Jerry Azumah Named to 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

IRVING, Texas – Jerry Azumah, star running back for the University of New Hampshire football team from 1995-98, has been named to the 2026 ballot under consideration for induction into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Monday.

Azumah, whose name is on the ballot for the first time, is one of 100 players and 35 coaches from the divisional ranks listed on the ballot; there are an additional 79 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The ballot was emailed Monday to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current NFF Hall of Famers. Votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Court, which will deliberate and select the 2026 Hall of Fame class.

Individuals can become an NFF member and cast a vote this year by completing an online membership form by CLICKING HERE.

The announcement of the 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in January 2026, with specific details to be announced in the future.

Azumah, a native of Worcester, Mass. who graduated in 1999 with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Justice Studies, was the 1998 recipient of the Walter Payton Award that honors the top offensive player in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. He was also a recipient of the 2024 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, which recognizes distinguished former student-athletes on the 25^th anniversary of the end of their intercollegiate athletics eligibility.

Azumah became the first player in FCS to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in four consecutive years, and he broke two FCS records with 6,193 rushing yards and 8,376 career all-purpose yards.

Azumah still holds the following school records at New Hampshire: single-game rushing yards (329), rushing yards in a season (2,195), career rushing yards, single-game carries (53), season carries (343), career carries (1,045), single-game rushing touchdowns (five), career rushing touchdowns (60), and career all-purpose yards.

He tallied 25 career 100-yard rushing games in 41 games, which means he topped 100 yards in 61 percent of his games. Azumah finished with nine games of 200 or more yards, including a pair that surpassed 300, and averaged almost 6.0 yards per carry in his four years as a Wildcat.

In his 1998 senior season, Azumah was named a unanimous All-American, All-Atlantic 10 Conference selection (preceded CAA Football), ECAC All-Star, New England Player of the Year and Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year.

That season saw him shatter conference- and school- season records with 343 carries for 2,195 yards and 22 touchdowns. He averaged 247.8 all-purpose yards per game and eclipsed 200 rushing yards five times. Azumah broke his own school record with a career-high 329-yard rushing performance with five touchdowns against Hofstra University.

Azumah was named AFCA All-America First Team as a kick returner and All-America Second Team (Associated Press, The Sports Network) at running back as a junior. He was tabbed an ECAC All-Star, Gold Helmet recipient, All-Atlantic 10 Conference and All-New England First Team. He led the conference and ranked sixth in the nation with 1,585 rushing yards on 271 carries with 17 touchdowns.

As a sophomore, Azumah was named All-ECAC, All-New England, and All-Yankee Conference (precursor to Atlantic 10) First Team. He was named Yankee Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the season's ECAC Gold Helmet recipient. He led the conference in rushing (1,308 yards), scoring (126 points) and all-purpose yards (2,109).

In 1999, he became one of the first recipients of UNH's Jim Urquhart Student-Athlete of the Year Award that is given to New Hampshire student-athletes who excel both in athletic competition and the classroom, and possess great sportsmanship and character, and a passion for sports.

In 2005, Azumah was inducted into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame.

Following his highly-successful UNH career, Azumah was a fifth-round NFL draft pick by the Chicago Bears and spent seven seasons (1999-2005) in the league as a defensive back and kick returner.

Azumah, in his first season with the Bears, received the prestigious Brian Piccolo Award, which is given by teammates to a player exemplifying courage, loyalty, teamwork and dedication.

Azumah played in 105 games with the Bears and made a Pro Bowl appearance in 2003, when
he led the league in kickoff returns with a 29-yard per return average and two touchdowns. He became the first Wildcat to ever earn a Pro Bowl appearance, and in that game set the record for return yards with 228 and also recovered a fumble.

His NFL career statistics include 48 starts, 384 tackles, 10 interceptions, 29 passes defended, 6.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Of the 5.78 million who have played and coached college football since the first game on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,111 players and 237 coaches have been inducted. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have participated can call themselves a member of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame.

The NFF employs a rigorous set of objective standards to identify only the most worthy candidates, and the criteria establishes a pool of approximately 1,500 All-America First Team honorees. A district screening system further culls the list to the names on the ballot.

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