IRVING, Texas (Nov. 20, 2025) – The University of Oregon and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2025 NFF College Football Hall of Fame electee
Haloti Ngata with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments
®. The Salute will take place on Nov. 22, during the Ducks' home football game against Southern California, which will kick off at 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS.
"At 6-foot-5 and 338 pounds, Haloti Ngata used his size, strength and athleticism to dominate the line of scrimmage during his three seasons in Eugene, becoming one of the greatest defensive tackles in the history of the game," said NFF President & CEO
Steve Hatchell. "We are thrilled to honor him at Autzen Stadium as a member of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class."
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural NFF 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 NFF Hall of Fame experience.
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept an NFF 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 NFF 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.
A consensus First Team All-American in 2005, Ngata became the first player in Oregon history to be named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. That year, he also finished as a finalist for the Outland Trophy as one of the top interior linemen in the nation, and as a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy as one of the best defenders in the nation.
Click here for his full NFF Hall of Fame bio.
The Lake City, Utah, product now becomes the seventh Duck player inducted into the Hall, joining
John Beckett (1913-16),
Johnny Kitzmiller (1928-30),
Norm Van Brocklin (1946-48),
Mel Renfro (1961-63),
Ahmad Rashad (1969-71), and
LaMichael James (2009-11). Hall of Fame coaches who headed the Oregon program include
Mike Bellotti, Hugo Bezdek, and
Len Casanova.
The 2025 class includes
Montee Ball (Wisconsin),
Gregg Carr (Auburn),
Blake Elliott (Saint John's [MN]),
Greg Eslinger (Minnesota),
Terry Hanratty (Notre Dame),
Graham Harrell (Texas Tech),
John Henderson (Tennessee),
Michael Huff (Texas),
Jim Kleinsasser (North Dakota),
Alex Mack (California),
Terrence Metcalf (Mississippi),
Haloti Ngata (Oregon),
Steve Slaton (West Virginia),
Darrin Smith (Miami, FL),
Michael Strahan (Texas Southern),
Dennis Thurman (Southern California),
Michael Vick (Virginia Tech),
Ryan Yarborough (Wyoming), and coaches
Larry Blakeney (Troy),
Larry Korver (Northwestern College [IA]),
Urban Meyer (Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, Ohio State), and
Nick Saban (Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama).
The 2025 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 2025, at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Please
click here to purchase tickets.
Including the 2025 NFF Hall of Fame Class, only 1,111 players and 237 coaches have been inducted into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.62 million who have played or coached the game during the past 157 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (0.02%) of the individuals who have played/coached the game have earned this distinction.
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 their 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 journalist Grantland Rice, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) is a nonprofit organization that leverages the power of amateur football to build leaders. With 120 chapters in 47 states, the NFF oversees initiatives such as the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, the William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments, Future For Football, and I Played. Learn more at footballfoundation.org and follow @NFFNetwork on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
