Johnny Majors
Legendary Tennessee football player and head coach Johnny Majors will be inducted into the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday at a dinner at the Petersen Events Center.
Majors is part of a 12-member 2019 Hall of Fame class that will also be introduced on Saturday at Heinz Field during Pitt’s football game with UCF.
Majors guided Pittsburgh to the 1976 national championship as the head coach.
He coached the Panthers from 1973-76 and again from 1993-96. The 1976 season featured Heisman Trophy-winning running back Tony Dorsett and saw Pitt finish 12-0, culminating with a 27-3 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
Majors finished his collegiate coaching career with 185 victories and 16 bowl appearances during stints at Pitt, Tennessee and Iowa State.
The Lynchburg, Tenn., native had one of the most distinguished playing careers of any Vol, collecting Heisman Trophy runner-up and unanimous All-America honors in 1956. He finished his Tennessee career with 1,622 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, while passing for 1,135 yards and 11 touchdowns.
His No. 45 jersey is retired by Tennessee and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
He was the head coach at Iowa State from 1968 to 1972 before taking the helm of the Panthers. He coached Tennessee from 1977 to 1992, winning three SEC Championships (1985, 1989, 1990) before returning to wrap up his coaching career at Pitt.