Hall of Fame
Position: Defensive Tackle
Years: 1975-78
Place of Birth: Oklahoma City, OK
Date of Birth: September 19, 1957
Jersey Number: 86
Height: 6-5
Weight: 264
High School: Jacksonville (AR)
Agile with tremendous reflexes and quickness, Dan Hampton possessed a unique set of skills that allowed him to penetrate the offensive line and establish him as one of the most feared defenders of his era. The Jacksonville, Arkansas, product, now becomes the 10th Arkansas player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
A 1978 First Team All-America selection by the American Football Coaches Association, Hampton logged 98 tackles, including 18 tackles for loss during his senior campaign. He was named the Southwest Conference (SWC) Defensive Player of the Year, also earning First Team All-SWC honors and recognition as the outstanding SWC Player of the Year from the Houston Post.
Hampton was a Second Team All-SWC selection his junior season, and he had 70 tackles, including eight for loss. In 1976, as a sophomore, Hampton made 48 tackles (2 for loss) and recovered two fumbles. As a freshman, he had 21 tackles, including 4 for loss. In his career, he amassed a total of 237 tackles (126 unassisted) with 32 being behind the line of scrimmage and recovered six fumbles.
Arkansas went 35-10-2 during his tenure in Fayetteville. Hampton played for Hall of Fame coaches Frank Broyles (who was the head coach) and Jimmy Johnson (the defensive coordinator who recruited him) during his first two seasons with the Razorbacks. As a freshman, he helped the Razorbacks to a share of the SWC title, a 31-10 victory over Georgia in the 1976 Cotton Bowl and a final No. 7 AP ranking. The Razorback defense played a key role in the bowl game, preventing a Bulldogs' first down from the second quarter until late in the fourth. His sophomore team finished 5-5-1.
Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz replaced Broyles as the head coach in 1977, and the Razorbacks went 11-1, beating Oklahoma 31-6 in the Orange Bowl to claim a final No. 3 AP ranking. During his senior season, Arkansas would tally a 9-2-1 record, playing UCLA to a 10-10 tie in the Fiesta Bowl and a final No. 11 AP ranking. Hampton helped the defense sack UCLA QB Steve Bukich eight times in the bowl game.
Selected in the first round (fourth overall) of the 1979 NFL Draft, Hampton played 12 seasons with the Chicago Bears. He was a five-time All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowl selection. He was the 1982 NFL Defensive MVP and helped the Bears win Super Bowl XX in 1985. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Hampton currently resides in the Chicago area, and he co-hosts Pro Football Weekly, a syndicated TV show, and hosts the Chicago Bears post-game show on WGN Radio. Active in the community with various charities in the Chicago area and in Little Rock, Hampton appears regularly at the NFF Chicago Metro Chapter events. Hampton was named to University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor (1991), Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (1992), an SEC Football Legend (2017) and the Arkansas All-Century Team and Arkansas All-Decade Team (1970-79).
