Danny Wuerffel to be Inducted into Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame
Monday, June 15, 2015 | Football
• Watch tonight's Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame Ceremony - 5:30 pm ET
Florida's Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel will be inducted into the Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame on Monday as a member of the 2015 induction class.
Wuerffel is Florida's sixth overall selection into the Academic Hall of Fame. Florida has had five members inducted since 1997, the most of any school in the country. Wuerffel becomes the third Gator football great to receive the honor, joining Carlos Alvarez (1969-72) and Cris Collinsworth (1977-80). Florida's three football inductees are tied for the second-highest total of any NCAA institution, behind only Air Force and Notre Dame, each with four.
Wuerffel joins Denison football hall of famer and Ohio State team physician Dr. Grant Jones, United States Olympic women's hockey medalist Angela Ruggiero of Harvard, DePauw men's basketball standout Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Indiana) and longtime United States Congressman and Duke University men's basketball star and former NBA standout Shane Battier as this year's 2015 inductees.
They will be inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame at CoSIDA's annual convention in Orlando, Fla., on Monday at the organization's sixth annual Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame Ceremony at the World Center Marriott. ESPN's Rece Davis will serve as emcee and legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg, the ambassador of the Academic All-America program, as special guest.
Wuerffel reached the summit of success both on the field and in the classroom during one of the most highly decorated collegiate football careers in history at the University of Florida. Wuerffel guided the Gators to the 1996 national championship with a 52-20 victory over rival Florida State in the Sugar Bowl just weeks after joining his coach, Steve Spurrier, as the school's recipient of the Heisman Trophy.
A two-time first team GTE Academic All-America® during his junior and senior campaigns of 1995 and 1996, Wuerffel guided Florida to four straight Southeastern Conference crowns and back-to-back appearances in the national championship game. A two-time All-America honoree, Wuerffel also was a two-time recipient of the Davey O'Brien Award and received both the Sammy Baugh Trophy and the Johnny Unitas Golden Award Award. Wuerffel threw for nearly 11,000 career yards. This included 3,625 yards and 39 touchdowns as a senior during a season which featured a 462-yard effort against Arkansas during the Gators' run to the national championship. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Selected in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL draft, Danny played three seasons for the New Orleans Saints and a single year each for the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins. He was the most valuable player of World Bowl 2000 while playing for the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe.
Wuerffel earned a degree in public relations from Florida and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. An active member of his New Orleans community, Wuerffel serves as director of Desire Street Ministries, whose goal is to transform impoverished neighborhoods into flourishing, healthy communities across the nation. Undaunted after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and Desire Street's facilities, Danny drew national attention to his efforts to rebuild the Ministries and to assist in rebuilding the city of New Orleans and the region as well.
Florida's five other members of the Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame are: Elfi Schlegel (2013/gymnastics), Dr. Megan Neyer (2011/diving), Chris Collinsworth (2001/football), Tracy Caulkins Stockwell (1997/swimming) and Carlos Alvarez (1988/football).
When Wuerffel is inducted tonight, Florida will have six members in the Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame, which ranks as the second-highest total of members. Since 1997, Florida's five selections leads the nation's programs.
