CHARLOTTE – Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Charlie Ward highlights the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Honors Class announced Tuesday on ACC PM.
“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.”
Ward, from Thomasville, Georgia, led Florida State to its first national championship in 1993, the same year he won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in the country. One of the most decorated players in college football history, Ward was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
A consensus All-American in 1993, Ward won over 30 individual honors in addition to the Heisman Trophy, including the Davey O’Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Maxwell Award. After FSU joined the ACC in 1992, Ward was the 1992 and 1993 ACC Player of the Year, the 1993 Offensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-ACC first-team selection.
Ward finished his career holding 19 FSU records and seven ACC records and was 22-2 as the starting quarterback, culminating in an 18-16 win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on January 1, 1994, for the Seminoles first national title.
Ward was also a celebrated point guard on the Florida State basketball team and played 12 years in the NBA following his collegiate career.
This year’s class 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.
The ACC Football Honors program will start on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Tickets to the event are $150 and include a pre-show reception as well as a post-show reception. Tickets are on sale now via Blumenthal Performing Arts.
Florida State has clinched its spot in the 2023 ACC Championship Game.
