CFB Hall of Fame Class of 2025 headlined by 7x national champ Nick Saban 

This year's College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 sports some noticeable names. Nick Saban is the one most synonymous with the sport. The longtime Alabama coach dominated the landscape for much of his time with the Crimson Tide.

One of Saban's coaching contemporaries, Urban Meyer, is also included in the crop of honorees. Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, who recently took over at Norfolk State, will also be inducted alongside the two sideline icons.

"Each of these legends ranks among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to adding their incredible accomplishments to those permanently enshrined in the Hall of Fame," National Football Foundation chairman and fellow College Football Hall of Famer Archie Manning said via CBSSports.com.

Others in the group include Texas Southern defensive lineman Michael Strahan, Wisconsin tailback Montee Ball, Notre Dame quarterback Terry Hanratty, Texas Tech passer Graham Harrell, Texas defensive back Michael Huff, Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and West Virginia running back Steve Slaton.

Why does Nick Saban deserve to be a Hall of Famer?

Nick Saban learned of his induction before all of the others in his class, having been told the news by his ESPN College GameDay castmates before last Friday's Cotton Bowl between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns.

Saban finished his coaching career following last season. He won a total of seven national championships and is the only coach to win one in three different decades. Only he has won a national title with two FBS programs since the Associated Press poll was introduced in 1936.

For the duration of Saban's Tuscaloosa tenure, there wasn't a more steady program in the entire nation. His teams claimed three BCS titles in four years at one point. Nick Saban never knew what a losing campaign felt like as head coach at the college level, and also coached 66 first-team All-Americans, four Heisman Trophy recipients and 52 players who were drafted in the first round.

The honor of being immortalized in the Hall of Fame is just another notch on Saban's belt of accomplishments. The field at Bryant-Denny Stadium is now also named after him.

Without Nick Saban around, Alabama took a bit of a step back this year under his successor, former Washington Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide narrowly missed out on the College Football Playoff and had to watch Texas and Georgia play in the SEC Championship game. The campaign proved just how important Saban was to the program's success.

During the season, college football fans got to see some of Saban's personality and demeanor outside of coaching as he appeared on television with ESPN. Saban worked on the College GameDay cast alongside Pat McAfee, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit.