IRVING, Texas (Sept. 4, 2024) – Nebraska and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2024 College Football Hall of Fame electee Frank Solich with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments®. The Salute will take place this Saturday, Sept. 7, during the Cornhuskers’ home football game against Colorado, which will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock.
“Frank Solich built a remarkable legacy at Nebraska and Ohio, ranking fourth in wins among active FBS head coaches at his retirement,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “In just six seasons, he led Nebraska to a Big 12 title, three division crowns, three top-10 finishes, and a BCS Championship Game berth. We are excited to honor him at Memorial Stadium as part of the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class on Sept. 7.”
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular events remain the first of numerous activities in the Hall of Fame experience.
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many Hall of Famers cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and be recognized in front of their home crowd.
Ranking fourth for most victories among active FBS head coaches at the time of his retirement in 2021, Solich notched an overall record of 173-101 for a 63.1 winning percentage during his 22 years as a head coach, including 58-19 (75.3%) during his six-year run with the Cornhuskers and 115-82 (58.4%) during his 16 years at Ohio.
Solich coached Nebraska to a Big 12 title (1999) and three Big 12 North Division titles (1999, 2000, 2001). The Cornhuskers posted at least nine wins in five of his six seasons as head coach, including a 12-1 record and No. 3 final ranking in 1999. He later led the Huskers to an 11-2 record and an appearance against Miami (FL) in the BCS National Championship Game at the 2002 Rose Bowl. He coached Nebraska to three top 10 finishes (No. 3 in 1999, No. 8 in 2000, No. 8 in 2001) and victories over Tennessee in the 2000 Fiesta Bowl and Northwestern in the 2000 Alamo Bowl.
The winningest coach in Mid-American Conference history with 115 overall wins, Solich led the Bobcats to four MAC East titles (2006, 2009, 2011, 2016), and his 77 conference wins rank second only behind College Football Hall of Fame coach Herb Deromedi, who posted 90 victories during his career at Central Michigan. He and Deromedi are tied at 16 years for longest tenured coach in MAC history. His 115 wins also rank second in Bobcat program history, only behind Don Peden who had 121 victories from 1924-46.
He coached 13 total First Team All-Americans, including College Football Hall of Fame inductee Eric Crouch at Nebraska, who won the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp National Player of the Year award and Davey O’Brien Award, and he coached seven Academic All-Americans, including 2000 NFF Campbell Trophy recipient Kyle Vanden Bosch. He coached 28 First Team All-Conference players at Nebraska and 31 at Ohio.
Solich served as an assistant at Nebraska from 1979-97, coaching the running backs, before becoming the head coach. As an assistant to Hall of Fame coach Tom Osborne, Solich was part of the coaching staff on three national championship teams (1994, 1995, 1997), and he recruited and coached Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Mike Rozier.
Solich was also a three-year letterman at Nebraska (1963-65), playing fullback and serving as team captain for the 1965 season. He played on three Big Eight Championship teams (1963, 1964, 1965), and he was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame inductee as a player in 1992 and as a coach in 2012. He began his coaching career as a high school head coach in Nebraska for more than a decade.
The Cleveland, Ohio, product now becomes the first inductee ever from Ohio and the seventh coach from Nebraska to enter the Hall. From Nebraska, he joins Dana Bible, Bob Devaney, Lawrence “Biff” Jones, Tom Osborne, Edward Robinson and Fielding Yost.
The 2024 class includes Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State), the late Paul Cameron (UCLA), Tim Couch (Kentucky), Warrick Dunn (Florida State), Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State), Deon Figures (Colorado), Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh), Toby Gerhart (Stanford), Dan Hampton (Arkansas), Steve Hutchinson (Michigan), Antonio Langham (Alabama), Randy Moss (Marshall), Julius Peppers (North Carolina), Paul Posluszny (Penn State), Dewey Selmon (Oklahoma), Alex Smith (Utah), Kevin Smith (Texas A&M), Chris Ward (Ohio State), Danny Woodhead (Chadron State [NE]), and coaches Mark Dantonio (Cincinnati, Michigan State); Danny Hale (West Chester [PA], Bloomsburg [PA]); and Frank Solich (Nebraska, Ohio).
The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted at the National Football Foundation’s 66th Annual Awards Dinner presented by Las Vegas on Tuesday December 10 at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Click here for more information on the Awards Dinner, including options to purchase tickets online, special travel rates to the event from Delta Air Lines and hotel rates at the Bellagio.
Including the 2024 Hall of Fame Class, only 1,093 players and 233 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.79 million who have played or coached the game during the past 156 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played the game have earned this distinction.
Fidelity Investments has served as the national presenting sponsor of the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes since 2010. The salutes are one component of a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. Fidelity is also the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, and it helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes in 2011, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives around the country.
ABOUT The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters in 47 states, NFF programs include the selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta; Future For Football; The William V. Campbell Trophy®; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award; and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.
