Cannon won the prestigious Heisman Trophy in 1959 and was originally voted into the College Football Hall of Fame back in 1983. His Hall of Fame induction was then rescinded after he pled guilty to federal counterfeiting charges. Joining the 21 others from this year's class, Cannon is once again a College Football Hall of Fame member.