Dallas, TX -- (Sports Network) - Former Marshall University head coach Jim Donnan and long-time NFL standouts Fred Dean and Sam Mills headline the 2009 inductees for the Divisional Class of the College Football Hall of Fame.

The divisional class features players and coaches from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), Division II, Division III and NAIA.

Joining Donnan, Dean and Mills in this year's class will be players Rod Smith and Roger Brown, as well as coach Volney Ashford.

Donnan spent six seasons at Marshall and guided the Thundering Herd -- then a I-AA program -- to a record of 64-21 with four appearances in the I-AA championship game. The Herd won the 1992 national title. Donnan's 15-4 playoff record ranks second best in NCAA FCS history. He left Marshall to take over at Georgia and led the Bulldogs four straight bowl wins from 1997-2000.

Dean was a four-time All-Southland Conference selection at Louisiana Tech from 1971-74 and helped the Bulldogs to the 1973 Division II national title. He compiled 392 tackles during his collegiate career, then went on to an NFL career with San Diego and San Francisco. A two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection, Dean won a pair of Super Bowl titles with the 49ers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Mills was a two-time First-Team All-American at Montclair State in New Jersey, finishing his career with a school-record 501 tackles. During his four-year career from 1977-80, Mills' teams went 30-9-1 and captured two New Jersey Athletic Conference championships. After three seasons in the USFL, Mills went on to earn five Pro Bowl selections in an NFL career with New Orleans and Carolina. He died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 45.

Smith was a standout receiver at Missouri Southern State from 1988-1993 and was a Harlon Hill finalist as the top player in Division II for the 1993 season. He set six school records during his college career, finishing with 3,122 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns. Picked up by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 1994, Smith set franchise records with 849 career receptions, 11,389 receiving yards and 68 touchdown catches while winning a pair of Super Bowl titles.

Brown was a defensive tackle at Maryland-Eastern Shore (formerly Maryland State College) from 1956-59, earning NAIA All-America status in his final two seasons. The Hawks were 24-5-1 during his career, winning the CIAA title in 1957. He was a fourth-round pick of the Detroit Lions in the 1960 NFL Draft and was selected to six Pro Bowls in his time with the Lions and Los Angeles Rams. With Los Angeles, he was part of a defensive line known as the "Fearsome Foursome."

Ashford coached Missouri Valley College for 34 years from 1937-71, posting a record of 197-55-12. The Vikings had a 41-game winning streak from 1941-47. He was the Little All-American Coach of the Year in 1950 and earned NAIA Coach of the Year honors in 1959.

This year's class will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during the weekend of July 18-19 in South Bend, Indiana.