IRVING, Texas (Sept. 30, 2021) – The University of Colorado and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2020 College Football Hall of Fame electee Michael Westbrook with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments. The Salute will take place this Saturday, Oct. 2, during the Buffs' home football game against USC. Coverage of the game will start at Noon MT on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
"I knew I had been on the ballot, and you anticipate getting in, but you never expect it so I kind of let my guard down a bit," Westbrook said in a Colorado release after the announcement in March 2020. "Then I got the package from the Hall of Fame, and I'm like, 'Wow!' I think back to those days, and it was such an awesome time in our lives. You couldn't ask for a better situation to go through and succeed in. We had quality coaches, a great support staff and awesome teammates. Beginning with Coach Mac when he came to my high school and recruited me on the spot when he was there looking at someone else."
 
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular events remain the first of numerous activities in the Hall of Fame experience.
 
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many Hall of Famers cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and be recognized in front of their home crowd.
 
The 2020 and 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Classes will be officially inducted during the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas Dec. 7 at the ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas. (The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19.)
 
"Michael Westbrook left his stamp on the record books during his Colorado career, and cemented his place in college football lore during the 'Miracle at Michigan,'" said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are thrilled to honor him at Folsom Field."
 
A consensus First Team All-American in 1994, Westbrook received the Touchdown Club of Columbus Paul Warfield Trophy as the nation's top wide receiver. During that stellar senior season, he led Colorado in receiving while guiding the team to a No. 3 final ranking and an 11-1 record.
 
Westbrook was on the receiving end of one of the most memorable passes in college football history during 1994's "Miracle at Michigan," hauling in a 64-yard pass from Kordell Stewart after time expired to rally the Buffs to a 27-26 win over the Wolverines.
 
A two-time First Team All-Big Eight performer, he became only the third Colorado receiver to earn all-conference honors and the first to be selected twice. An AP Second Team All-American in 1992, Westbrook led the Buffs to four bowl berths, including wins in the 1993 Aloha Bowl over Fresno State and the 1995 Fiesta Bowl over Notre Dame.
 
By career's end, Westbrook had set school records for receptions (167) and receiving yards (2,548), which currently rank fourth and third all-time at Colorado, respectively. His 19 career touchdown receptions were also a then-school record, and he still holds the Buffs career bowl game marks of 14 receptions and 283 yards. The 1992 John Mack Award recipient as Colorado's outstanding offensive player, Westbrook led the team in receiving and scoring that year while posting a then-school record 76 receptions.
 
As a freshman, he led the Buffs to a share of the Big Eight title and a No. 20 ranking, followed by a No. 13 finish in 1992 and a No. 16 spot in 1993. The 1995 East-West Shrine Game MVP racked up eight 100-yard receiving games in his career under College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill McCartney. Westbrook was inducted into the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
 
The fourth overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft, Westbrook played eight seasons in the league for the Washington Football Team (1995-2001) and Cincinnati Bengals (2002).
 
Having dabbled in martial arts during his football days, he focused on Brazilian jiu-jitsu after retiring from the NFL and has since obtained a black belt, the highest level in the sport. Westbrook has won national and Pan-American events as a brown belt, and he won the 2008 International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championship at purple belt.
 
Westbrook becomes the eighth Buff player in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Bobby Anderson (1967-69), Dick Anderson (1965-67), Herb Orvis (1969-71), Joe Romig (1959-61), Byron "Whizzer" White (1935-37), Alfred Williams (1987-90) and John Wooten (1956-58). Coach Bill McCartney, who guided Colorado from 1982-94, is also in the Hall.
 
The 2020 College Football Hall of Fame Class includes Lomas Brown (Florida), Keith Byars (Ohio State), Eric Crouch (Nebraska), Eric Dickerson (SMU), Glenn Dorsey (LSU), John "Jumbo" Elliott (Michigan), Jason Hanson (Washington State), E.J. Henderson (Maryland), E.J. Junior (Alabama), Steve McNair (Alcorn State), Cade McNown (UCLA), Leslie O'Neal (Oklahoma State), Anthony Poindexter (Virginia), David Pollack (Georgia), Bob Stein (Minnesota), Michael Westbrook (Colorado), Elmo Wright (Houston) and coaches Dick Sheridan (Furman, North Carolina State), and Andy Talley (St. Lawrence [NY], Villanova).
 
The 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class includes Harris Barton (North Carolina), David Fulcher (Arizona State), Dan Morgan (Miami [FL]), Carson Palmer (Southern California), Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), Kenneth Sims (Texas), C.J. Spiller (Clemson), Darren Sproles (Kansas State), Aaron Taylor (Notre Dame), Andre Tippett (Iowa), Al Wilson (Tennessee) and coaches Rudy Hubbard (Florida A&M) and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma).
 
The accomplishments of both classes will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and each inductee will receive a custom ring created by Jostens, the official and exclusive supplier of NFF rings.
 
Including the 2020 and 2021 Hall of Fame Classes, only 1,038 players and 223 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.47 million who have played or coached the game during the past 152 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played the game have earned this distinction.
   
Date – Honoree (Hall of Fame Class) – School (Opponent)

• Oct. 2 – Darren Sproles (2021) – Kansas State (vs. Oklahoma)
• Oct. 2 – Michael Westbrook (2020) – Colorado (vs. Southern California)
• Oct. 9 – Eric Crouch (2020) – Nebraska (vs. Michigan)
• Oct. 9 – Carson Palmer (2021) – Southern California (vs. Utah)
• Oct. 9 – Al Wilson (2021) – Tennessee (vs. South Carolina)
• Oct. 16 – Harris Barton (2021) – North Carolina (vs. Miami [FL])
• Oct. 16 – Jason Hanson (2020) – Washington State (vs. Stanford)
• Oct. 16 – Anthony Poindexter (2020) – Virginia (vs. Duke)
• Oct. 16 – Coach Dick Sheridan (2020) – Furman (vs. The Citadel)
• Oct. 16 – Bob Stein (2020) – Minnesota (vs. Nebraska)
• Oct. 23 – E.J. Junior (2020) – Alabama (vs. Tennessee)
• Oct. 23 – Cade McNown (2020) – UCLA (vs. Oregon)
• Oct. 30 – E.J. Henderson (2020) – Maryland (vs. Indiana)
• Oct. 30 – Coach Dick Sheridan (2020) – NC State (vs. Louisville)
• Nov. 6 – David Fulcher (2021) – Arizona State (vs. Southern California)
• Nov. 13 – Steve McNair (2020) – Alcorn State (vs. Prairie View A&M)*
• Nov. 13 – Coach Andy Talley (2020) – Villanova (vs. Stony Brook)
• Nov. 13 – Andre Tippett (2021) – Iowa (vs. Minnesota)
• Nov. 26 – Kenneth Sims (2021) – Texas (vs. Kansas State)
• Nov. 27 – Lomas Brown (2020) – Florida (vs. Florida State)
• Nov. 27 – Eric Dickerson (2020) – SMU (vs. Tulsa)
• Nov. 27 – Glenn Dorsey (2020) – LSU (vs. Texas A&M)

* Tentative
 
Fidelity Investments has served as the national presenting sponsor of the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes since 2010. The salutes are one component of a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. Fidelity is also the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, and it helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes in 2011, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives around the country.
 
 
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About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Future for Football, The William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Goodyear, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.