Football | 6/10/2026 4:07:05 PM

ATLANTA — Former Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) coach Rudy Hubbard of Florida A&M and former football standout Nick Collins of Bethune-Cookman were inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame, honoring their contributions to HBCU football and cementing their legacies among the sport's most influential figures.
 
Also honored as a member of the Hall of Fame class was Steve Wyche, an alumnus of Howard University and a respected journalist known for his coverage of professional football.
 
The six-member Class of 2026 featured Jimmy Smith (Jackson State), Eddie Robinson Jr. (Alabama State), Collins (Bethune-Cookman), Tyrone Poole (Fort Valley State), Hubbard (Florida A&M) and Wyche (Howard).
 
Rudy Hubbard
Hubbard, who served as head coach at FAMU from 1974-1985, compiled an 83-48-3 record. The centerpiece of Hubbard's storied career came in 1978, when he led the Rattlers to the inaugural NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship, a groundbreaking moment for HBCU football and the program's first NCAA national title.
 
That season capped a historic run of back-to-back Black College National Championships in 1977 and 1978, cementing Florida A&M's place atop the national stage.
 
Hubbard's dominance extended to the Orange Blossom Classic, where he guided the Rattlers to five consecutive victories from 1974-1978.
 
Nick Collins
Collins was a three-year starter at free safety (2002-04) and the captain of one of the most successful football teams in Bethune-Cookman history. Known as a ferocious hitter, the free safety earned All-American and First Team All-MEAC honors when he led the league with six interceptions in 2004.
 
He was picked in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers in 2005, going on to earn three Pro Bowl appearances and scoring a touchdown in the Packers' Super Bowl XLV victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. After retiring in 2015, Collins was named to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2016.
 
Steve Wyche
Wyche started his career at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, covering high school and college athletics before serving as a reporter with The Miami Herald where he covered a number of beats, including the Miami Dolphins, the Miami Heat and the University of Florida National Championship football team.
 
His ascension would later take him to The Washington Post as beat reporter for the Washington Wizards and later with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, covering the Atlanta Falcons during the Michael Vick era.
 
Wyche currently serves as the Chief National Reporter for NFL Network and NFL.com, spending nearly two decades delivering insider reports, providing analytical breakdown and hosting marquee network programs.
 
About the Black College Football Hall of Fame
The Black College Football Hall of Fame was founded in 2009 by African-American pioneers, quarterbacks James Harris and Doug Williams to preserve the history and honor the greatest football players, coaches and contributors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There have been 130 inductees since inception, including Mel Blount, James Harris, Willie Lanier, Art Shell and Doug Williams, who serve as Trustees.