Dick MacPherson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame today, but for any Syracuse fans who have no idea who that is...you probably know him as Coach Mac.
Ben Schwartwalder might be the Father of Syracuse football but it's Coach Mac who oversaw it's re-emergence into the national scene in the 80's and returned the program to respectability.
MacPherson directed the renaissance of Syracuse football in the 1980s when it transitioned into the Carrier Dome and blossomed into an Eastern and national power. MacPherson coached the Orangemen between 1981 to 1990. His record was a modest 66-46-4. However over the last five seasons in Syracuse, MacPherson's teams were 36-10-3. In 1987, the Orangemen finished 11-0-1 and were co-champions of the Sugar Bowl.
In the ten years before Mac got here, Syracuse football had only three winning seasons.
If there's no Coach Mac, all of the success Syracuse football garnered in the 90's never happens as well. He coached as UMass before coming to Syracuse where won the conference tittle four of seven years.
SUAthletics.com has a full bio up on the coach. Expect some kind words from Doug Marrone, who played under MacPherson, soon as well.
Some other notables elected today include Notre Dame's Tim Brown, West Virginia's Major Harris, Ohio State's Chris Spielman, Miami's Gino Torretta and USC coach John Robinson.