ATLANTA, Georgia -- University of Maryland Eastern Shore alumnus and Hall of Famer, Art Shell, will be inducted today in the College Football Hall of Fame in a ceremony held in Atlanta. Shell, an alumnus of then Maryland State College in 1968, is already an NFL Hall of Famer and the modern era's first African-American NFL head coach.
The event, in coordination with the National Football Foundation (NFF), will be broadcast live on ESPN3 at 7:30 p.m. ET., August 28, 2013. A press conference starts the activities today at 11 a.m. It will be hosted by the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta and is sold out.
The event will be emceed by award-winning broadcaster Wes Durham. In addition to the enshrinement ceremonies, the show will feature a preview of the 2013 college football season by a panel of top television analysts, including Tony Barnhart, Desmond Howard (a 2010 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame), Mark Schlabach and Matt Stinchcomb (the 1998 recipient of the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy).
Hosted by the Atlanta Hall Management and the Atlanta Sports Council, in partnership with the NFF, the event marks the first time that Atlanta will preside over the Enshrinement Ceremony. he celebration builds on the significant progress made on the construction of the new 94,256-square-foot home for the Hall, which will open in the fall of 2014 in the heart of Atlanta's sports, tourism and entertainment district surrounding Centennial Olympic Park.
Shell is being inducted as part of the Division College Football Hall of Fame, which, according to its mission statement, honors players and coaches from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. In the 1960s, UMES competed in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, a Division II conference.
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| Art Shell in his playing days at then, Maryland State College (Courtesy UMES Media Relations) |
"This is a truly exceptional group of College Football Hall of Fame inductees from the divisional ranks," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning in the official press release.""We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments, and we applaud them for reaching the pinnacle of recognition in our great sport."
Shell played four seasons with the Hawks from 1964 to 1967. He was a two-time All-American as an offensive and defensive lineman in his junior and senior seasons plus earned All-CIAA honors his final three years. He would go on to have a strong professional career with the Oakland Raiders, being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after winning three Super Bowls and making eight Pro Bowls.
Shell is part of a seven-member 2013 Divisional College Football Hall of Fame Class along with Elby Jordan, Joe Micchia, Jeff Wittman, Frank Cignetti, James "Boots" Donnelly and Jess Dow.
He is one of 24 members of the overall class of 2013 and also includes: Charles Alexander (LSU), Otis Armstrong (Purdue), Steve Bartkowski (California), Hal Bedsole (Southern California), Dave Casper (Notre Dame), coach Frank Cignetti (West Virginia, Indiana [Pa.]), Ty Detmer (BYU), coach James "Boots" Donnelly (Austin Peay State, Middle Tennessee State), coach Jess Dow (Southern Connecticut State), coach Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee), coach Jimmy Johnson (Oklahoma State, Miami [Fla.]), Shelby Jordan (Washington University in St. Louis [Mo.]), Tommy Kramer (Rice), Joe Micchia (Westminster College [Pa.]), Art Monk (Syracuse), Greg Myers (Colorado State), Jonathan Ogden (UCLA), Gabe Rivera (Texas Tech), Mark Simoneau (Kansas State), coach R.C. Slocum (Texas A&M), Scott Thomas (Air Force), Jeff Wittman (Ithaca College [N.Y.]) and John Wooten (Colorado).
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ABOUT ATLANTA HALL MANAGEMENT
Scheduled to open in the fall of 2014, the new College Football Hall of Fame will be a 94,256-square-foot attraction located in the heart of Atlanta's sports, entertainment and tourism district. Adjacent to the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park, the new Hall will provide visitors with a highly-immersive, interactive and engaging experience using a blend of historic college football artifacts and state-of-the-art, interactive multimedia exhibits. The National Football Foundation (NFF) launched the Hall in 1951 to stand as one of the nation's premier sports shrines, immortalizing the game's greatest players and coaches as positive role models for future generations. In 2009, Atlanta Hall Management, Inc., partnered with the NFF to construct and operate the new Hall of Fame facility, which will also provide a platform for community outreach, education and character development initiatives, as well as serve as one of Atlanta's premier special event spaces. For more information, please visit www.cfbhall.com.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA SPORTS COUNCIL
The Atlanta Sports Council promotes the value of sports growth in Atlanta and Georgia by acting as an authority on the economic impact, visibility and quality of life issues associated with sports. Its mission is to lead, organize and support sports development. The Atlanta Sports Council was created in 1985 under the original name of Sports 2000, and is a division of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. For more information, visit www.AtlantaSportsCouncil.com.
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 and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award presented by Fidelity Investments, Play It Smart, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, and scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Bowl, the William V. Campbell Trophy endowed by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF corporate partners include the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the BCS, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, Liberty Mutual Insurance, NCAA Football, and Under Armour. For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE SPORTS INFORMATION
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