Bill Harris (2023) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Bill Harris

Induction:
2023
Class:
1963

Bill Harris was a star running back in the early 1960s, earning three letters under three different coaches (Sonny Grandelius, Bud Davis and Eddie Crowder) from 1961-63 … As a player, he earned the nickname "Buffalo Bill" and led the team in rushing as a junior with 582 yards in 1962 … He was an honorable mention All-Big Eight performer as a sophomore and junior and a second-team selection as a senior … His positive nature helped the team through a tough time after NCAA violations nearly decimated the program after CU’s 1961 Big Eight champion season; as one of the student-athletes not implicated in any wrong doing, he could have transferred practically anywhere, but his love for CU flourished through the years and only grew stronger … One of 56 players in school history to have rushed for over 1,000 yards in a CU career (eighth at the time when he graduated and still 30th on the list with 1,486) … His 2,411 all-purpose yards amassed via rushing, receiving and returns is 32nd (he was sixth on that list at the end of his career) … Following his playing days at CU, he was drafted by the NFL's New York Giants (14th round, 193rd pick overall); he went on to play three years in the Canadian Football League, first for Ottawa (in 1964) and then Calgary (1965-66) … His family settled Englewood, N.J., in 1974, where he worked as a healthcare executive for over 25 years … He spent most of that time as an administrator at the Bergen Pines County Hospital and then as vice president of operations for the Bergen County Regional Medical Center; also active in the community, ranging from serving on the New Jersey Supreme Court Arbitrary Committee and Community Chest work to coaching Little League baseball for 14 years … Harris returned to Colorado in October 2000 to work in CU's Alumni Association office, specifically to strengthen the Black Alumni Association on campus; he continued to work in that capacity after being named Alumni C Club director in May 2001 … He would serve in the latter for over nine years, the longest tenure of anyone in the position since it was created in 1996 … A U.S. Army veteran, he served in Korea, in which one of his assignments included patrolling the 38th parallel … He would finish earning his bachelor's degree in Education at Montclair (N.J.) State University in 1968, and went on to earn his master's in both Sociology and Business from MSU in 1972 … Harris was also active in the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame chapters in both New Jersey and Colorado. A board member for several years for the Bergen County chapter, he received their Distinguished American Award in 2001 … He was also a long-time member of the selection committee for CU's Athletic Hall of Fame, and also served on the subcommittee for the annual Veteran's selection for the Hall … He was born May 30, 1942 in New Jersey and graduated from Hackensack (N.J.) High School, where he was considered to be one of the best running backs ever produced in northern New Jersey (he scored 290 career points including a then-record 162 with 27 touchdowns as a junior in 1958) … He passed away in Marina Del Rey, Calif., on April 5, 2022 at the age of 79.