Former Pitt Coach Jackie Sherrill Named to 2023 ACC Football Honors Class
11/8/2023 10:00:00 AM | Football
PITTSBURGH – Jackie Sherrill, who led some of the greatest Pitt football teams ever while serving as the Panthers' head coach from 1977-81, has been named to the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Football Honors Class, it was revealed on ACC PM this week.
Sherrill is one of 14 honorees in this year's class. He is joined by Boston College's Gosder Cherilus, Clemson's Jeff Bostic, Duke's Matt Daniels, Florida State's Charlie Ward, Georgia Tech's George O'Leary, Louisville's Michael Bush, Miami's Dennis Harrah, North Carolina's Alge Crumpler, NC State's Ray Agnew, Syracuse's Robert Konrad, Virginia's Rondé Barber, Virginia Tech's Jeff King and Wake Forest's Bill Ard.
"We are thrilled to announce this year's ACC Honors Class and we look forward to the opportunity to recognize these amazing individuals who have made incredible contributions to their respective institutions," said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. "The ACC Football Honors event is a meaningful part of our ACC Football Championship Game weekend, and we are proud to celebrate another extraordinary class of former student-athletes and coaches."
Sherrill and his fellow honorees will be celebrated during the ACC Football Honors program presented by the Charlotte Sports Foundation at the Belk Theater in Uptown Charlotte on the evening of Friday, Dec. 1, and during the on-field pregame festivities at the 2023 ACC Football Championship Game, set for 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, at Bank of America Stadium. ACC Network will air the ACC Football Honors production on Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.
During his five-season tenure, Sherrill cemented Pitt's stature as a national football powerhouse.
A former top lieutenant to John Majors, Sherrill took the reins of a Pitt program fresh off the 1976 national championship. He would build upon that success by fashioning a 50-9-1 mark from 1977-81, including a 4-1 bowl record and four Top 10 finishes.
Sherrill's .842 winning percentage as Pitt's head coach is the highest in the football program's history. Over his final three seasons (1979-81), Pitt went a combined 33-3, finished among the nation's top 6 each year and went a combined 5-1 against rivals West Virginia and Penn State.
Under Sherrill, the Panthers claimed victories in the 1977 Gator Bowl, 1979 Fiesta Bowl, 1980 Gator Bowl and 1982 Sugar Bowl.
His 1980 squad, deemed by some to be Pitt's best ever, went 11-1, finished second in both polls and was selected the nation's No. 1 team by The New York Times.
Sherrill's last Pitt team in 1981 went 11-1, including a dramatic Sugar Bowl 24-20 victory over Georgia, and ranked as high as No. 2 in the final polls. He was named the 1981 Walter Camp Coach of the Year.
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