BATON ROUGE — Former Southern head coach Pete Richardson was named a finalist for the Black College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023, the BCFHOF announced.

Richardson was selected a finalist after a prolific college career. The Dayton, Ohio native coached at SU from 1993-2009, Richardson had five 11-win seasons — including a 12-1 run in 2003. His career record, including five seasons at Division II Winston-Salem State, was 175-76-1. Over a 17-year span, Richardson defined Southern football and, with 134 wins, is second all-time in wins behind only A.W. Mumford.

Richardson led Southern University football to five Southwestern Athletic Conference titles, including a three-peat from 1997-99 (the school’s first consecutive SWAC titles since 1959-60), four black college national titles (1993, 1995, 1997 and 2003) and four Heritage Bowl titles. Richardson was 12-5 in the Bayou Classic and is the only SWAC coach never to have lost to Eddie Robinson.

His winning percentage of 68.4 percent in 17 seasons (134-62) at the school is second behind only College Football Hall of Fame coach A.W. “Ace’ Mumford’s 70.4 percent (176-60-14). Prior to his arrival, Southern had last won the SWAC in 1966 and 1975. The program had four different head coaches in the 1970s and four between 1981 and 1992.

This year’s inductees will be announced on December 8, 2022. They will be recognized for the first time at the Second Annual HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans on February 25, 2023 and honored during the 14th Annual Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, June 10, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, please visit www.BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org