The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced today the members of the College Football Hall of Fame 2012 Divisional Class. Among the newest inductees is former Elon great Richard McGeorge who becomes the maroon and gold’s first player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.

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The Divisional College Football Hall of Fame considers players and coaches from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), Divisions II, III, and the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) for induction. This year’s class will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during the Enshrinement Festival, July 20-21, in South Bend, Ind.

The rest of the 2012 Divisional College Football Hall of Fame Class include former players Chris Bisaillon (Illinois Wesleyan), Jim Holder (Oklahoma Panhandle State) and Rex Mirich (Northern Arizona) and coaches Gene Carpenter (Adams State, Millersville), William “Lone Star” Dietz (Washington State, Purdue, Louisiana Tech, Wyoming, Haskell Indian Institute, Albright) and Ron Harms (Concordia, Adams State, Texas A&M - Kingsville).

The personification of the term “student-athlete”, McGeorge was named a two-time first-team All-American and an Academic All-American during his collegiate career.

McGeorge, a tight end, rewrote Elon’s receiving records book, ending his career as the school’s career record-holder with 224 receptions for 3,486 yards and 31 touchdowns. The conference MVP also set single-season marks with 65 grabs for 1,081 yards, and single-game records with 15 catches, 285 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Chosen with the 16th overall pick of the 1970 NFL Draft, McGeorge enjoyed a nine-year career with the Green Bay Packers, earning the team’s Offensive Player of the Year honors in 1973. He also served as the state chairperson for the muscular dystrophy society of Wisconsin from 1975-78. McGeorge is also a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard.

McGeorge was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 1979 and the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1980.

“This year’s class of Divisional College Football Hall of Fame inductees represents the best of our sport from the divisional ranks,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 Hall of Fame inductee from Ole Miss. “They have all achieved the highest levels of success, and they should be applauded for their induction into college football’s ultimate shrine. We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments
this summer.”

The NFF launched its Divisional Hall of Fame program in 1996 during its annual enshrinement festival. A total of 137 players and coaches, counting this year’s class, have been inducted from the divisional ranks, including Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech), Walter Payton (Jackson State), John Randle (Texas A&M – Kingsville), Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), and coach Eddie Robinson (Grambling State). Of the 4.79 million who have played college football since 1869, the newest class of inductees joins only 914 players and 197 coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Including the recently announced 2012 Football Bowl Subdivision class and this class of divisional honorees, only 918 players and 200 coaches, have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 4.86 million who have played or coached the game over the past 143 years. In other words, only two one-hundredths of one percent (.0002) of the individuals who have played the game have been deemed worthy of this distinction. This year’s divisional class brings the number of schools represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer to 292.

By Elon University Media Relations