Former SMU running back Eric Dickerson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday, nearly 40 years after playing his last game for the Mustangs. Dickerson became the seventh Mustang player in the College Football Hall of Fame, according to SMU.
His induction was long overdue. Dickerson played at SMU from 1979-1982 and broke nearly every rushing record at SMU. He is the school’s all-time leading rusher with 4,450 career yards and owns 12 other school records, including single-season rushing yards (1,617 in 1982), career rushing touchdowns (47), and career 100-yard rushing games (28).
Dickerson single-handedly brought SMU to national prominence going from 5-6 in his first season on campus to an 11-0-1 record in his final year, including a victory over Pittsburgh in the Cotton Bowl.
In that final year (1982), Dickerson was unanimously voted a First Team All-American and finished third for the Heisman Trophy. The Mustangs finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation, and their Cotton Bowl appearance was the school’s first since 1966.
The prior season (1981), Dickerson earned Second Team All-American honors, and SMU finished the season No. 5 in the final rankings with a 10-1 record.
His professional football career was just as impressive. He was selected with the second overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams and played there for four years before joining the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.
Dickerson was a six-time Pro Bowler, and his 13,259 rushing yards is currently ninth-best in NFL history. His 2,105 rushing yards in his second year in the league (1984) is still the league’s single-season record. In 1999, Dickerson was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame for his excellent career.
The College Hall of Fame has provided no official reason why Dickerson’s induction is delayed, but fans of the sport may have an excellent guess.
In 1987, when Dickerson was already breaking records in the NFL, SMU’s reputation was significantly damaged when the NCAA handed the school’s football program the “death penalty.” The school was forced to shut down all football activities for an entire season as a penalty for multiple recruiting violations that occurred before Dickerson arrived at SMU, up until 1986.
One key part of the controversy surrounding the school’s alleged violations was a sports car gifted to Dickerson at a time when he was committed to attend Texas A&M. Dickerson has maintained his stance that the car was not from SMU but rather a gift from his grandmother.
“We had nothing to do with that death penalty,” Dickerson told the Associated Press, referring to himself and teammate Craig James. “That’s the travesty of the whole deal. People have the tendency to think I had something to do with it. We were a bunch of young kids.”
Despite the controversy that arose from his time on campus, Dickerson has remained proud of his time at SMU.
“I know why they held me out because of the death penalty, but I’m proud of my school,” Dickerson said. “The truth is going to always come out. I’m really happy to represent my university and I’m proud of it. I’m glad I went to SMU.”
Along with Dickerson, 27 other players were inducted into the College Hall in a joint ceremony for the 2020 and 2021 classes. Dickerson was voted into the 2020 class, but no induction ceremony was held last year due to the Coronavirus.
Other inductees included Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Eric Crouch, former Eastern Illinois and Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo, and longtime Oklahoma Sooner coach Bob Stoops.