by Matt Kupec
December 31, 2018
Being inducted into the Hall of Fame as a college coach is the ultimate honor one can achieve. The designation as a “Hall of Fame” coach means that you have achieved great success as a coach in running and leading a very successful program.
College football and basketball have differing criteria for inducting coaches into their respective hall of fame. The chart below presents that criteria and lists the active hall of fame coaches who are still roaming the sidelines and leading their college programs.
Of particular note, the University of North Carolina is the only school with both basketball and football having “hall of fame” coaches – Roy Williams and Mack Brown. In fact, Coach Brown is the only active “hall of fame” coach in 2018.
Active College Head Coaches (Basketball & Football) in the Hall of Fame
Basketball
Criteria: a coach must be either fully retired for four full seasons or, if still an active coach, have coaches as either a fulltime assistant or head coach on the high school and/or college and/or professional level for a minimum of 25 years. That person will then be considered for Enshrinement in the sixth year of retirement or 26th year of active coaching.
Active College Coaches in the Hall of Fame:
Bill Self (Kansas)
Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
John Calipari (Kentucky)
Mike Krzyzewski (Duke)
Roy Williams (North Carolina)
Tom Izzo (Michigan St.)
Football
Criteria: a coach becomes eligible three years 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.
Active College Coaches in the Hall of Fame:
Mack Brown (North Carolina)
About the Author:
Matt Kupec is a fundraising professional with 32 years of significant higher education development experience. He has directed three major university fundraising campaigns and nearly $5 billion has been raised under his leadership. He has led the fundraising programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hofstra University, Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and HelpMeSee, a New York City based non-profit. He is currently serving as Senior In-House Fundraising Counsel for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Matt is a former record-breaking four year starting quarterback for the UNC Tar Heels. During his career he set 19 season and career passing records. Two of which still stand – most consecutive games with a TD pass and most wins as a starting QB. Matt also set the ACC record for TD passes his senior year at UNC. Matt was named MVP of the 1977 Liberty Bowl and the 1979 Gator Bowl becoming the 1st player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to be named MVP of two bowl games.