Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch was announced as the sixth and final member of the 2020 University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame class on Wednesday, April 15. Crouch is joined in the 2020 class by Jordan Larson (volleyball), Amanda Burgoyne Vermilyea (bowling), Maurtice Ivy, Sam Francis (football/men’s track and field) and volleyball head coach Terry Pettit.
The Nebraska football team finished with a 55-9 record in Crouch’s five seasons on campus from 1997 to 2001. He was a redshirt freshman on the Huskers’ undefeated 1997 national championship team, and he led Nebraska back to the national championship game as a senior in 2001. Crouch was the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner and a two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year (1999 and 2001). One of the greatest option quarterbacks in the history of college football, Crouch was selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in March of 2020.
An Omaha native, Crouch passed for nearly 5,000 yards and rushed for more than 3,700 yards in his career. Crouch was just the third player in NCAA history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 3,000 yards. Including bowl games, Crouch accounted for 97 touchdowns in his career, throwing for 34 touchdowns, rushing for 61 scores and catching a pair of touchdown passes. He ended his career with the most rushing touchdowns and most 100-yard rushing games by any quarterback in NCAA history. In addition to his NCAA records, Crouch held 32 Nebraska records at the conclusion of his career. The only quarterback in Husker history to rush for 3,000 yards, Crouch still owns Nebraska all-time records for rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns.
The six members of the 2020 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame class will be permanently enshrined at the University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame Plaza.
2020 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame Class
- Terry Pettit, Volleyball Head Coach (1977-99)
- Jordan Larson, Volleyball (2005-08)
- Amanda Burgoyne, Bowling (2004-07)
- Maurtice Ivy, Women’s Basketball (1985-88)
- Sam Francis, Football (1934-36); Men’s Track & Field (1935-37)
- Eric Crouch, Football (1997-2001)
One of the top option quarterbacks in the history of college football, Eric Crouch was a Heisman Trophy winner and a two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. In his career – including bowl games – Crouch passed for 4,975 yards and 34 touchdowns, while rushing for 3,730 yards and 61 touchdowns. He ended his career with the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NCAA history, and his 17 100-yard rushing games were also the most by a quarterback in NCAA history. Crouch is still Nebraska’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns and rushing yards by a quarterback and his 97 total touchdowns are the most by any player in school history. He finished his career as only the third quarterback in NCAA history to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards, and Crouch held 32 school records at the conclusion of his career. Crouch redshirted in his first season in 1997, when Nebraska captured the national championship. After starting five games the next season, Crouch was the Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 1999 while leading Nebraska to a 12-1 record, a Big 12 championship and a No. 3 final ranking. Crouch helped Nebraska to a 10-2 mark as a junior before leading the Huskers to the national title game as a senior, when he won the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Davey O’Brien Quarterback Award and was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Nebraska finished with a 55-9 record in Crouch’s five seasons, and Crouch was 35-7 as the Huskers’ starting quarterback. Following his Husker career, Crouch was drafted as a receiver in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft. His No. 7 jersey is retired, and Crouch was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Crouch earned his degree in exercise science from the University of Nebraska in 2001.
