Hall of Fame Ballot Announcement
IRVING, Texas – Former Morgan State University head football coach Edward P. Hurt is one of 40 coaches to be listed on the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot that was announced Tuesday by the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame.
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The complete ballot includes seven coaches from the Division I FBS ranks and 33 coaches from other levels of college football, along with 78 players from Division I FBS schools and 99 players from other divisions.
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The criteria for a coach to be considered for the College Football Hall of Fame states that they must have been a head coach for at least 10 years, must have coached at least 100 games and must have a career winning percentage of at least .600. Players must be named to at least one credible first team All-America honor and have finished their collegiate career more than 10 years ago to be nominated.
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Hurt led Morgan's football teams to six Black College National Championships and won 14 CIAA titles. Eleven of his squads executed undefeated seasons, including a non-losing string of games from 1932 to 1938. His 1943 team did not allow a score from a single opponent.
His career football record was an impressive 186-62-21 (.730 winning pct.).
Hurt was once asked about his successful coaching history. He responded, "If I've done anything at all, it's been because of other coaches, the men, the colleges, the administration, the alumni, friends, just everybody. I've only had one formula, and that's hard work."
Prior to Morgan State, Hurt coached at Virginia Theological Seminary and College (now Virginia University of Lynchburg) from 1925 to 1928.
Equally, if not more impressive, Hurt also coached basketball and track & field at Morgan State for forty years, beginning in 1929.
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Coach Hurt's Morgan State Thinclads won 15 CIAA open and closed track and field championships and 16 individual national championships. In Penn Relay competitions, the tracksters earned several college class mile relay victories, one freshmen mile relay championship, one 400 meter hurdle championship and one Class A mile relay championship.
Hurt also coached Morgan basketball from 1929 – 1947 and his Cagers consistently placed among the top basketball teams in the CIAA. During his tenure, the Cagers won four CIAA titles including top honors in three successive years: 1931, 1932 and 1933.
Edward Hurt was once asked about his successful coaching history. He responded, "If I've done anything at all, it's been because of other coaches, the men, the colleges, the administration, the alumni, friends, just everybody. I've only had one formula, and that's hard work."
The College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021 will be selected after more than 12,000 National Football Foundation members and current Hall of Famers submit their votes to the National Football Foundation's Honors Courts, which will deliberate and select the class. The FBS Honors Court is chaired by two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin and the Divisional Honors Court is chaired by former Marshall head coach Jack Lengyel.
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The announcement of the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame class will be made in early 2021. The class will be inducted Dec. 7, 2021 at the annual National Football Foundation Awards Dinner in New York City.
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Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
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