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University of New Hampshire Athletics
Azumah NFF Hall of Fame On-Field Salute is Oct. 3
9/4/2026 10:57:00 AM | Football, General
IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame has announced the 2026 schedule for the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments. Jerry Azumah, star running back for the University of New Hampshire football team from 1995-98, will be saluted at the UNH football team's Saturday, Oct. 3 game vs. Elon at Wildcat Stadium.
The On-Campus Salutes tradition dates to the inaugural NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951. Sixteen salutes have been scheduled this year between Sept. 5 and Nov. 21.
Azumah will be presented a Hall of Fame plaque at the Oct. 3 game (1pm start time), which is also UNH's Homecoming and Hall of Fame Weekend. The plaque will then be on permanent display at UNH and his accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
CLICK HERE to buy tickets and be at Wildcat Stadium to see this historic Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute – single-game, half-season and season tickets are on sale now.
The 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the National Football Foundation's 68th Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.Tickets are available at https://NFF2026.givesmart.com.
Azumah, a star running back for the New Hampshire football team from 1995-98, was named to the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Class this past January. He is the first player and second person in Wildcat history to enter the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, joining his coach, Bill Bowes, who was inducted in 2016.
Azumah, whose name was on the ballot for the first time, is included among the 18 players and four coaches in the Class of 2026. He was selected from a national ballot that consisted of 79 players from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 100 players from all other divisions.
Azumah graduated in 1999 with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Justice Studies. The native of Worcester, Mass. 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 25th anniversary of the end of their intercollegiate athletics eligibility.
In 2005, Azumah was inducted into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame.
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.
Following a 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.
When the 2026 Hall of Fame Class is officially inducted in December, only 1,129 players and 241 coaches will have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.86 million who have played or coached the game during the past 157 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played/coached the game have earned this distinction.
The On-Campus Salutes tradition dates to the inaugural NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951. Sixteen salutes have been scheduled this year between Sept. 5 and Nov. 21.
Azumah will be presented a Hall of Fame plaque at the Oct. 3 game (1pm start time), which is also UNH's Homecoming and Hall of Fame Weekend. The plaque will then be on permanent display at UNH and his accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
CLICK HERE to buy tickets and be at Wildcat Stadium to see this historic Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute – single-game, half-season and season tickets are on sale now.
The 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the National Football Foundation's 68th Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.Tickets are available at https://NFF2026.givesmart.com.
Azumah, a star running back for the New Hampshire football team from 1995-98, was named to the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Class this past January. He is the first player and second person in Wildcat history to enter the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, joining his coach, Bill Bowes, who was inducted in 2016.
Azumah, whose name was on the ballot for the first time, is included among the 18 players and four coaches in the Class of 2026. He was selected from a national ballot that consisted of 79 players from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 100 players from all other divisions.
Azumah graduated in 1999 with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Justice Studies. The native of Worcester, Mass. 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 25th anniversary of the end of their intercollegiate athletics eligibility.
In 2005, Azumah was inducted into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame.
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.
Following a 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.
When the 2026 Hall of Fame Class is officially inducted in December, only 1,129 players and 241 coaches will have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.86 million who have played or coached the game during the past 157 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played/coached the game have earned this distinction.
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