Ex-Michigan coach Lloyd Carr: 'Unbelievable honor' to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
Lloyd Carr knew it was coming. He found out he would be immortalized in the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this week.
The assembled crowd in the Al Glick Fieldhouse on Saturday night had no idea. So when Brian Griese — one of the three hosts of the Brian Griese, Steve Hutchinson and Charles Woodson Champions for Children’s Hearts Gala Dinner — announced Carr’s impending induction, he received a standing ovation.
Carr will be just one of the inductees for the Class of 2011, which will be announced Tuesday. The former Michigan coach said he didn’t know who else was in the class.
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“It’s an unbelievable honor,” Carr said. “If you’re a college football coach and you have the great fortune to have the players that I had, that’s really how I got there. You don’t win games and you don’t do the things this program has done unless you have not only great athletes but people willing to be part of a team and play a role.”
Carr credited his players and coaches for helping him reach this point, including former Michigan coaches Bo Schembechler and Gary Moeller. He learned to be a coach under both of them before taking over Michigan.
He coached Michigan for 13 seasons, won five Big Ten titles and a national championship in 1997 as part of a 122-40 record.
Carr will be the fourth Michigan head coach inducted into the College Hall of Fame, joining Fritz Crisler, Fielding Yost and Carr’s mentor, Schembechler.
The 65-year-old Carr had previously gone to the Hall of Fame inductions of Schembechler and the late Jim Mandich, who was honored along with Rob Lytle, Vada Murray, Ron Kramer and Leah Steele in a moment of silence during the three-hour long dinner.
“Any coach would be happy, I learned from all of them and what they did here was something,” Carr said. “I tried to learn from (it) and tried to read everything I could find about them through the years.
“If you can look back at that history of what Fritz and Yost did and tie all that together, it makes a difference.”
The 2011 class of the College Football Hall of Fame will be inducted Dec. 6 at a dinner in New York.
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by email at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein
Comments
1st Down
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 8:17 p.m.
Coach Carr is such a class act, a great man and a great coach at Michigan. We should treasure our heros, and Lloyd Carr is a big hero for Michigan football and beyond.
Mick
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 6:58 p.m.
Big congrats to you Coach Carr, I will always appreciate your many contributions in AA, well beyond Football. You deserve this honor and may you live happily and healthfully for the rest of your life sir, you are a good man with a great heart, bless you and Go Blue, TiM!!! P.S. Good luck to all the sick children and hopefully all of you can find happiness in your lives!
chapmaja
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 4:56 p.m.
Congrats to coach Carr on this well deserved accomplishment. I do have a question regarding the honor. I understand who all of those that received the moment of silence were except Leah Steele. Who was Leah Steele and what was the connection between Leah Steele and UofM football?
missionbrazil
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 3:58 p.m.
Congrats Coach Carr. You always have been and you continue to be a class act and an honorable man. UM is a better place because of your many contributions.
Tru2Blu76
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 3:49 p.m.
I didn't move to Ann Arbor (1974) because of the Wolverines and Bo. I moved here because my fiance lived here. But I soon "noticed" the Michigan Wolverines and their coaches. When Lloyd Carr was thrown in to replace Gary Moeller, I saw right away that this guy was someone special. I think his example of operating mostly from the background is highly unusual, he was not a center stage coach like so many are. It's typical of him that he talked mostly about his players and their role in his success. I don't think his approach is entirely based on modesty: I think he's a realist and knows (better than most) that success is always dependent on others to a significant degree. Lloyd Carr deserves this honor. Congratulations, Coach Carr.
ohiowolverine
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 2:04 p.m.
Blu, their is nothing else to say. You said it all. TiM Go Blue
Blu n Tpa
Tue, May 17, 2011 : 4:36 p.m.
ow Thank you and I meant ever word.
Blu n Tpa
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 12:28 p.m.
There are those who would question the success of this man, Lloyd Carr, for reasons I could neither understand nor agree with. And, although Coach Carr was absolutely correct to share this honor with his mentors and former players, it will be his to enjoy for rest of OUR lives. While I could rewind the tape of his football successes, and there are certainly enough to justify his inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame, I will leave that to others. It is his work with sick, and yes, dying children, that causes us to see Coach Carr as far more than a college football coach. He is, will be long remembered as, a man who made a difference, far removed from the football field and very close to our hearts. He is Michigan! This is Michigan! Go Blue!