Marshall University Athletics
Chad Pennington Inducted Into Kentucky Pro Football Hall Of Fame
2/6/2026 9:55:00 AM | Football
Marshall Athletics HoFer, 2x NFL Comeback Player of the Year is now Head Coach at Sayre School in Lexington, Kentucky
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer Chad Pennington was named to the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, the association announced on Thursday night.
Pennington became a Marshall icon from 1995-99 after an illustrious career in which he threw for 14,098 yards and 123 touchdowns with only 46 interceptions.
In his 51 career starts, Pennington boasted of a 45-6 record while leading Marshall's transition from Division I-AA (now FCS) to Division I-A (FBS).
Pennington's success made Marshall the winningest college football team in the 1990s. After leading the Herd to the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship game as a true freshman in 1995, Pennington redshirted in 1996 then led the Herd's successful transition into Division I-A football with three consecutive Mid-American Conference championships from 1997 to 1999.
Led by Pennington, the 1999 team is regarded as the best in Marshall history, going 13-0 with a win at Clemson and season-ending win over No. 25 BYU in the Motor City Bowl, which gave the Herd its perfect season and a No. 10 national ranking in the final AP poll that season – the program's top ranking in history.
For his efforts, Pennington was named as a Heisman Trophy finalist in 1999 – the highest of several individual accolades that included the National Football Foundation's Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy as the National Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Other honors for Pennington included the Vern Smith Award (MAC Player of the Year), the Sammy Baugh Award (nation's top passer), West Virginia Amateur Athlete of the Year and CoSIDA Academic All-American.
Pennington was selected in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Jets and went on to an illustrious 11-year NFL career in which he threw for more than 19,000 yards while winning two AFC East titles in 2002 (N.Y. Jets) and 2008 (Miami).
The Knoxville, Tenn., native earned the distinction as the first player in NFL history to win the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award multiple times are doing so in 2006 and 2008.
Currently, Pennington serves as head football coach at Sayre School in Lexington, having re-started the school's football program after a four-decade hiatus.
In 2024, Pennington led the Spartans to an undefeated season and the program's first-ever Kentucky Class 1A Championship.
The Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will be honored Friday, June 26, with their Hall of Fame jackets at the annual Purple Jackets Awards Dinner at the Hilton Lexington Downtown. Tickets for the event, which is open to the public, will be available soon at https://www.kyprofootballhof.org.
The Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame
Founded in 2003, the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame honors players, coaches and contributors with Kentucky ties who have made a lasting impact on professional football. With 115 inductees and five additional members joining in 2026, the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame continues to recognize NFL legends and pioneering figures whose careers reflect excellence, dedication and passion for the game.
The mission of the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame is to celebrate Kentucky's football legends while supporting the Commonwealth's children and young people. Since its inception, the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame has raised more than $1 million for youth and children's charities. The Foster Care Council of Kentucky is the organization's current beneficiary.
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