BC's Mike Ruth: 2017 College Football Hall of Fame

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NFF Announces Star-Studded

2017 College Football Hall of Fame Class

10 All-America players and three coaches will be inducted at the 60^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5 in NYC and immortalized at the Hall in Atlanta.

TAMPA, Fla. – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the 2017 College Football Hall of Fame Class, which includes former Boston College standout defensive tackle Mike Ruth. The inductees included 10 First Team All-America players and three standout coaches who were selected from the national ballot of 75 All-America players and six elite coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and the 95 players and 29 coaches from the divisional ranks.

“There is more honor, courage, toughness and teamwork displayed in one football game than one might find in an entire year off the field,” said Ruth. “It reminds us all of what’s best in life and in America. To be honored by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame for my part as a nose tackle from Boston College is the single greatest moment in my life,” added Ruth.

Ruth is the 10^th former Boston College player or coach enshrined in the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame. He joins a select class of Eagles in the College Hall of Fame including Doug Flutie, Mike Holovak, George Kerr, Gene Goodreault, Chester S. Gladchuk, Sr., Charlie O’Rourke along with former coaches Frank Cavanaugh, Gil Dobie, and Frank Leahy.

The announcement of the 2017 Class was made today live on SportsCenter in Tampa, Fla., the site of the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship, which will be played tonight at Raymond James Stadium between No. 1 Alabama (14-0) and No. 2 Clemson (13-1).

“We are extremely proud to announce the 2017 College Football Hall of Fame Class,” said Archie Manning, NFF Chairman, and a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Mississippi. “Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments.”

The new tradition of announcing the College Football Hall of Fame class in conjunction with the CFP National Championship began in 2015 before the inaugural CFP title game in Dallas. The 2017 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be inducted at the 60^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, 2017, at the New York Hilton Midtown. The inductees will also be honored at the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, 2018, and they will be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the fall. Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

SELECTION CRITERIA

First and foremost, a player must have received First Team All-America recognition by a selector organization that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise their consensus All-America teams.

A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation’s honors courts ten 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 and fellow man. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree.

Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years*. For example, to be eligible for the 2017 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1967 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 retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years of age. Active coaches become eligible at 75 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.

* Players that do not comply with the 50-year rule may still be eligible for consideration by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Divisional Honors Review Committees, which examine unique cases.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME QUICK FACTS

Including the 2017 Hall of Fame class, only 987 players, and 214 coaches, have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.19 million who have played or coached the game during the past 148 years. In other words, less than two ten-thousandths of one percent (.0002) of the individuals who have played the game have been deemed worthy of this distinction.
Founded in 1947, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame inducted its first class of inductees in 1951. The first class included 32 players and 19 coaches, including Illinois’ Red Grange, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Carlisle’s Jim Thorpe.
306 schools are represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer.
Induction for this class of Hall of Famers will take place Dec. 5, 2017, during the 60^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Hilton Midtown.

MIKE RUTH

Boston College

Nose Guard, 1982-85

The recipient of the 1985 Outland Trophy as the most outstanding interior lineman in the nation, Mike Ruth terrorized offensive lines with his combination of strength and quickness. He becomes the seventh Boston College player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

A consensus First Team All-American as a senior, Ruth led the Eagles to three bowl games, including a win in the 1985 Cotton Bowl against Houston. Boston College would finish the 1984 season ranked No. 5 nationally. A three-time All-East and All-ECAC selection, he led the Eagles to back-to-back Lambert Trophies as the best FBS team in the East in 1983 and 1984.

A team captain as a senior, Ruth amassed 344 career tackles, 29 sacks, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries during his remarkable career. In 1986, he received Boston College’s highest athletic honor when he was named Eagle of the Year. A teammate of College Football Hall of Famer Doug Flutie, Ruth is a member of Boston College’s Varsity Club Hall of Fame and his No. 68 jersey was retired by the program.

Ruth was drafted in the in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots and spent two seasons with the franchise. He also spent two seasons with the Barcelona Dragons in the World League of American Football.

After his football career, Ruth worked in insurance for more than a decade and earned a master’s in education from Harvard University. He has served as president of Mike Ruth Consulting since 2003, and he currently teaches and coaches at Everett High School in Massachusetts.