Bernie Bierman
Bernard W. Bierman (March 11, 1894 β March 7, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces. Bierman was the head coach at the University of Montana (1919β1921), Mississippi State University (1925β1926), Tulane University (1927β1931), and his alma mater, the University of Minnesota (1932β1941, 1945β1950), compiling a career college football record of 153β65β12. At Minnesota, Bierman's Golden Gophers compiled a 93β35β6 record, won five national championships and seven Big Ten Conference titles, and completed five undefeated seasons. Bierman was also the head basketball coach at Montana (1919β1922), Mississippi State (1925β1927), and Tulane (1928β1930), tallying a career college basketball mark of 89β51.
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Biographical details | |
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Born | Springfield, Minnesota | March 11, 1894
Died | March 7, 1977 82) Laguna Hills, California | (aged
Playing career | |
1913β1915 | Minnesota |
Position(s) | Halfback |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1919β1921 | Montana |
1923β1924 | Tulane (assistant) |
1925β1926 | Mississippi State |
1927β1931 | Tulane |
1932β1941 | Minnesota |
1942 | Iowa Pre-Flight |
1945β1950 | Minnesota |
Basketball | |
1919β1922 | Montana |
1925β1927 | Mississippi State |
1928β1930 | Tulane |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 153β65β12 (football) 89β51 (basketball) |
Bowls | 0β1 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
5 National (1934β1936, 1940β1941) 3 SoCon (1929β1931) 7 Big Ten (1933β1935, 1937β1938, 1940β1941) | |
Awards | |
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1958) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1955 (profile) |
Personal life
Bierman grew up in Litchfield, Minnesota and was married to Clara McKenzie Bierman. They had two sons, William A. Bierman, a lawyer in St. Paul, Minnesota, and James Bierman, of Los Angeles, California. Bierman was a brother of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
Head coaching record

Football
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AP# | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Montana (Independent) (1919β1921) | |||||||||
1919 | Montana | 2β3β2 | |||||||
1920 | Montana | 4β3 | |||||||
1921 | Montana | 3β3β1 | |||||||
Montana: | 9β9β3 | ||||||||
Mississippi State Bulldogs (Southern Conference) (1925β1926) | |||||||||
1925 | Mississippi State | 3β4β1 | 1β4 | Tβ15th | |||||
1926 | Mississippi State | 5β4 | 2β3 | 14th | |||||
Mississippi State: | 8β8β1 | 3β7 | |||||||
Tulane Green Wave (Southern Conference) (1927β1931) | |||||||||
1927 | Tulane | 2β5β1 | 2β5β1 | 18th | |||||
1928 | Tulane | 6β3β1 | 3β3β1 | Tβ10th | |||||
1929 | Tulane | 9β0 | 6β0 | 1st | |||||
1930 | Tulane | 8β1 | 5β0 | Tβ1st | |||||
1931 | Tulane | 11β1 | 8β0 | Tβ1st | L Rose | ||||
Tulane: | 36β10β2 | 24β8β2 | |||||||
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference) (1932β1941) | |||||||||
1932 | Minnesota | 5β3 | 2β3 | 6th | |||||
1933 | Minnesota | 4β0β4 | 2β0β4 | Tβ1st | |||||
1934 | Minnesota | 8β0 | 5β0 | Tβ1st | |||||
1935 | Minnesota | 8β0 | 5β0 | Tβ1st | |||||
1936 | Minnesota | 7β1 | 4β1 | Tβ2nd | 1 | ||||
1937 | Minnesota | 6β2 | 5β0 | 1st | 5 | ||||
1938 | Minnesota | 6β2 | 4β1 | 1st | 10 | ||||
1939 | Minnesota | 3β4β1 | 2β3β1 | 7th | |||||
1940 | Minnesota | 8β0 | 6β0 | 1st | 1 | ||||
1941 | Minnesota | 8β0 | 5β0 | 1st | 1 | ||||
Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks (Independent) (1942) | |||||||||
1942 | Iowa Pre-Flight | 7β3 | |||||||
Iowa Pre-Flight: | 7β3 | ||||||||
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference) (1945β1950) | |||||||||
1945 | Minnesota | 4β5 | 1β5 | Tβ8th | |||||
1946 | Minnesota | 5β4 | 3β4 | 5th | |||||
1947 | Minnesota | 6β3 | 3β3 | Tβ3rd | |||||
1948 | Minnesota | 7β2 | 5β2 | 3rd | 16 | ||||
1949 | Minnesota | 7β2 | 4β2 | 3rd | 8 | ||||
1950 | Minnesota | 1β7β1 | 1β4β1 | 7th | |||||
Minnesota: | 93β35β6 | 57β28β6 | |||||||
Total: | 153β65β12 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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