Ohio - With the first full Saturday of college football exactly a month away, there's still time for a late-summer trip to the
.
The hall was established in 1951, a different era for the sport to be sure, when there were only eight bowl games to be played and all were on Jan. 1.
College Football Hall of Fame
Where:
250 Marietta St.,
in downtown Atlanta.
Contact:
Email info@cfbhall.com or call 404-880-4800. Online: cfbhall.com.
Admission
$19.99. Seniors and students: $17.99. Kids 3-12: $16.99. Free: Active duty, retired military-service members and kids under 3.
Nearby:
Very close to a multitude of tourist attractions: Centennial Park, Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola,
Center. It's about 700 miles from downtown Cleveland.
It had been in South Bend, Indiana, home of Notre Dame, since 1995. But in 2014, the luster of the Irish gave way to the flash of the Southeastern Conference fan base. And the Interstate 80 crossroads in northern Indiana, while still a major East-West thoroughfare, is no match for the constant linchpin of traffic descending into, through and out of Atlanta.
It's within a day's drive from most of the 14 schools in the powerhouse
that have a total enrollment of about half a million students. And that doesn't even include the Atlantic Coast Conference or its alumni base.
The location is "the Heartland of college football," said Dennis Adamovich, the hall's
The multi-level building covers more than 94,000 square feet, honoring the 900 players and 200 coaches enshrined. More than 5 million athletes have played college football; 0.02 percent have earned a place in the hall.
History, of course, is covered throughout galleries and exhibits, but interactive and educational components elevate the hall to a hands-on, welcoming museum.
"It's way more than a museum," Adamovich said. "It's an experience."
Here are four unique draws of the College Football Hall of Fame:
A massive wall of helmets hangs in the College Football Hall of Fame's lobby. Helmets that are lit mean someone representing that school is visiting or has visited the hall that day.
1. An interactive introduction
A spacious lobby greets you with a line of kiosks, where you sign in. The key parts of the quick registration process are your email and choice of college. Your alma mater or favorite school, whatever, becomes part of you for your duration through the hall - and later, too: A personalized code will allow you to access the interactive takeaways from your visit.
As you hang your access badge around your neck you'll stare up at the massive wall of helmets, each representing a different school. Ones that are lit mean at some point during each day, someone is or was in the hall and chose that particular school.
Assorted interactive kiosks will pick up your access code as you walk by, and greet you with clips from your school and your name on the screen. (Perhaps if this technology had been around 40 years ago in art museums, kids' attention spans might not have melted after the first 50 paintings, and we would be amidst a generation of Picassos and Monets today.)
The hall of fame's skill zone.
2. Educating fans
Too often analysts speak in a nomenclature that is fine for anyone who played the game. For the majority of folks watching, it's not
To this end, the hall has done a fine job with two particular kiosks.
In "Keys to the Play," several coaches - John Robinson, Steve Spurrier, Terry Donahue, for instance - each describe a specific offensive formation: The Pistol, I Formation, Wishbone, Pro Set and Option. Each is described, then you are tested as to where players should move, before a game clip shows real players maneuvering through that particular formation.
Even more entertaining and equally educational is the chance to "build" a program. You become the coach with decision-making power at "Central State." Following brief questions and answers, you will recruit players, build a weight room based on the team's needs, head to an alumni event and give a motivational speech. The higher the score the faster you have turned around a program.
Fans can be digitally put into an ESPN Game Day broadcast.
3. Other key interactive elements
There is much to see but more to experience at the hall:
* Enter a College Game Day "studio" and read a script, then watch as you are virtually inserted into the
pregame analysis, with former host
.
* A skill zone is a field for kids to pass, throw and kick, and the area's giant scoreboard will have games broadcast this season.
* Pick a fight song and proudly belt out your alma mater's song for a recording.
* You can broadcast, and record, an exciting play.
The neat thing is the hall allows for you to create a personalized digital locker - it's free - to assemble any of these recordings to see and share later.
The Orange Bowl - literally.
4. The game's nostalgia
Of course, the past is remembered, for its memories and traditions:
* A trophies area includes the historical footnote on the Tiffany-made MacArthur Bowl, first awarded in 1959 and given to the national champion each year. It was made based on a design suggested from Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Oranges fill a bowl for their namesake game, adding color to the case. But the most artistic one might be the Outland Trophy, honoring the nation's best interior lineman. It depicts a surging player, no face mask from an era long gone, leading the way for a more heralded ball carrier.
* Traditional touchstones are preserved, like the Tulsa rope - used for players to pull as a remembrance to never let go - and Michigan's motivational sign, urging its teams to "Play Like a Champion."
*
, from Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler and beyond. There's also an homage to Mount Union's Division
dominance.
* Inspirational quotes are etched throughout, on walls and floors, including the oft-used but obligatory wisdom from Knute Rockne.
* The Game-Day Theater is a visual pep talk that, as a guide introduced, "will make the hair on your head stand up." On-screen attribution is given so you know the voiceovers.
* Rivalry row features the object of victory between rival schools, like the Paul Bunyan ax fought for between Wisconsin and Minnesota.
* Old programs are found in any sports museum, but the hall also has artifacts that remain part of the game and its fandom: The Arkansas hog hat, the red hog-head-shaped helmet that fits so comfortably atop even the most austere fan to cheer on the Razorbacks. A Mississippi State cowbell, waiting to be clanged. A Kansas-Missouri war drum, beaten and ripped like it had been through its own battle. If any part of the hall could use an expansion, this is it.
* Evolution of equipment, from uniforms to helmets to shoes. Contrast old-fashioned leather high-tops to the sometimes colorful, modern, lightweight cleats worn today.
* A clip from the television show "Sports Science" shows, of all players, Cleveland's Barkevious Mingo. He displays how much speed it takes to block a quarterback's pass.