IRVING, Texas (Jan. 11, 2021) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class during “SportsCenter” on ESPN.
Included in today’s select group of inductees is former Eastern Illinois quarterback Tony Romo. Romo becomes the first Eastern Illinois player selected to the College Football Hall of Fame and joins former EIU head coach Darrell Mudra as inductees from EIU.
The winner of the 2002 Walter Payton Award as the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Tony Romo goes down as one of the greatest players in Eastern Illinois history. He deservedly becomes the first Panther player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
A First Team All-American in 2002, Romo became the first three-time Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year in league history. The Walter Payton Award winner led the Panthers to consecutive conference titles (2001, 2002) and three-straight FCS Playoff berths. EIU was 25-10 overall and 17-2 in OVC games with Romo as the starter, and the team was nationally ranked during his final three seasons.
A three-time First Team All-OVC selection, Romo set conference and school records for single-season (34 in 2002) and career (85) touchdown passes, which remained unbroken for more than a decade. The 2001 Third Team All-American owns the school record with a 157.5 career passing efficiency, and he ranks third in career passing yards with 8,212. In 2009, Romo was inducted into the EIU Athletic Hall of Fame; the same day, he became the first player to have his number retired by the Panthers.
After going undrafted in 2003, Romo would put together a standout NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-16. The four-time Pro Bowl selection holds Cowboy records for career passing yards and passing touchdowns.
Off the field, Romo has annually hosted youth football camps in his hometown of Burlington, Wisconsin. He is also heavily involved with the United Way, Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Since retiring with the Cowboys, Romo has served as the lead color analyst for CBS’ NFL telecasts, working alongside Jim Nantz.
Romo becomes the third player that played in the Ohio Valley Conference to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame joining Jim Youngblood from Tennessee Tech and George Floyd Jr., from Eastern Kentucky. Three former head coaches from the OVC have also been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame with Roy Kidd (Eastern Kentucky), James “Boots” Donnelly (Middle Tennessee/Austin Peay) and Frank Beamer (Murray State).
