LAS VEGAS- On December 10, 2024, former West Chester head coach and alum Danny Hale '68 was inducted as a member of the 2024 National Football Foundation (NFF) College Football Hall of Fame Class at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Coach Hale is one of 233 coaches all-time to earn induction into Hall and one of two individuals with ties to the Golden Rams. He joins Dr. W. Glenn Killinger (1898-1988), who was elected in 1971 for his efforts as a quarterback at Penn State in 1920 and 1921. Killinger later became the head coach at West Chester University.
In his induction, Coach Hale represented NCAA DII as one of two honorees from this level. Coach and Danny Woodhead of Chadron State (NE) were the only two non-DI honorees.
The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class was introduced by NFF Board Member
Archie Griffin, a Hall of Fame running back and two-time Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State, while NFF Chairman and Hall of Fame inductee
Archie Manning (Mississippi) conducted the Official Hall of Fame Ring Ceremony.
The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class included
Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State), the late
Paul Cameron (UCLA),
Tim Couch (Kentucky),
Warrick Dunn (Florida State),
Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State),
Deon Figures (Colorado),
Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh),
Toby Gerhart (Stanford),
Dan Hampton (Arkansas),
Steve Hutchinson (Michigan),
Antonio Langham (Alabama),
Randy Moss (Marshall),
Julius Peppers (North Carolina),
Paul Posluszny (Penn State),
Dewey Selmon (Oklahoma),
Alex Smith (Utah),
Kevin Smith (Texas A&M),
Chris Ward (Ohio State),
Danny Woodhead (Chadron State [NE]), and coaches
Mark Dantonio (Cincinnati, Michigan State);
Danny Hale (West Chester [PA], Bloomsburg [PA]); and
Frank Solich (Nebraska, Ohio).
The 19 players and three coaches bring the total number of players in the College Football Hall of Fame to 1,093 and the number of coaches to 233. Fitzgerald, Hampton, and Coach Dantonio captured the emotion of the night in their insights on behalf of the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class.
Hale mentored the Golden Rams from 1984-88 before moving to PSAC rival Bloomsburg University, where he mentored the Huskies' football program from 1993 until his retirement in 2012.
During his tenure at Bloomsburg, Hale won 173 games, the most in school history, guided the Huskies to nine playoff appearances and at least a share of 14 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division titles. He was named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coach of the Year in 2000 when he led Bloomsburg to the national championship game.
While at West Chester, Hale rang up an overall record of 40-13 for a .755 winning percentage, including a 27-3 mark against the rest of the PSAC East. He won at least a share of the PSAC Eastern Division crown in three of his five years on campus and guided the Golden Rams to their first NCAA Tournament in 1988. He also got the Purple & Gold to the PSAC Championship Game on two occasions (1986, 1987). He never lost more than one conference game in any given year and never finished below second place.
Coach Hale's full induction, including his press conference, one-on-one interview, official ring ceremony, and plaque presentation, can be watched
here - all videos courtesy of the National Football Foundation.
Read more about all the happenings on December 10 in Vegas in this NFF release, which can be found
here.
