Football 6/23/2025 3:15:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Former WSU Football Coach Lowry On 2026 NFF Hall of Fame Ballot

Earlier this month, the National Football Foundation released its 2026 College Football Hall of Fame ballot that consists of players and coaches from both the Football Bowl Subdivision and from the divisional ranks.

Dick Lowry, who was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002, is among 35 coaches from the "divisional" ranks on the ballot. He passed away last fall.

NFF bio on Coach Lowry:  Dick Lowry-Wayne State (MI) (1974-79), Hillsdale (MI) (1980-96)-Won seven conference championships at both schools and earned five births in the NAIA national playoffs winning the National Championship in 1985…He was voted NAIA Coach of the Year in 1982 and was conference Coach of the Year six times.

Lowry's WSU Hall of Fame bio:  Dick Lowry, a native of Berea, Ohio, served as head football coach at Wayne State University from 1974 through the 1979 season, compiling a 38-21-1 overall mark with a league record of 16-7-1. Before joining the WSU program, he was the offensive coordinator at Akron for three years after serving as a high school coach from 1957-1970 in Cleveland. He was selected Greater Cleveland Conference Coach of the Year in 1964 and 1969 and Ohio Bell Coach of the Year in 1963. During his tenure at WSU, the Tartars won one GLIAC title (1975) and placed second (or tied for second) his final four seasons. He made an immediate impact on the WSU football program, leading the squad to a 7-3 mark in his initial campaign. In the six years before his arrival at WSU, the Tartars had just one .500-plus season. In 1975, he led the Tartars to an 8-3 overall record and a 3-1 league ledger. WSU won eight games the following season (8-2) and tied for second in the GLIAC with a 3-2 conference mark. Wayne State finished second in the conference standings his final three years in Detroit.

Following his stay at Wayne State, Lowry then served as head football coach at Hillsdale College for 17 seasons (1980-1996) leading the Chargers to five GLIAC championships and one Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference title. While at Hillsdale, his teams recorded a .701 winning percentage (140 wins, 59 losses, and 2 ties). His Charger squads qualified for five NAIA national playoffs winning the NAIA National Championship in 1985 with an 11-1-1 record. He was voted by his peers as the 1982 NAIA National Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 12-1 overall record. In addition, he was selected conference Coach of the Year six times. During his tenure at Hillsdale, he saw 30 of his players selected as NAIA and NCAA Division-II All-Americans and Academic All-Americans. In addition to his coaching duties, Lowry also taught classes in the Health and Physical Education Department. Lowry graduated in 1957 from Baldwin-Wallace College where he co-captained the football squad, wrestled, and ran track. In 1960, he received a master's degree from Kent State University. He and his wife, Phyllis, have two grown children, Marianne and Reed.

Coach nomination criteria reads:

A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years old. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.

NFF Release
IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced the names on the 2026 Ballot under consideration for induction into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, including 79 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 100 players and 35 coaches from the divisional ranks.

"For more than 65 years, the NFF College Football Hall of Fame has stood as the sport's ultimate archive, honoring those whose impact on the game still echoes today," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "This year's ballot carries forward that responsibility, spotlighting individuals who not only excelled on the field but also helped define what college football means to so many."

The ballot was emailed to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current NFF Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Court, which will deliberate and select the class.

The Honors Court, chaired by NFF Board Member and NFF College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin from Ohio State, includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, NFF Hall of Famers and members of the media.

"Each year, the NFF Hall of Fame ballot provides our members with the meaningful opportunity to help shape the future of college football's most prestigious honor," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 NFF College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Ole Miss. "Our voters are deeply passionate and knowledgeable, and their involvement ensures that those selected represent the very best our sport has to offer. It's a tradition rooted in excellence, and we are excited to see who will be chosen for the 2026 Class."

The announcement of the 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2026, with specific details to be announced in the future.

The 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 8, 2026, at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, and they will be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2026 season.

Of the 5.78 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,111 players have earned induction into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, or less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have played the game during the past 155 seasons. From the coaching ranks, 237 individuals have achieved NFF Hall of Fame distinction.

There are eight NFF National Scholar-Athletes on the 2026 Ballot, including FBS players Jeff Bregel (USC), Brad Culpepper (1991 Campbell Trophy® recipient from Florida), DeMeco Ryans (Alabama), Manti Te'o (Notre Dame) and Jonathan Vilma (Miami, FL). The divisional NFF National Scholar-Athlete nominees on the 2026 Ballot include Keith Elias (Princeton), Gerald Quinlivan (Buffalo), and Thomas Stenglein (Colgate).

The NFF has recognized 938 NFF National Scholar-Athletes since 1959, and only 49 have earned the distinction as both an NFF Hall of Famer and an NFF National Scholar-Athlete, creating arguably one of the most unique and elite groups in all of sports. And of those 49 dual honorees, only Alex Mack (Cal), Peyton Manning (Tennessee), Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia), Tim Tebow (Florida) and Danny Wuerffel (Florida) have also claimed The William V. Campbell Trophy®.

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