LOS ANGELES — For 15 seasons, Mark Richt walked the sidelines at Georgia and helped the Bulldogs pile up wins year after year. Richt’s success did not go unnoticed around the sport of college football, and on Monday, Richt received a huge honor for his contributions.

The National Football Foundation announced that Richt has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the hall’s 2023 class. Richt will be inducted into the Hall of fame along with three other former coaches as well as 18 players.

This was Richt’s first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. Notable players selected include former USC running back Reggie Bush, former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and former Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry as well as former Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson and former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer.

The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5, 2023, at the ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas.

A former quarterback at Miami (FL) who made his name as the offensive coordinator at Florida State, Richt was hired as Georgia’s head football coach following the 2000 season. The Bulldogs had a respectable 8-4 campaign in Richt’s first season before breaking through in a big way in 2002 by going 13-1 and capturing Georgia’s first SEC championship in 20 years.

The excellent 2002 campaign was a sign of things to come for Richt and the Bulldogs. Georgia posted five double-digit win seasons over the next six years and became one of the conference’s top programs, as evidenced by winning the SEC East division three times during that stretch and capturing the 2005 SEC title.

The Bulldogs consistently won over the course of Richt’s 15 seasons as head coach. Georgia posted only one losing season — a 6-7 mark in 2010 — under Richt’s leadership, finished in the AP Top 25 11 times and won 9 bowl games under his watch.

Richt left Georgia with a 145-51 record, leaving him with the second-most wins behind legend Vince Dooley — who hired Richt when Dooley as Georgia’s athletic director. When Richt left Georgia, he had the fifth-highest winning percentage among active head coaches, trailing only Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Nick Saban and Gary Patterson.

Richt decided to get back into coaching after leaving Georgia and took over at Miami. He went 26-13 over the course of three seasons as Hurricanes head coach, with the ultimate highlight being a 10-3 campaign in 2017 during which Miami reached No. 2 in the rankings before losing to Pittsburgh in the regular season finale. 

Richt retired after the 2018 season and now resides in Athens, as did the three previous Georgia head coaches (Jim Donnan, Ray Goff and the late Vince Dooley).

Below is the list of 2023 inductees in their entirety:

PLAYERS: 

  • Eric Berry – DB, Tennessee (2007-09)
  • Michael Bishop – QB, Kansas State (1997-98)
  • Reggie Bush – RB, Southern California (2003-05)
  • Dwight Freeney – DE, Syracuse (1998-2001)
  • Robert Gallery – OT, Iowa (2000-03)
  • LaMichael James – RB, Oregon (2009-11)
  • Derrick Johnson – LB, Texas (2001-04)
  • Bill Kollar – DT, Montana State (1971-73)
  • Luke Kuechly – LB, Boston College (2009-11)
  • Jeremy Maclin – WR/KR, Missouri (2007-08)
  • Terance Mathis – WR, New Mexico (1985-87, 1989)
  • Bryant McKinnie – OT, Miami [FL] (2000-01)
  • Corey Moore – DL, Virginia Tech (1997-99)
  • Michael Stonebreaker – LB, Notre Dame (1986, 1988, 1990)
  • Tim Tebow – QB, Florida (2006-09)
  • Troy Vincent – DB, Wisconsin (1988-91)
  • Brian Westbrook – RB, Villanova (1997-98, 2000-01)
  • DeAngelo Williams – RB, Memphis (2002-05)

COACHES: 

  • Monte Cater – 275-117-2 (70.1%); Lakeland [WI] (1981-86), Shepherd [WV] (1987-2017)
  • Paul Johnson – 189-99-0 (65.6%); Georgia Southern (1997-2001), Navy (2002-07), Georgia Tech (2008-18)
  • Roy Kramer – 83-32-2 (71.8%); Central Michigan (1967-77)
  • Mark Richt – 171-64-0 (72.8%); Georgia (2001-15), Miami [FL] (2016-18)