History Michigan State Spartans football

1 history

1.1 years
1.2 clarence biggie munn: 1947–1953
1.3 duffy daugherty: 1954–1972
1.4 george perles: 1983–1994
1.5 nick saban: 1995–1999
1.6 mark dantonio – 2006 through present

history


1913 michigan agricultural college (msu) vs michigan


early years

starting club sport in 1885, football gained varsity status in 1896. teams @ michigan agricultural college (mac) competed in michigan intercollegiate athletic association (miaa), chartered in 1888 , oldest existing collegiate leagues in united states. previously, in 1884, albion college , michigan agricultural had played in first intercollegiate football game held within state of michigan. miaa s other charter members included albion, olivet , hillsdale colleges. association s first season of competitive football in 1894 included eastern michigan university (then michigan normal school) , alma college; kalamazoo college added in 1896. in years mac aggies accomplish 1 outright league football championship (1905) , share albion (1903). first decade of 20th century saw miaa , mac being dominated either albion or olivet colleges. msu left league , became independent in 1907.

chester brewer revolutionized football program during 3 different stints head coach: 1903–10, 1917, , 1919. considered defensive genius, teams posted shutouts in 49 of 88 games coached. john macklin took on head coach in 1911 , owned winning percentage of .853 (29–5), highest in michigan state history.

jim crowley, 1 of notre dame’s immortal 4 horsemen, served head football coach @ michigan state 1929 1933. charlie bachman, notre dame alumnus, succeeded jim crowley head football coach @ michigan state, coming east lansing after successful stint @ florida. teammate of knute rockne, bachman employed notre dame system , forged 10 winning seasons in 13 years.

clarence biggie munn: 1947–1953

clarence lester biggie munn took on head coach of michigan state charlie bachman in 1947. 1951 , 1952 squads won national championships. munn retired coaching in 1953 assume duties michigan state s athletic director, position held until 1971. each year, michigan state spartans football team hands out biggie munn award team s motivational player. msu s munn ice arena, built in 1974, named in honor. munn inducted college football hall of fame coach in 1959, and, in 1961, became michigan state s first inductee michigan sports hall of fame. authored coaching textbook michigan state multiple offense in 1953.

1947–1950 in 1947, munn , michigan state administration, led university president john a. hannah, approached notre dame president father cavanaugh have fighting irish play spartans first time since 1921. msu offered let notre dame take 80 percent of gate, cavanaugh insisted split receipts down middle. munn coach beat notre dame head coach frank leahy 3 years in row (1950–52). starting 33–14 win on william & mary in east lansing on october 14, 1950 biggie munn started historic 28-game winning streak.
1951 1951 team went undefeated , elected national champions helms athletic foundation; however, rest of polls voted tennessee volunteers, lost in sugar bowl maryland terrapins, postseason games did not count @ time.
1952 1952 squad continued munn s undefeated streak going 9-0. michigan state won national championship second year in row , first time in school history voted #1 in both ap , coaches polls. munn named afca coach of year, coaching msu 9–0 record , national championship.
1953 in 1953, michigan state s first year of conference play in big ten, spartans shared conference title illinois , went rose bowl, beat ucla, 28–20. on october 24, 1953, purdue upset spartans 6-0 ending munn s 28-game winning streak. spartans won first ever paul bunyan trophy after beating rival michigan 14-6 in east lansing.

shortly after rose bowl victory, msu s athletic director, ralph h. young retired. munn stepped down coaching assume duties athletic director , remained in position until 1971. munn named assistant, duffy daugherty, successor helm football team. during tenure michigan state s head football coach, munn tutored 17 all-americans. teams have retained school s top 4 season marks rushing-yards-per-game: 1948 (304.5 yards/game), 1951 (293.9 yards), 1952 (272.4), , 1950 (269.3). munn inducted college football hall of fame in 1959.

a football signed 1979 michigan state spartans football team

during 1950s when detroit known world s leading automobile manufacturer, michigan state referred nation s football factory. during era, spartans produced great players such lynn chandnois, dorne dibble, don mcaulliffe, tom yewcic, sonny grandelius, bob carey, don coleman, earl morrall , dean look. in 1951, spartans finished undefeated , untied claim share of national championship tennessee. second consecutive undefeated season led consensus national title in 1952. team admitted big ten regular member in 1953, winning league championship , defeating ucla in first rose bowl game. after 1953 season, biggie munn, turned team on protégé duffy daugherty.

duffy daugherty: 1954–1972

duffy daugherty (september 8, 1915 – september 25, 1987) replaced biggie munn in december 1953, following munn s retirement become michigan state s athletic director. daugherty serve head coach @ michigan state university 1954 1972, compiled career record of 109–69–5. duffy s 1965 , 1966 teams won national championships. duffy s tenure of 19 seasons @ helm of michigan state spartans football team longest of head coach in program s history. inducted college football hall of fame in 1984.

1954–1964 after compiling disappointing 3–6 record in daugherty s first season in 1954, spartans improved , finished second in big ten behind ohio state in 1955 8–1 record in regular season. michigan state received conference s invitation 1956 rose bowl instead of buckeyes due conference s prohibition against consecutive trips rose bowl. in pasadena, spartans defeated ucla, 17–14, second bowl win in school history. 1956 1964, daugherty s michigan state teams good, 3 times placing second in big ten, never captured conference crown. spartans did, however, beat notre dame 8 straight times between 1955 , 1963, feat matched michigan (1887–1908) , usc (2002–2009). on november 5, 1964, ncaa found daugherty s program @ michigan state guilty of ncaa infractions prior , during 1957, 1958, , 1959 seasons. daughtery s football program put on probation 3 years following 1964 decision.
1965–1966 1965 , 1966 seasons high points in daugherty s coaching tenure, if not in history of michigan state football. 1965 team finished regular season 10–0 , ranked first in country, upset ucla in 1966 rose bowl, 14–12. nevertheless, michigan state named national champions upi , national football foundation. 1966 team began season 9–0 , headed final game ranked #2 against #1 notre dame @ spartan stadium on november 19. #1 vs. #2 showdown, dubbed game of century national media, ended in 10–10 tie. spartans did not play in bowl game following 1966 season due big ten rules in place @ time prohibited teams playing in rose bowl in consecutive years , barred participation in other bowl. notre dame , michigan state declared co-national champions of 1966 season result of 10-10 tie.
1967–1972 beginning 1967 season, there decline in spartans football program under duffy. daugherty s teams in late 60s , 70s consistently hovered around .500 mark, 1971 squad finishing winning record (6–5). under pressure msu s administration, daugherty retired after 1972 season , succeeded head coach denny stolz.

during daugherty s time in east lansing, recruited , coached of best players in michigan state s history, including herb adderley, brad van pelt, bubba smith, george webster, , joe delamielleure. 1 of first college football coaches field racially integrated team.

george perles: 1983–1994

after returning army active duty, perles returned michigan enrolled @ michigan state university , played football under legendary coach duffy daugherty. perles played 1958 season before playing career cut short knee injury. perles started football coaching career graduate assistant @ michigan state before moving on high school ranks in chicago , detroit, st. ambrose high school team won first detroit city league championship in 1961. perles returned michigan state defensive line coach under mentor, daugherty.

in 1972, chuck noll, head coach of pittsburgh steelers, offered perles position of defensive line coach. in perles’ first season, steelers made nfl playoffs second time in franchise history, first since 1947, losing miami dolphins in afc championship game. in 1974, steelers won first of 6 consecutive afc central division championships , first super bowl. perles became defensive coordinator steelers in 1978 , assistant head coach under noll in 1979. during perles ten years pittsburgh (1972–1981), steelers won then-record 4 super bowls , became known team of decade 1970s, largely on of stunt 4-3 defense designed perles.

perles returned michigan state university on december 3, 1982. in 12 years, led spartans 2 big ten conference titles, 7 bowl games , victory in 1988 rose bowl. 1987 season marked spartans last outright big ten title until 2013. during 1987 season perles , michigan state beat southern california twice in same season, once in regular season , 1 in rose bowl.

during 1994–1995, extensive external investigation conducted law firm of bond, schoeneck & king, pllc. uncovered various infractions including grade tampering athletic department administrator. msu president m. peter mcpherson fired perles before end of 1994 season, , ordered spartans forfeit 5 wins season. perles found not culpable . many fans , alumni believed treated unfairly. later went on founder of little caesars pizza bowl , on msu board of trustees.

nick saban: 1995–1999

when saban arrived in east lansing, michigan prior 1995 season, msu had not had winning season since 1990, , team sanctioned ncaa recruiting violations committed under predecessor , former mentor, george perles.

1995–1997 – beginning in 1995, saban moderately improved msu s fortunes, taking spartans minor bowl games (all of lost double-digit margins) in each of first 3 seasons. 1995 1997, michigan state finished 6-5-1, 6-6, , 7-5. in comparison, msu had finished 5–6, 6–6 , 5–6 (prior ncaa forfeits) in 1992–1994.
1998 – on november 7, 1998, spartans upset #1 ranked ohio state 28–24 @ ohio stadium. however, after upset , early-season rout of then-highly ranked notre dame spartans finished 6–6, including 3 last-minute losses featuring turnovers, defensive lapses, , special-teams misplays, , failed earn bowl invitation.
1999 – saban led spartans 9–2 season included wins on notre dame, michigan, ohio state, , penn state. conversely, 2 losses routs @ hands of purdue , wisconsin. following final regular-season game against penn state, saban abruptly resigned accept head coaching position lsu. saban s assistant head coach , successor, bobby williams, coached msu citrus bowl victory on florida, giving spartans overall record of 10–2 1999 season. best season in terms of wins spartans since 1965, , see spartans reach highest ranking since 1966 team. future former nfl head coach josh mcdaniels served graduate assistant on saban s 1999 coaching staff.

saban never won bowl game in tenure @ michigan state, going 0-3 , losing bowl contests combined 85 points.

mark dantonio – 2006 through present

on november 27, 2006, mark dantonio hired university of cincinnati become michigan state s new men s football head coach. dantonio served assistant coach @ msu 1995 2000 , ohio state s defensive coordinator during 2002 national championship season. dantonio assistant @ kansas , youngstown state university. in 2010, dantonio led msu earn share of big ten championship after finishing year in three-way tie ohio state , wisconsin. 2011 team won division , appeared in inaugural big ten football championship game. spartans win outright big ten championships in 2013 , 2015 victories in 2013 , 2015 championship games. has compiled 8–3 record against arch-rival michigan. michigan state s streak of 4 wins in row, 2008 season through 2011, tied michigan state s best in rivalry. dantonio s record includes 4–4 mark megaphone trophy, goes winner of notre dame rivalry game.

he considered defensive-minded coach , has been on coaching staffs of glen mason, jim tressel , nick saban. of february 2017, contract runs through 2023. dantonio makes approximately $4.3 million annually.