A beloved coaching legend from the state of Alabama will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Larry Blakeney, who served as the head coach at Troy University from 1991-2014 and as an assistant at Auburn from 1977-1990, was selected as a member of the 2025 class, the National Football Foundation (NFF) announced on Wednesday.
“I think one of the most important appointments at Troy University in athletics over the last four decades was when we selected Coach Larry Blakeney to head our football program,” Troy Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr. said. “His record speaks for itself. He’s a great coach, but even a better man.”
Across 24 seasons, Blakeney led the Trojans to eight conference titles, 178 wins, and five bowl appearances. What’s more, he ushered the program from Division II to Division I FBS status and became the winningest coach in Troy and Sun Belt Conference History. The Birmingham, Alabama, native now becomes the first Troy and Sun Belt Conference inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Along with Blakeney, the 2025 Hall of Fame Class includes fellow coaches Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and Larry “Bubb” Korver, who won two Division II titles at Northwestern College (IA). Other notable inductees include Michael Vick, Steve Slaton, Michael Strahan, Monte Ball, John Henderson, and former Auburn linebacker Gregg Carr.
The induction will be held at the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 9, 2025, at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
“Coach Blakeney’s roots are intertwined with the history and tradition of Troy Football, and there is nobody more deserving to grace the halls of the College Football Hall of Fame than him,” Troy Director of Athletics Brent Jones stated.
Blakeney won 61.1 percent of his games while serving as the head coach at Troy, securing victories in the 2006 and 2010 New Orleans bowls and making appearances in the 2004 Silicon Valley Bowl, the 2008 New Orleans Bowl, and the 2010 GMAC Bowl. Prior to Troy’s move to FBS, he led the Trojans to seven FCS playoff appearances in only eight seasons.
Perhaps the thing that defined Blakeney’s coaching career more than anything was refusing to back down from a challenge. Troy became known as a “giant killer,” as Blakeney’s teams regularly competed against and defeated Power Five opponents. Signature wins for the Trojans included a 24-14 victory over No. 17 Missouri in 2000 and wins against Mississippi State (2001) and Oklahoma State (2007). Blakeney was named Southland Coach of the Year on two occasions (1999,2000) and Sun Belt Coach of the Year twice (2008, 2009).
Coach Blakeney also oversaw significant facilities upgrades to Veterans Memorial Stadium, increasing its capacity from 12,000 to 17,500 in 1998 and to 30,000 in 2003. Troy honored its longtime coach by naming the playing surface at the stadium “Larry Blakeney Field.”
Blakeney served as a mentor and coach for a total of 14 All-Americans, including Al Lucas, the 1999 Buck Buchanan Award winner, and Nick Colbert, 2000 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete. He coached 86 First Team All-Conference selections and three Sun Belt Players of the Year.
A former Auburn player from 1966-69, Blakeney became the first sophomore in program history to start at quarterback for head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan. Before returning to Auburn as an assistant coach, Blakeney served as the head coach at Southern Academy in Greensboro, Ala., from 1970-71, Walker High School in Jasper, Ala., from 1972-74, and Vestavia High School in Vestavia, Ala., from 1975-76. Blakeney was hired at Auburn by Doug Barfield and served under Pat Dye from 1981-1990.
“It has been an honor to work with him over a long period of time, and in my estimation, there is no one more deserving of this recognition than Larry Blakeney,” Dr. Hawkins Jr. added. “He is the epitome of what a coach should be.” TG
Photos courtesy Troy Athletics
