Legendary former coach Nick Saban was surprised with the news of his induction to the College Football Hall of Fame on Friday. The announcement came during Saban's appearance on the ESPN pregame show leading up to the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal between Texas and Ohio State.

Nick Saban is the first inductee of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class. The ESPN "College GameDay" crew surprised him with the announcement during Friday's pregame show for the College Football Playoff matchup between Ohio State and Texas at the Cotton Bowl.

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban was named to the College Football Hall of Fame's 2025 class on Friday. He first heard the news on "College GameDay."

Both teams have performed exceptionally well throughout the season and have been among the favorites to win the national championship trophy for most of the year. According to ESPN BET, Ohio State is a six-point favorite in this matchup. However, Texas has a 50.5% chance of winning, according to ESPN's Matchup Predictor.

The former Alabama coach and seven-time national champion learned he would enter the College Football Hall of Fame before Friday’s Cotton Bowl Classic kicked off. Saban received the news from the ESPN College GameDay crew, which was at AT&T Stadium for the College Football Playoff showdown between Texas and Ohio State.

Now that he's retired, Saban is headed for immortality. On Friday, Saban's College GameDay colleagues informed him that he would be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame

Saban was a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame and it was clearly only a matter of time before he got in. As Pat McAfee said in the clip above, Saban is widely regarded as the greatest coach in the history of college football and he has the accolades to show for it.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban was selected as part of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class, the National Football Foundation announced Friday.A s

Nick Saban is surprised on set of "College GameDay" with the announcement that he will be joining the College Football Hall of Fame.

Following his legendary tenure as Alabama's head coach, Nick Saban will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class.