Former University of Wyoming All-America tight end Jay Novacek was one of 15 members named to the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision Class on Thursday.

"This isn't something that you expect from a skinny tight end on a Wyoming team that ran the Wishbone offense," Novacek told the Dallas Morning News, "but it is a great honor and very meaningful."

Novacek (1982-84) was a consensus All-America following his senior season when he averaged 22.6 yards per reception. That mark is still the NCAA record for highest average per reception by a tight end in a single season. Novacek finished the '84 season with 33 catches for 745 yards.

For his career, Novacek caught 83 passes for 1,536 yards and 10 touchdowns at UW.

Novacek went on to have a standout career in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. After being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth round of the 1985 NFL Draft, he was signed as a free agent by the Cowboys prior to the 1990 season.

While in Dallas, Novacek twice earned All-Pro honors, was a three-time All-NFC selection, played in five Pro Bowls and was a key member of three Super Bowl-winning teams.

In addition to his accomplishments on the gridiron, Novacek also excelled in track and field at UW. He earned All-America honors in with a fourth-place finish in the decathlon at the 1984 NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Novacek joins former UW player Eddie "Boom Boom" Talboom and former UW coaches Bowden Wyatt, Pat Dye and Bob Devaney as members of the College Football Hall of Fame.

"Wyoming is a small school with no great recruiting budget," Novacek told the National Football Foundation. "And I was a tight end in a Wishbone offense in college. Who would have thought I had a chance to make it?

"One thing we always tried to do at Wyoming was encourage the younger players and to tell them to hang in there against some very tough opponents, the weather and a number of factors."

In addition to Novacek, the 2008 class includes: UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman; LSU halfback Billy Cannon; Virginia offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski; Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald; Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall; Washington State running back Rueben Mayes; Arizona State offensive guard Randall McDaniel; Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson; Texas Tech split end Dave Parks; Florida State nose guard Ron Simmons; Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas; and Army quarterback Arnold Tucker.

Coaches named to the 2008 class were John Cooper and Lou Holtz.