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Hennings elected to College Football Hall of Fame

Former Air Force great Chad Hennings received one of the highest honors a college football player can earn May 16. He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Hennings is one of 13 players and two coaches to be selected to the hall of fame from a ballot of 77 candidates and a pool of hundreds of eligible nominees, according to Ron Johnson, chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.

Hennings, a 1988 graduate of the Academy, is considered one of college football's great defensive linemen of his era. A unanimous first-team All-America selection in 1987, Hennings received the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman. A two-time first-team all-conference selection, he is a member of the Western Athletic Conference all-time team and was named WAC defensive player of the decade for the 1980s.

Hennings led the nation with 24 sacks in 1987 and played in numerous post-season all-star games including the Japan Bowl and East-West Shrine Game. He was a two-time first-team academic All-American and earned academic All-WAC honors three times. Hennings also received the Stan Bates Award as the conference's top scholar-athlete in 1987.

Although he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1988 NFL Draft, Hennings fulfilled a four-year military commitment, serving during the first Gulf War. In 1992, he rejoined the Cowboys and embarked on a nine-year NFL career that brought him three Super Bowl titles.

"It's a great honor! I never went into playing football for the individual accolades; it's always been about team. To be recognized with this honor is a testament to the guys I played with at the Air Force Academy," Hennings said.

Hennings, who is a successful business owner, is very active in his community, serving as a member of the board of directors for Happy Hills Farm, a home for abused and neglected children. He and his wife, Tammy, currently reside in Flower Mound, Texas, with their children, Chase and Brenna.

"This is a great day for Falcon football," said Fisher DeBerry, Academy head coach. "Chad has brought distinction to the Academy, Falcon football and himself. Nobody ever deserved to be in the hall of fame more than Chad," Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry said. "This signifies him as one of the best that ever played the game. This award not only speaks to his football ability, but also to his outstanding character and personal qualities and attitudes. It will be fun to see him inducted."

Hennings joins former Air Force great Brock Strom, Academy class of 1959, as the only other Air Force football player in the hall of fame. Former Falcon coach L.T. "Buck" Shaw, who coached the Academy from 1956-57, is the only former coach inducted.

"If anyone ever lived the core values of the Academy and the Air Force to the limit, it's Chad," said Dr. Hans Mueh, athletics director at the Academy and a member of the academic faculty at the Academy while Hennings was a cadet. "The epitome of integrity, service and excellence, he fulfilled his commitment to the Air Force as an A-10 pilot in Desert Storm, was given the opportunity to fulfill his Academy commitment early, and only then opted to give the NFL a try. The rest is history, but Chad never forgot his roots here.

"He continues to support us as a role model to our cadets and the Air Force and he is a strong supporter of the athletic program," Dr. Mueh said. "This honor is well-deserved, but Chad will be humble in his acceptance and give credit to others for recognition he so clearly earned. I'm honored to know him and proud to call him a friend."

"We are very pleased to announce the induction of yet another exceptional class of college football hall of famers," Mr. Johnson said. "Each year our hard-working Honors Court, chaired by Gene Corrigan, does an outstanding job in ensuring the game's legends are duly recognized."

Included in this class are players Carl Eller and Emmitt Smith, and coaches Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno.

The 2006 College Football Hall of Fame Division I-A Class will be inducted at the 49th Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. They will be officially enshrined at the Hall in South Bend, Ind., during ceremonies in the summer of 2007.

Source: U.S. Air Force