The death of Mike Leach nearly two and a half years ago sent significant reverberations across the college football world.
Leach was beloved by fans across the sport for his acerbic wit, and he was a successful, winning coach at multiple Power conference schools — Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State — while employing arguably the most dramatic version of the Air Raid offense the sport has ever seen.
Combine it all together and over the course of his 21-year coaching career, Leach became one of the most iconic faces in college football.
Yet at his passing, Leach was not eligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. The requirements for a coach to be inducted include a career winning percentage of .600 — Leach won 59.6% of his games during his head coaching career.
The win percentage cutoff irked many who saw Leach as a transformational figure in the sport.
“The guy revolutionized the game,” then-Washington State coach Jake Dickert told The Athletic last summer. “Talk to anybody in college football that matters an ounce, and you’ll realize that in two seconds. Let’s get the man in the Hall of Fame. Come on.”
On Thursday morning, the National Football Foundation announced a change, however, which will make Leach eligible for induction into the CFB Hall of Fame.
First reported by Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, the NFF has adjusted the requirements for induction ever so slightly. Coaches now need to have won at least 59.5% of their games in their career, an adjustment that will go into effect with the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
“The NFF is committed to preserving the integrity and prestige of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame,” NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell said in a release. “This adjustment reflects thoughtful dialogue with leaders across the sport and allows us to better recognize coaches whose contributions to the game extend beyond a narrow statistical threshold.”
The other requirements for Hall of Fame eligibility for coaches will remain the same:
- Coaches must have served as a head coach for a minimum of 10 seasons and must have coached at least 100 games.
- Coaches become eligible for consideration three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement if they are at least 70 years of age.
- Active coaches become eligible upon reaching the age of 75.
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