Story Courtesy of the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame

IRVING, Texas (Jan. 15, 2025) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class during "College Football Live" on ESPN2. The Mid-American Conference was represented by legendary head coaches Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. 

The 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 2025, at Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Tickets are available at https://NFF2025.givesmart.com.
 
The inductees will also 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 Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Each inductee will receive a custom ring created by Jostens, the official and exclusive supplier of NFF rings.

The full 2025 Hall of Fame Class can be found here. 

COACH NICK SABAN
University of Toledo (1990); Michigan State University (1995-99);
LSU (2000-04); University of Alabama (2007-23)
Head Coach: 292-71-1 (80.4%)
 
A master strategist and unparalleled recruiter, Nick Saban's legendary career includes an unprecedented seven national titles and a list of accomplishments that cements his name in the pantheon of the greatest to have ever coached the game. The Monongah, West Virginia, native now becomes the second coach from Toledo, the sixth from Michigan State, the sixth from LSU and the fifth from Alabama to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
 
Over 28 seasons as a head coach, Saban compiled a 292-71-1 career record (80.4%), retiring as the NCAA's active leader in wins and ranking sixth all-time among FBS coaches. With seven national championships—six at Alabama and one at LSU—Saban holds the record for the most titles in FBS history. He also holds the distinction as the first coach in history to win national crowns at two different FBS schools since the AP Poll's inception in 1936. He is the only head coach in the BCS and CFP eras with multiple undefeated national championship seasons.
 
Saban's head coaching journey began at Toledo (1990), where he went 9-2 and won a share of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) title in his lone season with the Rockets. From 1995-99, Saban led Michigan State, revitalizing the Spartans program while posting a 34-24-1 record. He landed four bowl appearances in his five seasons in East Lansing, with the 1999 Spartans finishing with a final No. 7 ranking.
 
Coaching in Baton Rouge for five seasons (2000-04), Saban tallied an overall record of 48-16 and delivered LSU its first national championship since 1958 with a win in the 2003 BCS National Championship over Oklahoma. He also led the Tigers to two SEC titles (2001, 2003), a 4-1 postseason record in bowl games, and four top 25 final national rankings.
 
During his 17 seasons at Alabama (2007-23), Saban built the most dominant dynasty in modern college football, leading the Tide to nine BCS/CFP championship game appearances while winning six national titles. He compiled an overall record of 201-29 (87.4%) and produced 15 consecutive seasons with a No. 1 AP ranking and nine SEC titles. He led the Crimson Tide to 17 bowl appearances, posting an overall postseason record of 13-4. His 201 wins at Alabama ranks second all-time, eclipsed only by Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. He had a 26-game winning streak from 2015-16, and combining his tenures at LSU and Alabama, he went 11-1 in SEC Championship games.
 
Saban's unmatched ability to develop talent resulted in 66 First Team All-Americans, including four Heisman Trophy winners, which ties him with Hall of Famer Frank Leahy for the most by any coach in history. He coached seven NFF National Scholar-Athletes, including Campbell Trophy® winners Rudy Niswanger at LSU and Barrett Jones and Jalen Milroe at Alabama. He mentored 136 NFL Draft picks at Alabama, and he holds the most first round draft picks in a career with 52.
 
Saban never had a losing season in 28 years as a head coach, and he claimed more than 20 coach of the year honors during his career, including the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year twice (2003 and 2008) and SEC Coach of Year five times (2003, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2020). His expansive coaching tree includes more than 35 assistant head coaches who have gone on to become head coaches in college and the NFL.
 
Beyond football, Saban's impact extended into philanthropy. His Nick's Kids Foundation has distributed over $13 million to more than 150 charities. He helped rebuild 22 homes with Habitat for Humanity after a devastating tornado in Tuscaloosa and made multiple $1 million donations to support first-generation scholarships, Alabama athletics, and St. Francis Catholic Church. His latest initiative, the Saban Center, will house a STEM Discovery Center, the Alabama STEM Hub, and the Tuscaloosa Children's Theater.
 
A three-year letterman at safety for Kent State (1970-72), Saban earned both his bachelor's (1973) and master's (1975) degrees from Kent State. Now an ESPN College GameDay analyst, he remains a revered figure in college football. In recognition of his unparalleled success, Alabama's Board of Trustees approved plans to name the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium in his honor.

COACH URBAN MEYER
Bowling Green State University (2001-02): University of Utah (2003-04); University of Florida (2005-10); Ohio State University (2012-18)
Head Coach: 187-32-0 (85.4%)
 
Winning 85 percent of his games and claiming three national titles, Urban Meyer guided four different FBS programs and became one of the most successful and transformative coaches in college football history. The Toledo, Ohio, native now becomes the second coach from Utah, the third from Bowling Green, the fifth from Florida and the eighth from Ohio State to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
 
Meyer's coaching career began at Bowling Green, where he orchestrated a dramatic turnaround, making the Falcons the first Mid-American Conference (MAC) team to go 3-0 against BCS opponents in a single season (2001) and posting a 17-6 record during two seasons.
 
He then took over at Utah, leading the Utes to a 22-2 record in two seasons, including their first undefeated season (12-0) since 1930, their first-ever BCS bowl appearance (Fiesta Bowl), and the first back-to-back Mountain West Conference (MWC) titles in league history. The Utes finished No. 21 after the 2003 season with a win in the Liberty Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl win made history as the first time a team from a non-automatically qualifying BCS conference played in a BCS bowl, earning the Utes the distinction as the inaugural "BCS Buster." The Utes would finish at No. 4 in the final AP Poll after the 2004 season, and quarterback Alex Smith (a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee) was a Heisman finalist and eventual No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
 
At Florida, Meyer won two national championships (2006, 2008) and two SEC titles (2006, 2008) with an overall record of 65-15 during his six seasons in Gainesville. Meyer's Florida tenure included a 22-game winning streak, one of four separate 20-game winning streaks he achieved across his career—the only coach in major college football history to do so. He also coached 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Tim Tebow, who won the Campbell Trophy.
 
Meyer's success continued at Ohio State, where he led the Buckeyes to three Big Ten Championships (2014, 2017, 2018) and a national title in 2014, making him the only modern-era coach to win a national championship in two different conferences and one of only two to do it at two different schools (fellow 2025 inductee Nick Saban being the other). His Ohio State teams went 83-9 during seven seasons, never finishing lower than first in their division. They tallied a 54-4 Big Ten record while setting an NCAA record with 30 consecutive conference victories. His Buckeyes also dominated their archrival, going 7-0 against Michigan during his tenure.
 
Meyer set a major college record with 165 wins in his first 15 seasons, and his 85.4 winning percentage ranks third all-time in college football history, trailing only Hall of Fame coaches Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy. His postseason success was equally impressive, with a 12-3 bowl record (78.5% win rate), the second-highest in FBS history. In total, Meyer coached 44 First Team All-Americans, 77 First Team all-conference players, four NFF National Scholar-Athletes (two at Florida, two at Ohio State) and two College Football Hall of Fame inductees. He won seven conference championships overall. He was named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year in 2004, and he was named the conference Coach of the Year three times (MWC in 2003, 2004 and MAC in 2001).
 
Beyond football, Meyer has made a lasting impact through civic service, serving on the boards of the Veterans Golfers Association, Folds of Honor, and the Tim Tebow Foundation. He and his wife established the Urban and Shelley Meyer Fund for Cancer Research at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center.
 
Meyer earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Cincinnati (1986), lettering one season (1984) with the Bearcats as a defensive back. While launching his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Buckeyes, he earned his master's degree in sports administration from Ohio State in 1988. Meyer's coaching career also includes assistant positions at Illinois State, Colorado State and Notre Dame. He was the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021.
 
He is a member of the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame and the Ashtabula County Football Hall of Fame. He currently serves as a host and analyst on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff.