Orange Bowl Names Honorees For Hall Of Fame And Edwin Pope Media Award
MIAMI LAKES, Fla. (orangebowl.org) – Former Penn State quarterback Chuck Burkhart, past Oklahoma defensive back Bud Herbert and former Arkansas running back Ronald Sales have been announced as the 2023 inductees to the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame presented by AutoNation.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class will join 133 others who have made a significant impact on Orange Bowl since its inception in 1935.
Additionally, Miami Herald writer Susan Miller Degnan has been named the 2023 recipient of the Edwin Pope Orange Bowl Vanguard Media Award, which annually honors a member of the sports media who has made significant contributions to college football and impacted the Orange Bowl and/or the South Florida community.
The four legends will be honored at the annual AvMed Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon presented by AutoNation on December 29 at Jungle Island in Miami and will be featured in an on-field ceremony at the 90th Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Chuck Burkhart led Penn State to two Orange Bowl wins in 1969 and 1970, as well as two undefeated seasons and two No. 2 finishes in the AP Poll, propelling Penn State to national prominence for years to come. In the 1969 Orange Bowl, with the Nittany Lions trailing Kansas by seven points with less than two minutes remaining, Burkhart completed a 47-yard pass to the 3-yard line and ran in the game-winning touchdown with seconds to go. He followed up that performance to earn MVP honors in the 1970 game, his final game at Penn State, by orchestrating his offense to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter and cruising the Nittany Lions to a 10-3 victory over Missouri.
Bud Hebert earned MVP honors in 1980 Orange Bowl by securing three interceptions and three tackles, holding an undefeated FSU team to just 182 yards of total offense and seven points in Oklahoma’s 24-7 victory. Hebert was a key member of Barry Switzer’s stifling defense that went 11-1 that season, good for No. 3 in the final AP Poll. Hebert’s three interceptions still stands as the Orange Bowl record for most picks in a game.
Ronald Sales set an Orange Bowl rushing record with 205 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries on his way to being named MVP in Arkansas’ 31-6 victory over Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl. His single-game Orange Bowl rushing record lasted 20 years, and he still sits second on the all-time list behind Nebraska’s Ahman Green (206 yards). Sales was the team’s third-string running back that season, but got called upon by Head Coach Lou Holtz after the top two running backs were suspended.
Susan Miller Degnan has been a sports writer for the Miami Herald for more than 38 years, beginning in 1985. She has been covering the Orange Bowl since the early 1990s, began covering Miami Hurricanes football in 1995, and became the primary UM beat writer in 2000. She has won several APSE national writing awards and has covered everything from Super Bowls to the College Football Playoff to major marathons to the Olympics. Degnan joins an illustrious group of previous winners of the Edwin Pope Orange Bowl Vanguard Media Award, including Jim Mandich, Bernie Rosen, Hank Goldberg, Chris Fowler, Ivan Maisel, Tony Segreto, Greg Cote and of course, Edwin Pope. She is the mother of three (two doctors and a lawyer), and grandmother of three little fans of anything with “Miami” in its name.
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