Former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich is one of nine FBS coaches to earn a spot on the 2023 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced the ballot of players and coaches on Monday morning.
Solich is in his first season of eligibility on the ballot after retiring as head coach at Ohio in July of 2021. During his 22 seasons as a head coach, he compiled a record of 173-101, including a 58-19 record in six seasons as Nebraska’s head coach from 1998 to 2003.
Solich's career at Nebraska spanned 41 seasons. He first entered the football program in 1962 to play fullback in Bob Devaney's first season as head coach.
Solich spent several years as a high school head coach in Nebraska before joining the Husker coaching staff as an assistant in 1979. All 29 Nebraska teams Solich was associated with as either a player or coach played in a bowl game.
Following his head coaching career at Nebraska, Solich guided Ohio University’s program for 16 seasons from 2005 to 2020. During his time at Ohio, Solich coached the Bobcats to 12 winning seasons, 11 bowl appearances and four MAC East division titles. He is the winningest coach in the history of the Mid-American Conference.
In addition to serving as the head coach for one Hall of Fame player (Eric Crouch) and an assistant for another (Mike Rozier), Solich played for Hall of Fame head coach Bob Devaney and worked for 19 seasons as an assistant coach under Hall of Fame coach Tom Osborne.
Overall, Nebraska has 26 representatives in the College Football Hall of Fame, including 20 players and six head coaches. Zach Wiegert is the most recent honoree as part of the 2022 Hall of Fame class and will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in December.