Public Nominations Now Open for the California High School Football Hall of Fame Inaugural Class
Jan 06, 2022
The public can now nominate candidates for consideration to the inaugural California High School Football Hall of Fame class to be enshrined at the Rose Bowl Stadium upon project completion in late-2022.
Nominations, and criteria, can be viewed at www.CAhighschoolfootballHOF.com and must be submitted by January 30, 2022 for consideration by the committee.
The project was announced last month as the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation secured two major pledges to establish the California High School Football Hall of Fame. The pledges on the project are funded by prominent philanthropists and business leaders in the Los Angeles area, Brian Panish and Mickey Segal.
The Hall will be located at the Rose Bowl Stadium with plans to open in 2022. The opening will include the induction of the inaugural class during the venue’s centennial year in late-2022 upon completion of the project space. With the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and National Football Foundation (NFF) playing a role, along with Cal-Hi Sports in conjunction with the Rose Bowl Stadium, a selection committee has been formed representing Southern and Northern California to begin consideration of the inaugural class. It is anticipated that the inaugural class will be announced in Summer 2022.
The project will be planned and founded to honor the history, quality, and overall impact of players, coaches, and integral moments that have shaped the landscape of high school football in the state.
“This project will appropriately recognize the players, coaches, administrators, and so many more contributors that have positively shaped the lives of so many on the football field during the formative high school years,” said Panish and Segal in a joint statement about the project. “Understanding the Rose Bowl Stadium’s rich history and experience with generational moments rooted in football, there is no better place in the State of California to house the high school football hall of fame.”
“The CIF is privileged to participate in the selection process for the California High School Football Hall of Fame,” said Ron Nocetti, CIF Executive Director. “We thank the Rose Bowl Stadium, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the National Football Foundation for honoring the long and storied history of high school football in California and look forward to the induction of its inaugural class.”
The National Football Foundation is honored to play a role with the California High School Football Hall of Fame,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “California has such a rich history of high school football, and the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Rose Bowl Stadium are the perfect stewards to showcase the state’s gridiron greats.”
A full California High School Football Hall of Fame website is currently in development and will launch in early 2022.
The generous gifts by the donors to this project continue momentum in the Legacy Foundation’s centennial campaign efforts to raise $40 million in support of Stadium’s future by the end of its centennial birthday. The campaign is over 85 percent complete with a growing national donor base.
“The ongoing generosity of Mickey and the other key donor to this project is humbling, thoughtful, and will provide a transformational result to recognize the great history of high school football in the State of California. We are incredibly grateful,” said Dedan Brozino, Chief Development Officer. “We are excited for the public to embrace the project as well through the nomination process as we excitedly work towards induction of the inaugural class amidst the Rose Bowl’s centennial year.”