IRVING, Texas (Oct. 13, 2016) – Washington State University and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced Thursday that they will jointly honor Mike Utley with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments. The Salute will take place Oct. 15 in Pullman, Wash., during the Cougars' game against UCLA. Coverage of the game will start at 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.
 
"This is very overwhelming," Utley said in a release after the announcement in January. "Washington State University and head coach Jim Walden gave me an opportunity and I told him I would give 100 percent of myself. Playing for the Cougars was a wonderful experience and hopefully I've been able to pay it forward."
 
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular events remain the first of numerous activities in each inductee's Hall of Fame experience. During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each inductee returns to his alma mater to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will remain on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many inductees cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and hear the crowd roar their name.
 
"Mike Utley is considered the most decorated player in Washington State's history, and he continues to make an impact off of the field," said NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell. "He was just the Cougars' second consensus First Team All-American, and we are thrilled to honor him at Martin Stadium."
 
A three-time All-Pac-10 selection, Utley earned First Team accolades in 1988 after leading Washington State to its best record in 58 years and a triumphed in the Aloha Bowl, which marked the school's first postseason win since 1916. He was named team MVP as a senior after anchoring one of the most prolific offenses in school history, including 3,000-yard passer Timm Rosenbach and two 1,000-yard rushers.
 
Utley led the Cougars to their first-ever win against a No. 1 team in 1988 against UCLA, and he guided an offense that led the Pac-10 and ranked third nationally in total offense. After starting a then school-record 43-straight games, Utley was invited to the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Game. He was inducted into the Washington State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004, and the team's Offensive Lineman of the Year Award carries his name.
 
Taken in the third round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, Utley played three seasons in the NFL before suffering from spinal cord injuries that left him paralyzed from the chest and elbows down. He has since regained the use of his shoulders, arms and hands, and even has partial movement in his legs. The Lions renamed their Spirit Award as the Mike Utley Spirit Award in his honor. He received the WSU Alumni Achievement Award in 2007 and the Walter Camp Man of the Year Award in 2006.
 
Since his paralysis, Utley has won dozens of awards for community service and his work with those suffering from spinal cord injuries. He established the Mike Utley Foundation in 1992, which provides research, rehab and education for those living with spinal cord injuries and financially supports rehabilitation projects as well as patient/family assistance programs.
 
Utley provides three scholarships for patients at Detroit Medical Center's Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, and he founded the Mike Utley Rehabilitation Scholarship Program. He also established the Mike Utley Center for Human Performance in Detroit, the Mike Utley Terrain Park in Englewood, Colo. And the Mike Utley Terrain Training Course in Atlanta.
 
Utley becomes the fourth Cougar to be inducted, joining Glen Edwards (1929-31), Mel Hein (1928-30) and Rueben Mayes (1982-85). Three coaches with stops in Pullman are also in the Hall: William "Lone Star" Dietz (1915-17), Forest Evashevski (1950-51) and Orin "Babe"Hollingbery (1926-42).
 
Including the 2016 class, only 977 players and 211 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.19 million people who have played or coached the game over the past 147 years. In other words, only two ten-thousandths of one percent (.0002) of those who have set foot on the gridiron have earned the distinction. Click here for a complete list of players and coaches in the Hall.
 
The 2016 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted at the 59^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, held at New York City's historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Tuesday, Dec. 6. This year's College Football Hall of Fame Class includes: Marlin Briscoe (Nebraska Omaha), Derrick Brooks (Florida State), Tom Cousineau (Ohio State), Randall Cunningham (UNLV), Troy Davis (Iowa State), William Fuller (North Carolina), Bert Jones (LSU), Tim Krumrie (Wisconsin), Pat McInally (Harvard), Herb Orvis (Colorado), Bill Royce (Ashland [Ohio]), Mike Utley (Washington State), Scott Woerner (Georgia), Rod Woodson (Purdue) and coaches Bill Bowes (New Hampshire) and Frank Girardi (Lycoming [Pa.]). For more information, please contact Will Rudd at wrudd@footballfoundation.com or by calling 972.556.1000.
 
The inductees will also be honored at the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31, and they will also take part in a series of events at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta where their accomplishments will be forever immortalized.
 
 
Remaining Scheduled 2016 NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes
Presented by Fidelity Investments
(Chronological Order)
 

DATE	INDUCTEE	SCHOOL (YEARS PLAYED/COACHED)	OPPOSING TEAM
Oct. 15	Herb Orvis	Colorado (1969-71)	Arizona State
Oct. 15	Mike Utley	Washington State (1985-88)	UCLA
Oct. 22	Randall Cunningham	UNLV (1982-84)	Colorado State
Oct. 22	Coach Frank Girardi	Lycoming (Pa.) (1972-2007)	Lebanon Valley (Pa.)
Oct. 22	Bert Jones	LSU (1970-72)	Mississippi
Oct. 29	Derrick Brooks	Florida State (1991-94)	Clemson
Oct. 29	Tim Krumrie	Wisconsin (1979-82)	Nebraska
Nov. 5	William Fuller	North Carolina (1981-83)	Georgia Tech
Nov. 12	Rod Woodson	Purdue (1983-86)	Northwestern
Nov. 19	Pat McInally	Harvard (1972-74)	Yale

 
The 2016 season marks the seventh season that Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of not-for-profit workplace retirement savings plans to higher education employees, is serving as the national presenting sponsor of the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes. 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. At the start of the 2014 season, Fidelity became the presenting sponsor of the William V. Campbell Trophy, college football's premier scholar-athlete award, which will be presented for the 27^th time in 2016.
 
Other highlights of the sponsorship include Fidelity becoming the first presenting sponsor of the organization's prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards and helping launch the NFF Faculty Salutes Initiative, which recognizes the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives around the country.
 
About Fidelity Investments
Fidelity's goal is to make financial expertise broadly accessible and effective in helping people live the lives they want. With assets under administration of $5.6 trillion, including managed assets of $2.1 trillion as of August 31, 2016, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a diverse set of customers: helping more than 25 million people invest their own life savings, nearly 20,000 businesses manage employee benefit programs, as well as providing nearly 10,000 advisory firms with investment and technology solutions to invest their own clients' money. Privately held for 70 years, Fidelity employs 45,000 associates who are focused on the long-term success of our customers. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about.
 
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 and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include FootballMatters.org, the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments, annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, PrimeSport, the Sports Business Journal, Under Armour and VICIS. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.