COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The College Football Hall of Fame this year will enshrine the most recent head coach to bring Ohio State a national championship.
Toledo-native Urban Meyer will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class, the National Football Foundation announced Wednesday. He will become the eighth ex-Buckeyes coach to join the Hall of Fame, entering with one of the best resumes of any college football head coach of the last 25 years.
Ohio State coaches in Hall of Fame
- Howard Jones (Inducted – 1951)
- John Wilce (1954)
- Francis Schmidt (1971)
- Woody Hayes (1983)
- Earle Bruce (2002)
- John Cooper (2008)
- Jim Tressel (2015)
- Urban Meyer (2025)
Meyer’s journey to become Ohio State’s head coach in 2012 had many stops across the country. Growing up in Ashtabula, he played for the Cincinnati Bearcats before becoming a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 1986.
After stints as an assistant coach at Illinois State and Colorado State, Meyer became the receivers coach at Notre Dame in 1996 and stayed through the 2000 season.
He made his return to Ohio at the age of 37 and landed his first head coaching job with Bowling Green in 2001, coaching the Falcons for two seasons. His 17-6 record with BGSU impressed Utah’s football program and Meyer was off to Salt Lake City in 2003.
Meyer led Utah to a 10-2 season in 2003 before an unbeaten 12-0 campaign in 2004 ended with a Fiesta Bowl victory over Pittsburgh. He then headed to his first Power Five job at Florida where he spent six seasons and won two national championships in 2006 (over Ohio State) and 2008.
After a 65-15 record with the Gators, Meyer resigned as the coach and took 2011 off before landing the Buckeyes job in 2012. In his third season in 2014, he helped lead Ohio State to the national title in the inaugural College Football Playoff. Meyer won 83 games, five bowl games, three Big Ten titles, and boasted a 7-0 record against Michigan while at Ohio State.
Meyer will be enshrined alongside arguably the greatest college football coach ever: Nick Saban. The former Cleveland Browns assistant won seven national championships, including six with Alabama in an 11-year stretch.
Among the notable players in the 2025 class include Wisconsin running back Montee Ball (2009-12), Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick (1999-2000), Texas Southern defensive end Michael Strahan (1989-92), and West Virginia running back Steve Slaton (2005-07).
