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May 8, 2002
Miami University alumnus Carmen Cozza, a member of the Class of 1952, was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame yesterday along with 13 former players and former Ohio State head coach Earl Bruce, the Hall of Fame announced.
Cozza, a native of Parma, Ohio, was a two-sport athlete at Miami, earning three letters in both baseball and football. He played quarterback, halfback and safety from 1949-52 for coaching legends Woody Hayes and Ara Parseghian. Cozza was a member of Miami's 1950 Mid-American Conference championship team that beat Arizona State, 34-21, in the Salad Bowl. Following graduation from Miami, Cozza went on to play minor league baseball before returning to Miami as an assistant coach in 1956 under then-head coach John Pont.
After following Pont to Yale in 1963, Cozza was named the 31st head coach of the Bulldogs in 1965 when Pont left for Indiana. In his 32-year career as a head coach at Yale, he led the Bulldogs to a mark of 179-119-5, 10 Ivy League Championships and 19 winning seasons. In all, Cozza coached 35 all-Americans and five Rhodes Scholars before retiring in 1996.
The 2002 College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2002 also includes: Auburn split end Terry Beasley (1969-71), Minnesota tailback George ''Sonny'' Franck (1938-40), Princeton running back Cosmo Iacavazzi (1962-64), Arizona State receiver John Jefferson (1974-77), Navy tailback Napoleon McCallum (1983-85), Michigan guard Reggie McKenzie (1969-71), Georgia Tech defensive back Randy Rhino (1972-74), Texas offensive tackle Jerry Sisemore (1970-72), Kansas State linebacker Gary Spani (1974-77), Tennessee defensive tackle Reggie White (1980-83) and Missouri tight end Kellen Winslow (1976-78), Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino (1979-82) and Southern Cal safety Ronnie Lott (1977-80).