Feb. 12, 2003

Dallas, Texas – The Cotton Bowl Athletic Association and SBC Communications announced that former Notre Dame quarterback Joe Theismann is one of seven individuals who will be inducted into the SBC Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame this coming April. Theismann becomes the first Notre Dame player to receive the honor and joins other such notables as former Dallas civic leader and Cotton Bowl Athletic Association co-chairman Robert B. Cullum, Mississippi quarterback Eagle Day, Georgia tailback Kent Lawrence, LSU head coach Charles McClendon, SMU halfback Kyle Rote and Texas fullback Steve Worster as part of the Class of 2003.

The 2003 SBC Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame Induction ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, at Cotton Bowl Plaza in Fair Park in Dallas. The induction ceremony, scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m., is free and open to the public. Day, Lawrence, Theismann and Worster are slated to attend the event, while Cullum, McClendon and Rote will be inducted posthumously.

A 35-member judging committee comprised of media representatives and athletic administrators voted from a list of 52 original nominees that included players, coaches, bowl administrators and others who have made special contributions to the Classic. Selection criteria for the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame includes an individual’s performance in, or contribution to, the Classic and five years must have elapsed since his final Classic appearance.

The Class of 2003 is the fifth to be inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. Other notables in the Hall include Syracuse halfback Jim Brown, Arkansas coach Frank Broyles, Texas coach Darrell Royal, SMU halfback Doak Walker, Navy quarterback Roger Staubach and Alabama and Kentucky coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.