March 24, 2003

By TOM COYNE
AP Sports Writer

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Joe Theismann was headed to North Carolina State before he changed his mind and chose Notre Dame.

"I just felt like this is where I belong," the Fighting Irish quarterback said after being selected to the College Football Hall of Fame on Monday.

Running backs Barry Sanders and Ricky Bell also made the hall, along with eight other former college stars and former coaches Hayden Fry and Doug Dickey.

Theismann was in South Bend for the announcement and said his selection "was something very unexpected."

"It was very emotional for me," Theismann, who played at Notre Dame from 1968-70.

Theismann recalled arriving on campus as a 5-foot-10, 147-pound freshman and being picked up by assistant coaches Joe Yonto and John Ray.

"As I stepped down the stairs, Joe Yonto turned to Johnny Ray and said, 'That's that Theismann kid, the quarterback.'

"He looked at me and said, 'You mean the guy who is going to be our water boy?"'

Theismann turned out to be another in a long line of Fighting Irish stars. He took over in the eighth game of his sophomore season, after Terry Hanratty was injured in practice, and led the Irish to two wins and a tie.

Theismann was second to Jim Plunkett in the 1970 Heisman voting.

"It was a great time in Notre Dame football," Theismann said. "I think we're getting real close to having the opportunity to have that feeling back."

Theismann threw for 4,411 yards and 31 touchdowns and ranked second in school history in passing when he was done. He set 19 school records and ranks seventh on Notre Dame's all-time passing list.

Nothing in pro football ever matched the thrill of playing for Notre Dame, Theismann said. "What's at stake is pride and you really play for the people," he said.

Sanders won the 1988 Heisman Trophy while playing for Oklahoma State, and became one of the NFL's best running backs with the Detroit Lions before his abrupt retirement prior to the 1999 season.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound Sanders, who ran for a record 2,628 yards in 1988, set or tied 24 NCAA marks at Oklahoma State. In three years with the Cowboys, Sanders had 3,797 yards and 55 touchdowns.

Bell, who starred at Southern California in the mid-1970s, was a two-time All-American. He led the nation in rushing in 1975 with 1,957 yards, and finished second in the '76 Heisman balloting behind Tony Dorsett. Bell died in 1984 at 29 of cardiac arrest brought on by rare skin and muscle disease.

Fry was a head coach for 37 years, the last 20 at Iowa before retiring in 1998. He also coached 11 seasons at SMU and six at North Texas State, posting a record of 232-188-10 at the three schools.

Dickey, who coached at Tennessee from 1964-69 and Florida from 1970-78, had a combined record of 104-58-6.

The other players chosen Monday were Murry Bowden, a defensive back at Dartmouth from 1967-70; Tom Brown, a guard at Minnesota, from 1958-60; Jimbo Covert, offensive tackle at Pittsburgh from 1980-83; Jerry LeVias, an end at SMU from 1965-68 and the first black to receive an athletic scholarship at the school; Billy Neighbors, a tackle at Alabama, 1959-61; Ron Pritchard, a linebacker at Arizona State, 1966-68; John Rauch, a quarterback at Georgia, 1945-48; and Roger Wehrli, a defensive back at Missouri, 1966-68.

The new class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Dec. 9 in New York. The new hall members will be enshrined in August 2004.