Two Illini legends make the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Two Illini legends make the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot.

The National Football Foundation just announced the names on its 2024 ballot. Those names include 78 players, nine coaches from FBS and 101 players, and 32 coaches from the other divisions. The ballot from the Football Bowl Subdivision reads like a who’s who of all-time great football players:

2024 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot#Illini pic.twitter.com/SoX7zvY4SO

— Writing Illini (@WritingIlliniFS) June 5, 2023

Two of the players on the ballot are Illinois legends Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy. The last Illini inductee was linebacker Dana Howard in 2023. Both Rice and Hardy had careers worthy of the Hall of Fame. Rice was All-Big Ten three times and was a first-team All-American twice. The Arizona Cardinals drafted Rice in the 1996 NFL Draft. The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Hardy with the second pick. Before being selected by the Jags, Hardy was a consensus All-American in 1995 and was All-Big Ten in 1994 and 1995.

Criteria for the Hall:

The criteria for Hall of Fame consideration include:

• First and foremost, a player must have received First-Team All-America recognition by a selector that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its consensus All-America teams.
• A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation’s Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his final year of intercollegiate football played.
• While each nominee’s football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post-football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community. Consideration may also be given to academic honors and whether the candidate earned a college degree.
• Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years.* to be eligible for the 2024 ballot; the player must have played his last year in 1974 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire.
• A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after or immediately after retirement, provided he is at least 70. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
•  Only the current athletics director, head coach, or sports information director (SID) of a candidate’s collegiate institution may submit nominations. Nominations may also be submitted by the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation.