BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football was represented on the 2027 National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame ballot by five individuals, the NFF announced Monday.
Tim Ford and Erik Dandy appeared on the ballot as Divisional Players for the first time, while Buster Ashley and Paul Gray were included for the second time. Feix remained on the ballot in the Divisional Coach category.
In total, the 2027 ballot includes 80 players and nine coaches from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 39 coaches from the NCAA divisional and NAIA ranks. The full list of candidates can be viewed HERE.
Ford, a defensive end, received First Team All-American accolades in 1980 from Kodak/American Football Coaches Association, and he was an Academic All-American the following year. He helped WKU to a No. 5 national ranking in the final poll in 1980, after helping lead the Hilltoppers to the Ohio Valley Conference championship. WKU went 9-1 overall that season and 6-1 in OVC play.
During the 1980 season, Ford led the Hilltoppers with 111 total tackles. He had 83 assisted tackles that year, which ranked first in program history at the time and is still sixth in program history. Upon the completion of his WKU career, Ford ranked second in program history in assisted tackles with 171, which is still a top-10 mark, and he finished his playing career with 248 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery, four pass breakups and an interception.
Ford was named to the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 and was a member of the WKU Football All-Century Team that was released in 2018.
Ford has remained heavily involved in WKU Athletics since his playing days. Ford and his wife, Sarah, helped lead the WKU Football alumni organization and for a number of years provided suits for graduating senior players to wear for Senior Day games, as well as for potential job interviews after their playing careers ended. The Fords have graciously hosted numerous WKU events at their home in Franklin, Tennessee, and have given their time to mentor students in both academic and athletic endeavors. In recognition of their support for scholarships – like the Brett Ford Scholarship Fund they established in 2018 to benefit students who are pursuing a degree in Special Education within the College of Education & Behavioral Sciences at WKU – WKU Athletics and the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation, the Fords were recognized as the 2020 WKU Philanthropists of the Year. The weight room in WKU's Football complex is named after Ford for his contributions, and, most recently, WKU's new 122,000-square-foot fieldhouse was named the Tim and Sarah Ford Fieldhouse in recognition of their $3 million gift toward the project.
Dandy received several All-American accolades during his Hilltopper playing career, which spanned from 2000-03. The linebacker was named an Associated Press Second Team All-American in 2001, an AP Third Team All-American in 2003, a Hansen's Football Gazette First Team All-American in 2003, a The Sports Network First Team All-American in 2001 and a The Sports Network Second Team All-American in 2003. He was an All-Gateway Football Conference First Team member in 2001 and 2003, and received All-GFC Second Team honors in 2002.
During Dandy's WKU career, the Hilltoppers went 40-13 overall and 23-5 in conference games. In 2000, WKU won the OVC Championship and made the I-AA playoffs, and the Hilltoppers made another playoff appearance the following season. Dandy was a part of the 2002 Division I-AA National Championship team that was also Co-GFC champions. He helped his team to another I-AA playoff berth in his final season in 2003.
In 45 games played, Dandy posted 422 tackles, 47 tackles for loss, seven sacks, five interceptions, 11 pass breakups and six forced fumbles. He ranks third in program history in career total tackles, fourth in career solo tackles, sixth in career assisted tackles, fifth in career tackles for loss and ninth in career forced fumbles. He is fourth (165; 2003) and seventh (155; 2001) in program history in single-season tackles, third (100; 2003) and ninth (82; 2001) in single-season solo tackles, second (24; 2003) in single-season tackles for loss, ninth (4; 2001) in single-season forced fumbles, and he led the Hilltoppers in total tackles in 2001 (155) and 2003 (165).
Dandy was a member of WKU's 2002 Football team that was inducted into the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
Ashley was part of 36 wins over four seasons from 2001-04, and helped lead the Hilltoppers to the Division I-AA National Championship during the 2002 season.
Ashley is one of six consensus All-Americans in program history, accomplishing the feat in 2004. He was a two-time (2003 and 2004) AP First Team All-American offensive lineman, and Ashley was also an AP Second Team All-American during the 2002 season. He received Second Team All-American status from CollegeSportsReport.com in 2003 and 2004, and was a CSTV All-American in 2003. Hansen's Football Gazette named Ashley a First Team All-American in 2003 and 2004, after receiving a Second Team nod from the publication in 2002. He was named to the I-AA.org All-Star Team in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and he was a Kodak/American Football Coaches All-American in 2003 and 2004. The Sports Network named Ashley a First Team All-American in 2003 and a Second Team All-American in 2002 and 2004. The Walter Camp Foundation named Ashley a First Team All-American in 2004.
Ashley was a three-time All-Gateway Football Conference First Team selection, receiving the recognition in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and a Second Team selection in 2001. He was on the Gateway All-Newcomer Team in 2001.
Ashley was a member of the WKU Football All-Century Team, and only one player in program history had started more games than Ashley by the end of his collegiate career.
Gray was a two-time AP First Team All-American linebacker in 1982 and 1983. He received All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team honors in 1981 and was a member of WKU's All-Century team.
Gray's name is etched throughout WKU's record books for his defensive performances. He still ranks second in program history in career tackles (488) and single-season tackles (173; 1981), first in career assisted tackles (298), tied for 10th in single-season tackles for loss (20; 1981), tied for second in career fumble recoveries (10) and tied for fourth in career forced fumbles (9). He led the Hilltoppers in tackles for three straight seasons from 1981-83.
Gray was drafted in the 10th round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, and also played for the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons during his professional career.
The late Feix is the only football coach in WKU's history to eclipse the 100-win mark, amassing a career record of 106-56-6 (.649) in his 16 years as the programs head coach from 1968-83. He was added to the ballot for his career as a coach as he led the Hilltoppers to the NCAA Division II championship game in its first year of existence, 1973, before again taking WKU to the championship in 1975 where they took home runner-up honors in both seasons.
Feix served his alma mater as an All-American athlete, Assistant Football Coach, Head Football Coach, Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs, Director of Alumni Affairs and Director of Athletics almost continuously from his arrival on campus as a freshman athlete in 1949 until his retirement in 1990. He spent 27 years as a member of the coaching staff on The Hill, the last 16 of those (1968-83) as head football coach. Feix passed away in October 2014.
His 14 teams that competed in the Ohio Valley Conference went 67-28-2 (70.1%) in league play, winning or sharing the OVC championship on six occasions – 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978 and 1980. His 1973 team was undefeated in the regular season and rolled all the way to the championship game, finishing the year 12-1-0. The Hilltoppers made the playoff field again in 1975 and advanced to the title game for the second time, but once again had to settle for runner-up honors with their 11-2-0 record.
Feix was named Kodak College Coach-of-the-Year for Division IV in 1973 and 1975. He was named OVC Coach of the Year three times – 1973, 1978, and 1980. In his 16 seasons at the helm, he coached 16 athletes who followed him on the list of WKU football All-Americans.
The playing field at Houchens-Smith Stadium, where his 16 teams played all their home games, was named "Jimmy Feix Field" in his honor in 1991. In addition, he and another former Topper quarterback and head coach, Willie Taggart, were the first football athletes to have their jerseys retired in ceremonies on Feix Field in 1999.
Feix was a member of the 10-person inaugural class of the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991 as well as the head coach of WKU's All-Century Football Team which was named in the fall of 2018. He was also an honored member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Champions (2007), the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (2004), WKU's Hall of Distinguished Alumni (2003), and the Henderson County Sports Hall of Fame (1988).
The announcement of the 2027 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2027, with specific details to be announced in the future. The 2027 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 69th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas, and they will be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2027 season.
Of the 5.86 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,129 players have earned induction into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, or less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have played the game during the past 157 seasons. From the coaching ranks, 241 individuals have achieved NFF Hall of Fame distinction.
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