Tony Romo is headed to the Hall of Fame. The College Football Hall of Fame, that is.
The 40-year-old ex-Cowboys quarterback will be included as part of the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2021 class in an announcement set for Monday. Romo’s CBS broadcast booth partner, Jim Nantz, broke the news during Sunday’s Bears-Saints playoff game.
According to the College Football Hall of Fame, only 0.02% of collegiate players and coaches ever earn this distinction. This was Romo’s second time being nominated.
Romo played quarterback for Eastern Illinois from 1999 to 2002. In 33 starts over three seasons, he threw for 7,816 yards and 82 touchdowns. He earned Ohio Valley Player of the Year honors all three seasons. His senior year, Romo was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Walter Payton Award, given to the best player in the nation in Division I-AA, now referred to as FCS. His No. 17 college jersey was retired at Eastern Illinois- the same alma mater of Saints head coach Sean Payton and current 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo- in 2009.
Romo was working from home during Sunday’s telecast, following COVID-19 protocols. After Nantz’s on-air announcement, Romo confessed that the commemorative ball marking his official Hall of Fame invitation had been delivered the day prior.
Jim Nantz congratulates Tony Romo on making the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/ftZPRSG6Go
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) January 11, 2021
The four-time Pro Bowler was his usual self-deprecating self upon Nantz revealing the honor.
“Are you sure it’s me?” Romo quipped. “You didn’t mess up? It’s not somebody else here?”
Romo also shared that his sons had gotten to the ball first, before he realized what it was.
“That ball actually came to me yesterday, Jim,” the former Cowboy said. “And my kids grabbed it and started playing with it. I was like, ‘Hold on! Give me that back! I think that one might be important.'”
The College Football Hall of Fame is located in Atlanta. Romo and the rest of the 2021 class will be officially inducted during the 63rd National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner on December 7, alongside the 2020 Hall of Fame Class (the 2020 event was postponed due to COVID-19).
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