Sonny Lubick's legacy at CSU doesn't need the hall of fame

The 2016 College Football Hall of Fame ballot was released Tuesday with 200 names. None are from CSU.

Don't expect a Ram to make the cut for at least another 15 years. To be eligible, a player must be active within the past 50 years, be 10 years removed from college and be voted a first-team All-American on one of the five ballots recognized by the NCAA that make up the consensus All-American team.

That means Kapri Bibbs, Garrett Grayson, Joey Porter, Steve Bartalo and Keli McGregor will never deck the walls in Atlanta. The only former Colorado State University standouts eligible are Anthony Cesario (1995-98), Mike Bell (1975-78) and Kevin McLain (1974-75). Wide receiver Rashard Higgins was a consensus All-American as a sophomore in 2014, but given his determination to play all four years in Fort Collins — with a promising NFL career ahead of him — CSU fans will be waiting a while before he's voted in.

Two former CSU players — Thurman "Fum" McGraw and Greg Myers — and one coach have been inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame.

No, not him. Earle Bruce, who led the Rams to a 22-24-1 record in his four seasons was immortalized in 2002 for his efforts as Woody Hayes' successor at Ohio State in the 1980s.

The coach you're thinking of — the one you want — isn't and, unfortunately, will never be.

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Sonny Lubick, who Hughes Stadium's field is named after, doesn't meet the minimum standard for the College Football Hall of Fame. His lifetime winning percentage was 58.1; it needed to be 60. There are coaches who won less than 60 percent of their games, including 2010 inductee Willie Jeffries (the first black head coach in Division I football), but the National Football Foundation confirmed Monday there will be no exceptions to the the 60 percent rule moving forward.

Had it not been for the 2007 season when the Rams went 3-9, Lubick's career record as a head coach would have been 126-84 — 60 percent.

"I should have been fired a year earlier, then I could be in there," Lubick said, holding back a smirk. "It would be really nice for CSU and me, too, I guess, but I never really gave it much of a thought."

He hadn't thought about it until 2011 when his friend Fisher DeBerry, Air Force's coach from 1984-2006, was inducted. Lubick received an unsolicited call shortly after from a committee member informing him why he wasn't eligible.

It didn't offend him — induction was never his goal — but it was interesting to think that a coach who took one of the losingest teams in college football history to 10 consecutive winning seasons, nine bowls and six conference championships isn't eligible for the hall of fame. Of the Rams' 499 victories as a program, 108 came in during Lubick's 15-year tenure.

Coaching at least 100 games and winning 60 of them isn't as easy at CSU as it is at a Big Ten powerhouse.

"If you coach somewhere like Michigan, you better win 60 percent of your games. Eight wins in a season might not be enough to keep your job," Lubick said. "If you're at CSU, you're never — it's at least going to be pretty hard to — getting into the hall of fame.

"I coached and we had 10 winning seasons in a row and I bet they hadn't had 10 winning seasons in the 60 years before that. I know you have to have criteria, but ... we did something extra special here and I went into the Colorado (Sports) Hall of Fame the year after I retired."

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To become eligible for the hall of fame, Lubick, 78, would need to coach eight more games without a loss and, with a laugh, he said he's open to the idea of doing so on an interim basis, knowing the likelihood of that happening is almost nonexistent. He's happily retired and enjoys watching his sons Matt (Oregon quarterbacks coach) and Marc (Denver Broncos assistant wide receivers coach) carry on the family name in a successful light.

But Lubick's legacy, despite his omission from the hall, cannot be refuted. Everywhere he goes — around Fort Collins or traveling the country — fans stop him to say thanks for what he did at CSU; two said hello at lunch Tuesday.

Steve Fairchild led the Rams to a New Mexico Bowl championship in 2008; Jim McElwain's three years were phenomenal and ended with one school's best seasons to date. Mike Bobo hopes to build from there this fall. None of those coaches successes would have been possible without Lubick putting in the work first.

What he built from 1993-2007 gave future generations of recruits, fans and young coaches reason to recognize the name Colorado State and realize it's not the school in Boulder. The Rams made two bowl appearances in the 100 years before his arrival and three in the seven since. That's not coincidence.

It's a shame his accomplishments don't warrant eligibility for the College Football Hall of Fame, but what he did for mid-major football out west will never be forgotten.

Sonny Lubick will always be this city's coach.

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.