Huddling Up
Former Eagle great and College Football Hall of Fame member Tracy Ham has been named Associate Director of Athletics at Georgia Southern University. Ham will work on special projects related to Eagle Athletics.
“We feel this is a great hire for Georgia Southern,” said Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein. “So much of where we are today as a university is because of what guys like Tracy Ham did in the past. He will help us teach new fans about Georgia Southern’s football roots, while helping keep former players connected to what’s going on in Statesboro.”
Kleinlein said he knew of Ham’s legacy and was impressed with his diverse skill set. “Tracy will bring a valuable perspective to the university,” said Kleinlein. “He was a huge help in our recent football coaching search and has been big in helping the EFAA (Eagle Football Alumni Association) with projects around Georgia Southern.”
As a quarterback at Georgia Southern, Ham guided the Eagles to two Division 1-AA national championships. Ham is just one of two football players in Georgia Southern history to have his number retired.
Ham was named to the 1986 Associated Press and Kodak All-America teams and was chosen the ‘College Player of the Year’ for three consecutive years by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1984-86). Ham remains the only player in college football history to run for 3,000 yards and pass or 5,000 in a career, and was the first Division I-AA player to both run and pass for 1,000 yards in a season.
Ham would go on to play 13 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He earned the CFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1989, after becoming the first quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards and throw for 4,000 yards in the same season.
The former All-American was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007. He was also selected for induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2010, and the state of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.