inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. He was inducted into the Denver Broncos' Ring of Fame on October 1, 1984. On August 7, 2010, Little was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, and Dick LeBeau. On September 15, 2011, the New Haven Athletic Center, billed as the largest scholastic athletics facility in New England, was renamed the Floyd Little Athletic Center. On May 15, 2016, Little received his honorary doctorate from Syracuse University in Humane Letters. On May 17, 2019, Little was awarded the University of Denver's Distinguished Alumni Award and on May 18, 2019, Little was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws as speaker at DU's Sturm College of Law's commencement ceremonies. Syracuse's football practice facility has a bronze statue of Little alongside Jim Brown and Ernie Davis. Personal life Little lived with his wife DeBorah in Las Vegas. Little finished 40th in his class of 140 at the University of Denver law school, from which he received his masters in legal administration degree in 1975. Little owned automobile dealerships in Denver, the Seattle area and Santa Barbara. In May 2020, his former Syracuse teammate Pat Killorin announced that Little had been fighting cancer. Little died on January 1, 2021, at the age of 78. Career statistics Legacy Floyd Little is portrayed by actor Chadwick Boseman in the 2008 Universal Pictures film The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, a biographical film about Syracuse University Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis. See also List of NCAA major college yearly punt and kickoff return leaders List of American Football League players References Further reading External links 1942 births 2021 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American players of American football American Conference Pro Bowl players American Football League All-Star players American football running backs College Football Hall of Fame inductees Denver Broncos (AFL) players Denver Broncos players National Football League announcers National Football League players with retired numbers Players of American football from New Haven, Connecticut Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut Syracuse Orange football players