by: Daniel Hager • 2 hours ago • DanielHagerOn3
For the second consecutive season, USC head coach Lincoln Riley made his case for a former college football head coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Last year, Riley and other coaches advocated for the induction of former Texas Tech / Washington State / Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach into the Hall of Fame. The Hall’s previous requirement for induction was a 60% winning percentage, and Leach came in right at 59.8%.
The campaigning worked, as the College Football Hall of Fame announced that it will lower its win percentage requirement for entry from 60% to 59.5% in 2027. That will make “The Pirate” eligible for induction.
“I first wanted to say last year at this event in Indianapolis, I spoke on (myself and many others) spoke on Mike Leach ’s candidacy for the [College Football] Hall of Fame,” Riley said Thursday. “At that point, I know a lot of us expressed that some people’s impact on college football goes beyond maybe any prerequisites for an honor like the Hall of Fame. I know a lot of [the media] covered that and wrote stories and reported on that and obviously that was very, very successful.”