The 9 College Teams That Have Produced The Most Pro Football Hall Of Famers

Players who end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame may be enshrined for what they achieved during their time in the NFL, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many guys in Canton who didn’t make a name for themself in college before heading to the next level.

There’s nothing college football fans love more than amassing evidence that shows why their school is better than everyone else. National championships tend to come in handy on that front, but that’s far from the only stat you can deploy while trying to separate yourself from the rest of the pack.

You could argue there’s no real reason to brag about your school’s ability to pump out people who ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when you consider the criteria for induction has nothing to do with how they played in college, but it’s still worth taking a look at the programs that lead the pack on that front.

USC: 14

USC is technically tied with Notre Dame for the most Hall of Famers, but I’m putting the Trojans first for a reason I’ll address when I talk about their rivals in South Bend.

Fred Gifford went to USC before playing the entirety of his 12-year NFL career with the Giants and became the first Trojan inducted when he was enshrined in 1977.

13 others have joined those ranks since then, including O.J. Simpson, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen, and Troy Polamalu.

Notre Dame: 14

Notre Dame has produced more NFL Draft picks than any other program in history (532 as of the start of 2025; USC is in a close second with 530), so it’s kind of natural they’re tied for the highest number of guys who’ve ended up immortalized in Canton.

However, this one deserves an asterisk.

Two former Packers with ties to Notre Dame were part of the inaugural class that was inducted in 1963: the legendary Earl “Curly” Lambeau and John McNally. However, the latter never actually played for the Fighting Irish; he started his college career at Saint John’s in Minnesota before transferring but dropped out before playing a single game (he earned a degree after returning in the wake of World War II).

The Pro Football Hall of Fame nonetheless counts him among the 14 guys Notre Dame can lay claim to—a list that also includes the likes of Joe Montana, Jerome Bettis, and Tim Brown.

Michigan: 11

I’d like to tell Michigan fans they can boast about having more Hall of Famers than Ohio State, but that’s no longer the case after the Buckeyes evened things up in 2024.

Elroy Hirsh (who initially played at Wisconsin) became the first Wolverine inducted back in 1967 due in large part to what he achieved during his time with the Rams.

There were eight guys in Canton who’d spent time in Ann Arbor at the start of 2019 before getting a boost from the trio of Michigan players who were members of three consecutive draft classes starting that year: Ty Law, Steve Hutchinson, and Charles Woodson.

Ohio State: 11

In 2011, Ohio State surpassed Michigan on the Hall of Fame front and had the lead until the aforementioned trio pushed the Wolverines over the edge. However, the Buckeyes evened things up with their biggest rival after Randy Gradishar was inducted in 2024.

Ohio State is one of the six teams that have reached double digits with the help of other players including Cris Carter, Orlando Pace, and legendary kicker Lou Groza.

Miami: 11

Miami only had four players in the Hall of Fame prior to 2012, but they’ve quickly climbed up the rankings after another seven players entered the club in the span of 12 years.

They already had some big names before that surge with Jim Kelly and Michael Irvin, who’ve since been joined by former Hurricanes including  Warren Sapp, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Devin Hester.

Pitt: 10

Pitt is the first of two ACC teams you might be surprised to see here, as the Panthers have produced some big names over the decades despite their relative lack of overall success when weighed against most of the other schools on this list.

Dan Marino is easily the biggest name to play for Pittsburgh at some point, but the university can also brag about its ties to Mike Ditka, Curtis Martin, Tony Dorsett, and Darrelle Revis.

Syracuse: 9

As I said, there are two somewhat unexpected ACC programs that firmly made the cut here, and Syracuse is the second one.

The Orange get a boost from former Raiders owner Al Davis, who lacked the talent to play football at Syracuse but was taken under the wing of the coaching staff.

They also produced one of the most legendary athletes of all time in the form of Jim Brown, who is the standout of a crew of players that includes Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney.

 

Alabama: 8

It’s kind of surprising to discover Alabama has only produced eight players who’ve ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but it’s still more than most programs can claim.

Don Hutson was one of the members of 1963’s inaugural class, and he’s since been joined by two very notable QBs in the form of Bart Starr and Joe Namath as well as other Crimson Tide products including Ozzie Newsome and Derrick Thomas.

Minnesota: 7

Tony Dungy is the most recent Golden Gopher to end up in the Hall of Fame, and while he was a standout QB during his time at Minnesota, his enshrinement stems from what he did as a coach in the NFL (where he briefly played but failed to leave much of a mark).

Longtime Vikings coach Bud Grant landed in Canton for the same reason, but Minnesota also produced some talented NFL players including Bobby Bell and Charlie Sanders.