Florida State’s 2012 Athletics Hall of Fame induction class will include the man who had the biggest influence on the football program.
Former football coach Bobby Bowden will be inducted as one of seven new members on Aug. 31 and will be honored during FSU’s season opener Sept. 1 against Murray State.
Bowden won 304 games at FSU, including national championships in 1993 and '99. He guided FSU to 14 straight seasons of top-five finishes in The Associated Press poll from 1987-2000.
It will be the first time Bowden has returned to a home football game since he was forced to retire after the Jan. 1, 2010, Gator Bowl victory. At the time, Bowden said he wanted to stay away from the program and let new coach Jimbo Fisher have space to push the program forward, and Bowden had bypassed offers to be inducted into FSU’s Athletics HOF in 2010 and '11.
But now Bowden will join one of his former quarterbacks, Danny Kanell, as a member of the 2012 class.
“So humbled and honored to go in with @TheBobbyBowden,” Kanell said on Twitter just after the announcement. “Imho (in my humble opinion) he deserves a class by himself!"
The group also includes baseball star John-Ford Griffin, women’s basketball standout Bev Burnett and All-America golfer Christian Raynor. Bowden’s former longtime administrative assistant Sue Hall has been voted in with the class, as has prominent businessman and university benefactor DeVoe Moore.
For ticket information on the Sept. 1 game, call (888) FSU-NOLE or go to www.seminoles.com.
