When former BYU student and enigmatic college football coach Mike Leach died suddenly in December 2022 at the age of 61, one of the conversations was how his career winning percentage of .596 was just short of the necessary .600 mark to be considered for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Exactly a year ago, on May 29, 2025, the criteria was changed, requiring just a .595 winning percentage, essentially paving the way for Leach to be inducted.
On Friday, On3’s Brett McMurphy reported that Leach’s name will be on the ballot for the Class of 2027, which will formally be announced Monday.
Leach famously attended BYU but did not play football there (he played rugby), but did get involved with the coaching staff led by the legendary LaVell Edwards.
Leach got his first formal college coaching job as an assistant at Cal Poly in 1987 after graduating from law school at Pepperdine in 1986, and climbed the coaching ladder from there.
He got his first college head coaching job at Texas Tech i
n 2000, and also led Washington State and later Mississippi State, where he was employed when he died.
Leach tallied a record of 158-106 with an innovative, pass-happy offense. Off the field, he became known for his wedding preparation advice and his thoughts on which old Pac-12 mascot would win in a fight, among an array of other subjects.