Frank Beamer, Mack Brown and Mel Tjeerdsma have been selected to the 2018 class of the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Monday.
“We are extremely proud to announce the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame Class,” NFF Chairman and 1989 College Football Hall of Famer Archie Manning said in a statement. “Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments.”
Beamer spent 35 seasons as a college football head coach, first at Murray State from 1981-86 and then at Virginia Tech from 1987 through his 2015 retirement. Beamer won 280 games as a head coach, 13th most in college football history spread across all divisions. He led Murray State to one FCS playoff appearance and closed his career by taking Virginia Tech to a bowl game in 23 consecutive seasons, a streak that began in 1993 and continues today. Beamer's Hokies recorded six top-10 finishes, won seven Big East or ACC championships and played in the 1999 national championship game.
Beamer's emphasis on special teams also got an entire brand of football named after him.
Brown won 244 games in his head coaching career, spread across 31 years and four schools. He spent one season at Appalachian State, three at Tulane, ten at North Carolina and 16 at Texas. He led the Tar Heels to two top-10 finishes and recorded six at Texas. Brown led the Longhorns to two Big 12 championships, four BCS bowl victories and the 2005 national championship.
Tjeerdsma spent 27 years as a head coach, racking up a .744 winning percentage in 10 seasons at Austin College in Texas and 17 at Northwest Missouri State.
Tjeerdsma coached at Austin College from 1984-93, where he led the 'Roos to three conference titles and a school-record 59 victories. He left there for Northwest Missouri State in 1994, where he remained through his retirement in 2010. His Bearcats won national titles in 1998, 1999 and again in 2009, while also appearing in the Division II national title game every year from 2005-08.
Overall, Tjeerdsma's winning percentage went up in the playoffs, from .744 in the regular season to .762. He also claimed 12 MIAA championships.
The 2018 class -- which also includes Calvin Johnson, Ed Reed and Charles Woodson, among others -- will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Dec. 4 in New York.