Legendary MSUM Fooball Coach Fortier on 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot
All-time winningest coach at MSUM
MOORHEAD, Minn. – (MSUM Athletics) Former Minnesota State University Moorhead football coach Ross Fortier is listed on the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Fortier is one of 33 coaches from the divisional ranks to be listed on the ballot, which also includes seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Fortier is in the MSUM Hall of Fame and NSIC Hall of fame and is the Dragons’ all-time leader in football coaching victories. He is one of four individuals with Minnesota connects on the ballot.
To become eligible, a coach must have been retired for three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years of age.. He must have been a head coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning 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.”
The ballot was emailed today to the more than 12,000 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. 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 announcement of the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT will be made in early 2021, with specific details to be announced in the future.
The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class Presented by ETT will be officially inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7, 2021, at the New York Hilton Midtown. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2021 season.
