Colleges

Hall call arrives early for Bowden

A rule change letting active coaches join the college Hall of Fame clears the way for FSU's coach and Joe Paterno.

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published May 17, 2006

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden wasn't expecting a call telling him he was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Someday, sure.

But not now, not when he'd be answering the phone.

"I thought you had to die first, and I didn't want to volunteer for that," he said.

But Bowden, along with his septuagenarian pal who's still going strong at Penn State, Joe Paterno, will join former Florida star Emmitt Smith and former Seminole great Charlie Ward as members of the 2006 class from Division I-A. Others among the 13 players announced Tuesday morning include Miami's Bennie Blades, Minnesota's Carl Eller, Nebraska's Mike Rozier and Virginia Tech's Bruce Smith.

"It's a pretty nice group to go in with," Bowden said, adding it's "extra special" to go in with not only his Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and leader of FSU's first national championship team but also with Paterno.

Interestingly, neither Bowden nor Paterno, currently No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in wins among major college coaches, were on the list of seven coaching candidates.

Generally, coaches don't become eligible until they've been retired for three years unless they're at least 70. The rules just got tweaked to make active coaches eligible if they're older than 75. Bowden is 76, Paterno 79.

"The feeling was these coaches have done so much and they represent not only excellence in coaching, but the coaching profession, period," National Football Foundation president Steve Hatchell said of the recent change that paved the way for Bowden and Paterno. "Everyone had honored them. Everyone calls them great coaches and the feeling was, "Why not do both of them together because of their contributions to college football?' " Induction will be Dec. 5 in New York at the National Football Foundation's annual awards dinner. An enshrinement ceremony next summer will be at the Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. Bowden said the location of the $17-million Hall, a short drive from Notre Dame, is as "good as you can get" and makes his inclusion more special.

Ward echoed that.

"There's a negative experience for me going to South Bend a few years ago," he said, referring to his team's lone loss in 1993 that nearly cost FSU a chance to play for the national title. "I'm grateful to say that there's something positive about going back to South Bend this time."

[Last modified May 17, 2006, 01:29:12]