A total of four individuals selected by the National Football Foundation for induction into the Football Bowl Subdivision College Football Hall of Fame have Big 12 ties.
Former Kansas State linebacker Mark Simoneau and former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum both competed in the Conference, while former Texas Tech defensive tackle Gabe Rivera and former Oklahoma State coach Jimmy Johnson represent schools that are currently members of the league.
The full 2012 class includes 17 inductees, 14 players and three coaches, who will be enshrined at the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 4, 2012, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. They will be honored guests at the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 2, 2013 and officially inducted in the summer of 2013.
Including this year's honorees, Big 12 schools have 96 represenatives in the Hall of Fame, but Simoneau and Slocum are the first to actually participate in the league.
A two-time All-American, Simoneau (1996-99) stands as possibly the greatest defender in Kansas State history. He becomes the second Wildcat to enter the game's ultimate shrine following Gary Spani a decade earlier.
A three-time team captain, Simoneau holds a school record with 251 career unassisted tackles, ranks third in school history with 400 total tackles, 52 tackles for loss and eight forced fumbles. The 1999 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year also notched 15.5 sacks and seven fumble recoveries. A 1999 Butkus Award runner-up and a three-time First Team All-Big 12 selection, he led Kansas State to one of the greatest stretches in school history. With Simoneau on the roster, the Wildcats earned a 42-7 record, a 28-4 record in Big 12 play, a claim to two Big 12 North titles, three AP top 10 finishes, the first No. 1 ranking in school history, and wins in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl and the 1999 Holiday Bowl.
The head coach at Texas A&M from 1989-2002, R.C. Slocum is the winningest coach in Texas A&M and Southwest Conference history. A four-time national coach of the year honoree, Slocum's Aggies experienced reigns of dominance over the SWC, including a 22-game league winning streak, a 28-0-1 conference record from 1991-94, and three SWC titles. He also led Texas A&M to one of the school's landmark victories on Dec. 5, 1998, with a 36-33 double-overtime upset of Kansas State, which gave the Aggies their only Big 12 championship and only win over a No. 1-ranked team.
Slocum guided the Aggies to 11 bowl games in 14 seasons, five New Year's Day bowl appearances and 10 AP top 25 finishes. He retired as college football's sixth-winningest active coach. Under Slocum's leadership, 14 players earned First Team All-America status. Linebacker Dat Nguyen submitted one of the finest seasons in school history in 1998, winning the Bednarik and Lombardi awards.
The most accomplished defensive lineman in Texas Tech history, Gabe Rivera (1979-82) was a consensus All-American as a senior in 1982. He becomes the fourth Red Raider to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
Carrying the nickname "Señor Sack," Rivera averaged 80 tackles per season from his defensive tackle spot. He compiled 62 solo tackles, 43 assists, 10 tackles for loss, five sacks, 25 quarterback pressures and eight pass breakups during his All-America campaign in 1982. He was named an Honorable Mention All-American in 1980 and 1981, and earned First Team All-Southwest Conference honors in 1982 and Second Team All-SWC accolades in 1981.
The Oklahoma State head coach from 1979-83 and Miami head coach from 1984-88, Jimmy Johnson continuously led his teams to victory, earning numerous coaching honors along the way and the national title with the Hurricanes in 1987, capped by a 20-14 victory over Oklahoma in the 1988 Orange Bowl.
Johnson began his head coaching career in Stillwater, Okla., leading the Cowboys to a 29-25-3 mark. He won Big 8 Coach of the Year honors his first year after taking Oklahoma State to a 7-4 record. Under Johnson, the Cowboys played in the 1981 Independence Bowl and won the 1983 Bluebonnet Bowl. He coached 15 First Team All-Big 8 performers during his five seasons with the Pokes.