
Boyd, Starbeck on 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot
6/16/2020 4:38:00 PM | Football
IRVING, Texas – Two UNI football legends, Running back Carl Boyd and coach Clyde "Buck" Starbeck, are candidates on the 2021 National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
The ballot consists of 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks. The requirements on the player side include first-team All-American honors for the players and a 10-year coaching career with over.600 win percentage.
"It's an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.4 million people have played college football and only 1,027 players have been inducted," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "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 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT early next year."
Boyd was a force on the field for the Panthers. He racked up 2,985 career yards and 30 career touchdowns. He was the 1987 Gateway Conference Offensive Player of the Year and was named a first-team All-American. He helped lead UNI to the I-AA semifinals, but was injured and unable to make the trip to Louisiana where the Panthers fell to Northeast Louisiana, the eventual national champions 44-41 in double overtime.
While on-field accomplishments are vital for consideration, players must have "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 for academic honors and whether the candidate earned a college degree."
Boyd continued to excel after his time on the gridiron concluded, he earned his law degree from Drake University and after practicing law for over a decade, he was elected as a judge in 2012 and retained his season in 2018 for another six-year term. He won the Illinois Judicial Council President's Award in 2016 and 2017 and the Chicago Bar Association said that he "is well regarded for his diligence, work ethic, and excellent demeanor."
Starbeck was the most successful coach in the first seven decades of UNI football. He took over the team in 1936 and coached until 1957 (there was no football in 1943 or 1944 because of World War II.) He finished with a 95-58-10 (.613) record and won seven conference titles in 10 seasons. In one stretch, he led UNI to 31 consecutive conference wins.
Both Boyd and Starbeck are members of the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame.
The ballots will be voted on by 12,000 NFF members and Hall of Famers. The votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Courts, which will deliberate and select the class. The FBS Honors Court, chaired by NFF Board Member and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin from Ohio State, and the Divisional Honors Court, chaired by former Marshall head coach, longtime athletics director and NFF Board Member Jack Lengyel, include an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.
The ballot consists of 99 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks. The requirements on the player side include first-team All-American honors for the players and a 10-year coaching career with over.600 win percentage.
"It's an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.4 million people have played college football and only 1,027 players have been inducted," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "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 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT early next year."
Boyd was a force on the field for the Panthers. He racked up 2,985 career yards and 30 career touchdowns. He was the 1987 Gateway Conference Offensive Player of the Year and was named a first-team All-American. He helped lead UNI to the I-AA semifinals, but was injured and unable to make the trip to Louisiana where the Panthers fell to Northeast Louisiana, the eventual national champions 44-41 in double overtime.
While on-field accomplishments are vital for consideration, players must have "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 for academic honors and whether the candidate earned a college degree."
Boyd continued to excel after his time on the gridiron concluded, he earned his law degree from Drake University and after practicing law for over a decade, he was elected as a judge in 2012 and retained his season in 2018 for another six-year term. He won the Illinois Judicial Council President's Award in 2016 and 2017 and the Chicago Bar Association said that he "is well regarded for his diligence, work ethic, and excellent demeanor."
Starbeck was the most successful coach in the first seven decades of UNI football. He took over the team in 1936 and coached until 1957 (there was no football in 1943 or 1944 because of World War II.) He finished with a 95-58-10 (.613) record and won seven conference titles in 10 seasons. In one stretch, he led UNI to 31 consecutive conference wins.
Both Boyd and Starbeck are members of the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame.
The ballots will be voted on by 12,000 NFF members and Hall of Famers. The votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Courts, which will deliberate and select the class. The FBS Honors Court, chaired by NFF Board Member and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin from Ohio State, and the Divisional Honors Court, chaired by former Marshall head coach, longtime athletics director and NFF Board Member Jack Lengyel, include an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.
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