'College GameDay' Crew Delivers Nick Saban CFB Hall of Fame Induction News

The coach's accomplishments will live forever.
Nick Saban before No. 3 Notre Dame's 27–24 win over No. 5 Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9, 2025.
Nick Saban before No. 3 Notre Dame's 27–24 win over No. 5 Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9, 2025. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The phrase "living legend" is overused in sports, but it's applicable to Nick Saban—by acclamation the greatest coach in the history of college football.

Now that he's retired, Saban is headed for immortality. On Friday, Saban's College GameDay colleagues informed him that he would be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this year.

"This December, coming up at the National Football Foundation's awards dinner, their new Hall of Fame class will be announced. Headlining that class will be the greatest college football coach in the history of the sport, Nick Saban," ESPN's Rece Davis—an Alabama graduate—said.

Analyst and former West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee then presented Saban with a ball to commemorate the occasion.

Saban's resume needs no introduction, but here it is anyway.

The former Kent State defensive back coached Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and the Crimson Tide, and served as an assistant with the Golden Flashes, Syracuse, the Mountaineers, Ohio State and Navy. He won seven national championships and 12 conference championships—eleven in the SEC and one in the MAC. Per College Football Reference's leaderboard, his 297 wins rank fifth all-time, his .806 winning percentage ranks 16th all-time, and his 19 bowl wins rank third all-time.

That'll play.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .