JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Lemar Parrish, one of the greatest players ever to suit up for the Lincoln football team, was selected for enshrinement into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. Parrish will be one of seven former HBCU football players who will be inducted as part of the class of 2024, the BCFHOF Selection Committee announced on Thursday (Dec. 14).

Parrish, whose number #20 jersey is retired by the Blue Tigers, enjoyed a multiple Pro Bowl career in the National Football League. A four-year letter-winner with the Lincoln football team from 1966-69, Parrish helped Lincoln win 23 games as both a defensive back and kick returner, ultimately being selected as an All-American in 1969. In 1969, Parrish recorded the longest punt return in Lincoln history, taking one back 95 yards. That same season he set the Lincoln record for most punt return yards in a single game, compiling 129 (both records came against Southwest Missouri State). Parrish also owns Lincoln's single game (43.0), season (16.8) and career (15.5) records for punt return average.

During his 13-year NFL career Parrish was voted to eight Pro Bowls as a defensive back, including six with the Cincinnati Bengals. A seventh-round draft pick of the Bengals in 1970, Parrish had 25 interceptions during his time in Cincinnati, the fifth-most in program history. He also holds team records for career punt returns for touchdowns (four), kick return average (24.7) and single-season punt return average (18.8).

Parrish was enshrined in the Lincoln Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012 and was named to the Cincinnati Bengals' All-Half Century Team in 2017.