Aug. 9, 2011

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Atlantic Coast Conference on Tuesday announced its Class of 2011 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game Legends, with quarterback Rich Novak (1959-61) representing Maryland in the 12-man group.

The Legends will be honored at the ACC Night of Legends event in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday, Dec. 2, the evening before the ACC Football Championship game. Each current member school in the ACC has one former gridiron standout in the class.

Novak, who earned honorable mention All-ACC honors by United Press International in 1960, led the Terps to an 18-12 record in his three-year career. In 1961, his final season, the Terps went 7-3 with two wins over top 10 teams - Penn State and Syracuse.

Novak led the Terps in total offense in 1959 and three times in his career led Maryland to wins over West Virginia. Under head coach Tom Nugent, Novak threw for 1,262 yards and 10 TDs while also rushing for 550 yards in his career.

A Uniontown, Pa., native, Novak was a high school standout in several sports and was inducted into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. In addition to football, Novak excelled in baseball, basketball and track and field in his prep career.

After earning his degree from Maryland in 1962, Novak began a very successful business career and retired from his position as COO at LabCorp, a Bio-Medical firm in North Carolina, two years ago. He and his wife, Laura, reside in Greenwich, Conn. There, Novak has continued his career, joining Linden Capital Partners, where he serves as chairman of Hycor Bio-Medical and Strata Pathology. Additionally, he serves on the board of Sera Prognostics.

Joining Novak in the class were Duke quarterback Ben Bennett (1980-83); Boston College linebacker Stephen Boyd (1991-94); North Carolina linebacker Chris Hanburger (1962-64); Virginia Tech linebacker Mike Johnson (1980-83); Miami center Jim Otto (1957-59); NC State placekicker Marc Primanti (1995-96); Wake Forest quarterback Larry Russell (1969-71); Georgia Tech linebacker Lucius Sanford (1974-77); Virginia defensive end Chris Slade (1989-92); Clemson wide receiver Perry Tuttle (1978-81); and Florida State defensive end Andre Wadsworth (1994-97).