DALLAS, Texas – Former Lumberjack football player Rex Mirich was named to the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2012 Divisional Class, The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced Tuesday. Mirich, who played for then Arizona State College at Flagstaff, joins a class of four players and three coaches that will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during the Enshrinement Festival, July 20-21 in South Bend, Ind.

"I was totally surprised," said Mirich, who received notification from the National Football Foundation on Monday with an official Hall of Fame football. "It is quite an honor. I was never expecting it. I am proud to represent the school."

Accomplishing the rare feat of being a two-time NAIA All-America first-team selection at two different positions, Mirich was honored as a defensive guard in 1962 and repeated the honor as an offensive tackle the following season. Mirich, a graduate of San Manuel High School and native of Florence, Ariz., is the first Northern Arizona player to be chosen to the College Football Hall of Fame.

A four-year letterman for the Lumberjacks, Mirich was voted a team captain by his teammates for his senior season. Mirich aided the squad to a 20-15-4 overall mark while in Flagstaff, and he was a key cog in a defense that limited opponents to 109.1 yards per game over a six-game span. Mirich was chosen by the Minnesota Vikings in the 16th round of the 1963 NFL Draft and the Oakland Raiders in the 20th round of the 1963 AFL Draft. He played on the defensive line for the Raiders, the Denver Broncos and the Boston Patriots for a total of seven seasons. Mirich earned a bachelor's degree from Northern Arizona in 1966. He was inducted into the NAU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

"This year's class of Divisional College Football Hall of Fame inductees represents the best of our sport from the divisional ranks," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 Hall of Fame inductee from Ole Miss. "They have all achieved the highest levels of success, and they should be applauded for their induction into college football's ultimate shrine. We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments this summer."

The NFF launched its Divisional Hall of Fame program in 1996 during its annual enshrinement festival. A total of 137 players and coaches, counting this year's class, have been inducted from the divisional ranks, including Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech), Walter Payton (Jackson State), John Randle (Texas A&M – Kingsville), Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), and coach Eddie Robinson (Grambling State). Of the 4.79 million who have played college football since 1869, the newest class of inductees joins only 914 players and 197 coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Including the recently announced 2012 Football Bowl Subdivision class and this class of divisional honorees, only 918 players and 200 coaches, have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 4.86 million who have played or coached the game over the past 143 years. In other words, only two one-hundredths of one percent (.0002) of the individuals who have played the game have been deemed worthy of this distinction. This year's divisional class brings the number of schools represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer to 292.

The Divisional College Football Hall of Fame considers players and coaches from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), Divisions II, III, and the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) for induction.

2012 DIVISIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

PLAYERS:

* CHRIS BISAILLON – Illinois Wesleyan, WR (1989-92)

* JIM HOLDER* – Oklahoma Panhandle State, RB (1961-63)

* RICHARD McGEORGE – Elon, TE (1966-69)

* REX MIRICH – Northern Arizona, OT/DG (1960-63)

COACHES:

* GENE CARPENTER* – Adams State [Colo.] (1968), Millersville [Pa.] (1970-2000); 220-96-6

(69.3%)

* WILLIAM "LONE STAR" DIETZ* – Washington State (1915-17), Purdue (1921), Louisiana

Tech (1922-23), Wyoming (1924-26), Haskell Indian Institute [Kan.] (1929-32), Albright [Pa.]

(1937-42); 96-62-7 (60.3%)

* RON HARMS – Concordia [Neb.] (1962-69), Adams State [Colo.] (1970-73), Texas A&M –

Kingsville (1979-99); 218-117-4 (64.9%)