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MacPherson Entertains at NFF Press Conference
Legendary Syracuse head coach Dick MacPherson is officially a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. On Tuesday evening he and 17 others were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame at the 52nd annual National Football Foundation Awards dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. One of two coaches in the 2009 class, MacPherson is the 17th person with Syracuse ties in the Hall of Fame.
Current Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone, former Syracuse coach Dick MacPherson and Orange All-American Tim Green share a moment at the College Football Hall of Fame dinner.
MacPherson was honored for his great contributions to the game, along with former coach John Robinson (Southern California, 1976-82, 1993-97, and Nevada-Las Vegas, 1999-2004) and 16 former players, including Pervis Atkins (New Mexico State, 1958-60), Tim Brown (Notre Dame, 1984-87), Chuck Cecil (Arizona, 1984-87), Ed Dyas (Auburn, 1958-60), Major Harris (West Virginia, 1987-89), Gordon Hudson ( Brigham Young, 1980- 83), William Lewis (Harvard, 1892-93), Woodrow Lowe (Alabama, 1972-75), Ken Margerum (Stanford, 1977-80), Steve McMichael (Texas, 1976-79), Chris Spielman (Ohio State, 1984-87), Larry Station (Iowa, 1982-85), Pat Swilling (Georgia Tech, 1982-85), Gino Torretta (Miami (Fla.), 1989-92), Curt Warner (Penn State, 1979-82) and Grant Wistrom (Nebraska, 1994-97).
During his 10 years as Syracuse’s head coach, MacPherson led the Orange to five bowl games. He produced 10 All-America selections, 38 NFL Draft picks and 12 members of Syracuse's All-Century Team. In 1987, the Orange finished the season undefeated and tied Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. The Orange’s fourth-place finish in both the AP and Coaches polls solidified its legacy as the best SU team since the 1959 National Champions. MacPherson earned several National Coach of the Year awards for his team's superb performance.
Syracuse is one of just 16 BCS schools with at least 17 representatives in the Hall of Fame and is one of seven schools to have 17 or more in the College Football Hall of Fame and at least six enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
MacPherson left the Orange after the 1990 season to become the head coach of the New England Patriots. After coaching the Patriots for two seasons MacPherson eventually returned to The Salt City, where he is currently a radio analyst during the SU football season.