Inside The Huskies

College Football Hall of Fame Chooses Petersen, Kreutz

Their selections end big lapse in honorees for the University of Washington.
Dan Raley|
Huskies head coach Chris Petersen has been selected to the next College Football Hall of Fame class.
Huskies head coach Chris Petersen has been selected to the next College Football Hall of Fame class. | Casey Sapio-Imagn Images

Coach Chris Petersen and center Olin Kreutz on Wednesday were selected to the College Football Hall of Fame for 2026, with each accolade ending a fairly lengthy lapse for University of Washington inductees.

Petersen, who who led the UW program in 2014-19, is the first Husky coach honored in 29 years since Don James was summoned.

He's now one of six UW sideline leaders chosen to the Hall of Fame, along with James (1997), Darrell Royal (1983), Jim Owens (1982), Jimmy Phelan (1973) and Gil Dobie (1951).

Kreutz, who was a consensus All-American center and played in 1995-97, is the 12th Husky player tabbed by the Hall of Fame and the first in over a decade since offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy was inducted in 2015.

"The main reason I love college football is that it is truly the ultimate team game," Petersen said in a statement. "If a team plays well, the head coaches tend to get a lot of credit, but there's no chance they're going to be successful unless they're surrounded by great people and great places."

He finished his six years at UW with a 55-26 record and his career combined with Boise State with a 147-38 ledger.

Petersen, of course, has been retired since stepping down at the UW and is a college football FOX-TV analyst.

Kreutz came to the UW from Saint Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, and played immediately before becoming a 12-game starter for each of the 1996 and 1997 seasons. He was a consensus first-team All-America selection in 1997, won the Morris Trophy as the Pac-10's top offensive lineman and was the UW's most inspirational award winner.

A third-round draft pick for Chicago, Kreutz took over as the Bears' starting center for the next 13 seasons (1998-2010). He was chosen to six Pro Bowl rosters, and was named first-team All-Pro in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006. He played six games for the New Orleans Saints in 2011 before an injury led to his retirement.

"Being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame is an honor I could have never imagined growing up in Hawaii," he said in a statement. "I carry Hawaii with me in everything I do."

Kreutz since has worked as a radio and TV commentator in Chicago, where he lives.

College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held on December 8 in Las Vegas.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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