University of Minnesota Athletics
Bernie Bierman - M Club Hall of Fame
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Bernie Bierman
Football, 1913-15
Men’s Basketball, 1913-15
Men’s Track & Field, 1913-15
Football Coach, 1932-41, 1945-50
HOF Class of 1991
Bernie Bierman earned All-Conference and All-American honors on the gridiron as a halfback for the Gophers and captain of the undefeated 1915 Big Ten title team. Bierman also played basketball and ran track at Minnesota.
After college, coaching called, his first job was at the high school level in Montana. After service in World War I, he moved to college coaching, first at Montana University, then at Mississippi A&M and later Tulane.
In 1932 the "Grey Eagle" came home to take over as the head coach of the Gophers, where he became a legend. During Bierman's first 10 years as Minnesota's head coach, a period now known as the "Golden Era," the Gophers five national championships (1934, 1935, 1936, 1940 and 1941), as well as seven Big Ten titles.
In 1942 Bierman rejoined the military for a three-year stint. He returned in 1945 to coach the Gophers for six more seasons before retiring with a 93-35-6 Minnesota career record, 146-62-13 overall.
Recipient of numerous Coach of the Year awards, Bierman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.