IRVING, Texas (Nov. 3, 2022) – The University of Illinois and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2022 College Football Hall of Fame electee Moe Gardner with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments®. The Salute will take place this Saturday, Nov. 5, during the Fighting Illini's home football game against Michigan State, which will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.
 
"My induction to the College Football Hall of Fame represents far more than my individual athletic ability or achievement," Gardner said in an Illinois press release. "As such, I'm at a loss for words after being given such an honor. At the core of my induction, is a communal journey that leaves me indebted to countless people throughout my life who have shown a loving grace that laid the foundation for my success on and off the field."
 
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 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 6 at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Click here for more information on the Awards Dinner, including options to purchase tickets online, special travel rates to the event from Delta Air Lines and Bellagio and a concierge service provided by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
 
"Moe Gardner was an imposing force in the late 1980s, and he is arguably the best defensive tackle in Illinois history," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are thrilled to honor him at Memorial Stadium for his upcoming College Football Hall of Fame induction."
 
A two-time First Team All-American, Gardner earned unanimous honors in 1989 before earning consensus laurels as a senior in 1990. In 1989, he was named the Big Ten Lineman of the Year and an Outland Trophy finalist after leading the Illini to a No. 10 final ranking and a win in the 1990 Citrus Bowl – the program's first bowl victory since 1964.
 
The following season, Gardner was a Rotary Lombardi Award finalist and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors after guiding Illinois to a share of the 1990 conference title and a No. 25 final ranking.
 
A four-time All-Big Ten selection, Gardner earned first team honors from 1988-90 after second team recognition as a freshman. The two-year team captain finished his career with a school-record 57 tackles for loss, which currently rank second, and he led the Illini in the category during his final three seasons.
 
Chosen as the 1989 team MVP, Gardner is tied for fifth all-time at Illinois with 18 career sacks. A 2020 Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, he was named to the school's all-century team as an active player in 1990.
 
A fourth-round pick by in the 1991 NFL Draft, Gardner played six seasons for the Atlanta Falcons from 1991-96.
 
After earning a master's degree in library information sciences from Clark Atlanta University, Gardner currently works as a public services librarian principal at the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History in Atlanta, serving in the reference, research and programs division. His responsibilities include assisting scholars and PhD candidates who study the African diaspora on a global scale.
 
Gardner becomes the 13th Fighting Illini player in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Alex Agase (1941-43, 1946), Al Brosky (1950-52), Dick Butkus (1962-64), Chuck Carney (1918-21), J.C. Caroline (1953-54), Jim Grabowski (1963-65), Red Grange (1923-25), Dana Howard (1991-94), Bart Macomber (1914-16), Bernie Shively (1924-26), David Williams (1983-85) and Buddy Young (1944, 1946).
 
Four former Illinois coaches are also in the Hall: Bob Blackman (1971-76), Ed Hall (1892-93), George Woodruff (1903) and Bob Zuppke (1913-41).
 
The 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class includes LaVar Arrington (Penn State), Champ Bailey (Georgia), Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech), Sylvester Croom (Alabama), Mike Doss (Ohio State), Chuck Ealey (Toledo), Kevin Faulk (LSU), Moe Gardner (Illinois), Boomer Grigsby (Illinois State), Mike Hass (Oregon State), Marvin Jones (Florida State), Andrew Luck (Stanford), Mark Messner (Michigan), Terry Miller (Oklahoma State), Rashaan Salaam (Colorado), Dennis Thomas (Alcorn State), Zach Wiegert (Nebraska), Roy Williams (Oklahoma) and coaches John Luckhardt (Washington & Jefferson [PA], California [PA]), Billy Jack Murphy (Memphis) and Gary Pinkel (Toledo, Missouri).
 
The accomplishments of the 2022 Class 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 2022 Hall of Fame Class, only 1,056 players and 226 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.62 million who have played or coached the game during the past 153 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 – School (Opponent)

• Nov. 5 – Champ Bailey – Georgia (vs. Tennessee)
• Nov. 5 – Moe Gardner – Illinois (vs. Michigan State)
• Nov. 5 – Coach Billy Jack Murphy* – Memphis (vs. UCF)
• Nov. 5 – Roy Williams – Oklahoma (vs. Baylor)

* Deceased
 
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 in 47 states, NFF programs include the selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; 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; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award; 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, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.