March 9, 2006
LAS VEGAS - Former UNLV great and current Las Vegas resident Randall Cunningham is a member of the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame Ballot for the first time, the New Jersey-based organization announced on Thursday.
Nominated by UNLV's sports information department, Cunningham was submitted to one of eight district screening committees, which conducted a vote to determine who would appear on the national ballot. If inducted he would be the first Rebel to make the hall of fame.
The 2006 ballot includes 77 players and seven coaches who will vie for college football's ultimate honor. Cunningham, who was a starter at two positions, is the only punter on the list, and leads a stellar class of first-time nominees that includes Ahmad Rashad (Oregon), Bruce Smith (Virginia Tech) and Emmitt Smith (Florida).
"Selecting the greatest players and coaches in the history of the game for induction into the Hall of Fame is an awesome responsibility," NFF president Steven J. Hatchell said. "It's our honor to preserve their legacies as an inspiration for future generations of players and fans."
The ballot was mailed this week to the more than 12,000 NFF members whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Court, which deliberates and selects the class.
The Hall of Fame Class will be announced on May 16 and inducted at The National Football Foundation's 49th Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, 2006, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Honorees will be officially enshrined at the hall in South Bend, Ind., in the summer of 2007.
To be eligible for the ballot, players must have been named a first team All-America by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams, played their last year of collegiate football at least 10 years prior, played within the last 50 years and be retired from playing professional football. The candidate's post-football record as a citizen may also be weighed.
While an offensive force on the field, Cunningham earned All-America honors primarily as a punter. He did not start kicking until the middle of his sophomore season at UNLV and fell just eight career attempts short of the NCAA minimum for records for career punting statistics. If he had punted just eight more times during his career, he would have the third-best career punting average in college history (for 150-249 career punts).
Still both the career passing and punting leader at UNLV, Cunningham finished his collegiate career by leading the Rebels to their first-ever bowl-game appearance -- a 30-13 victory over Toledo in the California Bowl in 1984.
The first quarterback selected in the 1985 NFL Draft when he went No. 37 overall to the Eagles, Cunningham went on to turn in a hall-of-fame-level professional career and remains the NFL's all-time leading rushing quarterback with 4,928 yards.
A four-time Pro Bowl invitee, he still ranks in the top 25 in league history for passing yards, touchdowns and completions and was named the 1998 NFL Offensive Player of the Year while with the Vikings.
2006 Division I-A Player Candidates
CANDIDATE; SCHOOL; POSITION(S); YEARS PLAYEDBilly Ray Adams; Mississippi; Fullback; 1959-61Troy Aikman; Oklahoma / UCLA; Quarterback; 1984-85, 1987-88Trev Alberts; Nebraska; Linebacker; 1990-93Bobby C. Anderson; Colorado; Running Back; 1967-69Otis Armstrong; Purdue; Running Back; 1970-72Steve Bartkowski; California; Quarterback; 1972-74Bob Berry; Oregon; Quarterback; 1962-64Benny Blades; Miami (Fla.); Defensive Back; 1985-87Tom Brahaney; Oklahoma; Center; 1970-72Dave Brown; Michigan; Defensive Back; 1972-74Ronnie Caveness; Arkansas; Center; 1962-64Jim Crawford; Wyoming; Running Back; 1954-56Randall Cunningham; UNLV; Punter/Quarterback; 1982-84Jeff Davis; Clemson; Linebacker; 1978-81Rich Diana; Yale; Running Back; 1979-81Eric Dickerson; Southern Methodist; Running Back; 1979-82Don Dufek; Michigan; Defensive Back; 1973-75Ed Dyas; Auburn; Fullback; 1958-60Carl Eller; Minnesota; Tackle; 1961-63Steve Emtman; Washington; Defensive Lineman; 1989-91Bill Enyart; Oregon State; Fullback; 1966-68Thomas Everett; Baylor; Free Safety; 1983-86Dave Gallagher; Michigan; Defensive Tackle; 1970-73Kirk Gibson; Michigan State; Wide Receiver; 1975-78Charley Gogolak; Princeton; Place Kicker; 1963-65Bob Golic; Notre Dame; Linebacker; 1976-78Terrence Hanratty; Notre Dame; Quarterback; 1966-68Al Harris; Arizona State; Defensive End; 1975-78Major Harris; West Virginia; Quarterback; 1987-89Chad Hennings; Air Force; Defensive Tackle; 1984-87Mark Herrmann; Purdue; Quarterback; 1977-80Dick Jauron; Yale; Running Back; 1970-72Johnnie Johnson; Texas; Safety; 1976-79Chip Kell; Tennessee; Offensive Guard; 1968-70Rex Kern; Ohio State; Quarterback; 1968-70Jess Lewis; Oregon State; Defensive Tackle; 1966-67, 1969Robert Lytle; Michigan; Running Back; 1974-76Rueben Mayes; Washington State; Running Back; 1982-8539. Pat McInally; Harvard; Tight End; 1972-74Marlin McKeever; Southern California; End; 1958-60Art Monk; Syracuse; Wide Receiver; 1976-79Paul Naumoff; Tennessee; Linebacker; 1964-66Bob Novogratz; Army; Guard; 1957-58Tom Nowatzke; Indiana; Fullback; 1961-64Phillip Olsen; Utah State; Defensive End; 1967-69Jim Otis; Ohio State; Fullback; 1967-69Dave Parks; Texas Tech; End; 1961-63Mike Phipps; Purdue; Quarterback; 1967-69Ahmad Rashad (Bobby Moore); Oregon; Running Back; 1969-71Ron Rivera; California; Linebacker; 1980-83Mike Rozier; Nebraska; Running Back; 1981-83Lucius Sanford; Georgia Tech; Linebacker; 1974-77Jim Seymour; Notre Dame; End; 1966-68Sterling Sharpe; South Carolina; Wide Receiver; 1984-87Jeff Siemon; Stanford; Linebacker; 1968-71Ron Simmons; Florida State; Nose Guard; 1977-80Bruce Smith; Virginia Tech; Defensive Tackle; 1981-84Emmitt Smith; Florida; Running Back; 1987-89Chris Spielman; Ohio State; Linebacker; 1984-87Larry Station; Iowa; Linebacker; 1982-85Don Stephenson; Georgia Tech; Center; 1955-57Pat Swilling; Georgia Tech; Defensive End; 1982-85Darryl Talley; West Virginia; Linebacker; 1979-82Jim Taylor; Louisiana State; Fullback; 1956-57Lawrence Taylor; North Carolina; Linebacker; 1977-80Clendon Thomas; Oklahoma; Running Back; 1955-57Thurman Thomas; Oklahoma State; Running Back; 1984-87Anthony Thompson; Indiana; Running Back; 1986-89Gino Torretta; Miami (Fla.); Quarterback; 1989-92Don Trull; Baylor; Quarterback; 1961-63Charlie Ward; Florida State; Quarterback; 1989, 1991-93Wilson Whitley; Houston; Defensive Tackle; 1973-76Clarence Williams; Washington State; Running Back; 1972-74Reggie Williams; Dartmouth; Linebacker; 1973-75Scott Woerner; Georgia; Defensive Back; 1977-80Richard Wood; Southern California; Linebacker; 1972-74Chris Zorich; Notre Dame; Defensive Tackle; 1987-90
