NORFOLK, Va., June 2, 2021 – Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner Dr. Dennis E. Thomas is on the players’ ballot for the 2022 class of the College Football Hall of Fame, which was released to voters on Wednesday.
As an offensive lineman at Alcorn State, Thomas was a two-time Pittsburgh Courier All-American (1972, 1973), and he was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Offensive Player of the Year in 1973 – the first and only offensive lineman to win the award.
Thomas was a member of the Braves’ 1970 SWAC championship team, and his teams went a combined 27-8-1.
The 2022 College Football Hall of Fame ballot was emailed Wednesday to the more than 12,000 National Football Foundation (NFF) members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Courts, which will deliberate and select the class. Membership voting runs through Friday, June 25.
In all, 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks (including Football Championship Subdivision, Div. II, Div. III and NAIA) are on the ballot.
“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.47 million people have played college football and only 1,038 players have been inducted,” NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell said in a release. “The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and we look forward to announcing the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class early next year.”
Specific details on the relevation of the 2022 class of the College Football Hall of Fame will be announced in the future.
The 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6, 2022, and permanently immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2022 season.
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) celebrates its 50th year of intercollegiate competition with the 2020-21 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of 11 outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Bethune-Cookman University, Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.