College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football . Located in South Bend , Indiana , it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city ' s renovated downtown district , two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus . It is slated to move to Atlanta in September 2013 . The National Football Foundation ( NFF ) established the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 , and oversees its support , administration and operation . History . Original plans called for the Hall of Fame to be located at Rutgers University in New Brunswick , New Jersey , the location of the first contest under rules now considered to be those of modern football , between teams from Rutgers and the College of New Jersey , now Princeton University ; Rutgers won 6 – 4 . Rutgers donated land near its football stadium , office space , and administrative support . After years of collecting donations for the construction of the building with ground not having been broken and no plans to do so , the New Jersey Attorney General began an investigation of the finances of the Hall of Fame ' s foundation , the National Football Foundation . In response , the Foundation moved its operations to New York City , where it continued to collect donations for several years . When the New York Attorney General ' s office began its own investigation the foundation moved to Kings Mills , Ohio , where a building finally was constructed adjacent to Kings Island in 1972 . Despite estimates that the South Bend location would attract more than 150 , 000 visitors a year , the Hall of Fame drew about 115 , 000 people the first year ( 1995 ) and about 80 , 000 annually after that . As a result , in September 2009 , the Hall of Fame announced it would be moving to Atlanta . The possibility of moving the museum has been brought up in other cities , including Dallas , which had the financial backing of billionaire T . Boone Pickens . Set to open in the fall of 2013 , the new $ 50 million museum will be located next to Centennial Olympic Park , which is near other attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium , the World of Coca - Cola , CNN Center and the anticipated Center for Human and Civil Rights . Plans for a health museum also have been announced . Building . The College Football Hall of Fame ' s current building was constructed in 1995 . Sam Jones of The Troyer Group was the lead architect and a graduate of Notre Dame . The museum , located under the Gridiron Plaza , features memorials and memorabilia of great American football players and coaches of the past . A 12 - minute video in the museum ' s Stadium Theater highlights the " thrills and pageantry " of college football . Interactive areas allow visitors to test their own speed , agility , and punt ing , pass ing and block ing skills . Video monitors replay historical games and plays . Busts of coaches and players enshrined in the Hall of Fame are located throughout the museum . The entrance - level floor features a gift shop and restaurant , as well as murals featuring hall - of - famers and significant moments in the history of college football . The exterior of the building features a artificial turf space , named the Gridiron Plaza , that can be rented to host outdoor events . Prior to moving to its current location , the College Football Hall of Fame was located adjacent to Kings Island in Kings Mills , Ohio ( 1972 - 1994 ) . It was a Georgian - colonial style building . When it opened , it featured a historical time tunnel , Knute Rockne locker room of great coaches , 4 movie theaters , strategy room , 1930 ' s soda shop , and a regulation sized football field . Inductees . As of 2008 , there are 829 players enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame , representing 186 institutions . Additionally , 178 coaches have been inducted into the Hall of Fame . The following institutions have had the greatest number of players inducted : Criteria for induction . The National Football Foundation outlines specific criteria that may be used for evaluating a possible candidate for induction into the Hall of Fame . NFF members and the coaches , athletic directors , and sports information officials representing member schools may submit nominations for consideration . Nominees with the highest votes received from one of the eight District Screening Committees ( DSC ) located closest to the nominee ' s college or university are included on that year ' s ballot , which is distributed to all NFF dues - paying members . The selection of Hall of Fame inductees , however , ultimately is determined by the Foundation ' s Honor Court . Criteria for player nominees . † Those players that do not comply with the 50 - year rule and coaches who have not won 60 % of their games may still be eligible for consideration by the Division I - A and Divisional Honors Review Committees , which examine unique cases .