Cullowhee, N.C. – Four former Catamounts were included on the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame (SCFHOF) ballot for the Class of 2025, the organization announced this week, as the open online voting for the Class of 2025 began at scfootballhof.org.
 
A trio of Palmetto State Catamounts were among the 29 listed as South Carolina natives who played outside the state of South Carolina, including former wide receiver David Patten, defensive lineman Clyde Simmons Jr., and defensive back Willie Williams. Listed under his alma mater, Presbyterian College, former legendary Catamount football head coach Bob Waters, each comprises WCU's four nominees for induction.
 
Three of WCU's nominees for the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame are members of the Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. Bob Waters, Catamount head football coach and athletics director from 1969 through 1988, was inducted posthumously in 1993; Clyde Simmons, who played along the defensive line from 1982 through 1985, before embarking on a Hall of Fame professional career, was inducted in 2002; and defensive back Willie Williams played in Cullowhee from 1990-92, who was a three-time All-SoCon selection and the first Catamount football player to reach the Super Bowl, was inducted in 2006.
 
WCU's fourth nominee on the SCFHOF ballot is the late David Patten, a Columbia, S.C., product who played for the Catamounts from 1991 through 1994 before a 13-year professional career with 12 seasons in the NFL, winning three Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots.
 
All told, according to a release by the organization, this year's ballot includes a total of 65 nominees, comprising 11 Legacy nominees, which honor individuals considered outside of the modern era or those who have passed away. Each nominee was either born, grew up, played football in South Carolina, coached at one of the state's collegiate football programs, or made a significant positive impact on football in South Carolina.
 
This year, the Class of 2025 nomination list represents nine South Carolina college football programs.
 
Voting is available online at scfootballhof.org and is open to everyone. The first-round voting period runs through December 15, 2025, allowing SCFHOF supporting members, football fans, and media outlets to vote for up to four (4) modern era nominees and one (1) legacy nominee from the provided ballot or a write-in for the Class of 2025. The final round of voting will follow shortly after, featuring the top names from the Nomination Round vote.
 
The Class of 2025 will be enshrined at the organization's 13th Annual Enshrinement Ceremony on April 16, 2026, at Hotel Hartness in Greenville, SC.
 
Winners of five straight, Western Carolina (5-3, 4-0 SoCon) enjoys its bye week this weekend before returning to action next Saturday, Nov. 1, with a road trip to the Scenic City to face the Chattanooga Mocs at Finley Stadium. The Catamounts then have back-to-back home dates against Mercer (Nov. 8) for Homecoming and the Blue Ridge Border Battle against ETSU (Nov. 15) before wrapping up the regular season at VMI (Nov. 22) on post in Lexington, Va.
 
Single-game tickets for the Nov. 8 Homecoming game and the Nov. 15 rivalry match-up for "the Rock" traveling trophy against ETSU are on sale now at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets or by phone by calling (828) 227-2401.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports; FB.com/catamountsportsnetwork) and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB).