Ricky Williams is on the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the names on the 2015 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, including 75 players and six coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 87 players and 25 coaches from the divisional ranks.

The announcement of the 2015 class, including the players and coaches from both the Football Bowl Division and the divisional ranks, will be made Friday, Jan. 9 in Arlington, Texas, the site of the Jan. 12 College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship Game. The Jan. 9 announcement will be carried live on www.footballfoundation.org. Several of the inductees will be on site to represent the class, sharing their thoughts on induction.

“Having a ballot and a voice in the selection of the inductees is one of the most cherished NFF member benefits,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 Hall of Fame inductee from Ole Miss. “There is no group more knowledgeable or passionate about college football than our membership, and the tradition of the ballot helps us engage them in the lofty responsibility of selecting those who have reached the pinnacle of achievement in our sport.”

“We would like to thank CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock and his staff for the opportunity to announce our Hall of Fame Class in conjunction with the Championship Game,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “We believe the presence of the national media at the title game will significantly raise the profile of the announcement, allowing us to shine a much brighter light on the accomplishments of our game’s greatest legends.”

Another major change in this year’s balloting is the NFF has moved to an electronic voting system. The ballot was emailed this morning to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Court, which deliberates and selects the class. Chaired by Gene Corrigan, a former ACC Commissioner and NCAA president, the 17-member NFF Honors Court includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.

“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the ballot when you think that more than 5.06 million people have played college football,” said Hatchell. “The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of only 1,500 individuals who are even eligible to be on the ballot, so being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to ever have played the game, and we are proud to announce their names. We look forward to announcing the 2015 Hall of Fame Class on the Friday before the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship.”

The new tradition of announcing the College Football Hall of Fame inductees on the Friday before the national title game will have no impact on the induction ceremonies, which will continue to take place during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria, and the 2015 class will be inducted Dec. 8, 2015.

To be eligible for the ballot, players must have been named a First Team All-American by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams; played their last year of intercollegiate football at least 10 years prior; played within the last 50 years and cannot be currently playing professional football. Coaches must have coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games as a head coach; won at least 60 percent of their games; and be retired from coaching for at least three years. If a coach is retired and over the age of 70, there is no waiting period. If he is over the age of 75, he is eligible as an active coach. In both cases, the candidate’s post-football record as a citizen may also be weighed.

Once nominated for consideration, all player candidates are submitted to one of eight District Screening Committees, depending on their school’s geographic location, which conducts a vote to determine who will appear on the ballot and represent their respective districts. Each year, approximately 15 candidates, who are not selected for the Hall of Fame, will be named automatic holdovers and will bypass the district screening process and automatically appear on the ballot the following year. Additionally, the Veterans Committee may make recommendations to the Honors Court for exceptions that allow for the induction of players who played more than 50 years ago.

Of the 5.06 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, only 948 players have earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, or less than two ten-thousandths (.0002) of one percent of those who have played the game during the past 146 years. From the coaching ranks, 207 individuals have achieved Hall of Fame distinction.