Bernie Bierman
Introduction
Bernard W. "Bernie" Bierman (March 11, 1894 – 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 (1919–1921), Mississippi State University (1925–1926), Tulane University (1927–1931), and his alma mater, the University of Minnesota (1932–1941, 1945–1950), compiling a career college football record of 153–65–12. At Minnesota, Bierman's Golden Gophers compiled a 93–35–6 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 (1919–1922), Mississippi State (1925–1927), and Tulane (1928–1930), tallying a career college basketball mark of 89–51.
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 Grizzlies (Independent) (1919–1921) | |||||||||
| 1919 | Montana | 2–3–2 | |||||||
| 1920 | Montana | 4–3 | |||||||
| 1921 | Montana | 3–3–1 | |||||||
| Montana: | 9–9–3 | ||||||||
| Mississippi State Bulldogs (Southern Conference) (1925–1926) | |||||||||
| 1925 | Mississippi State | 3–4–1 | 1–4 | T–15th | |||||
| 1926 | Mississippi State | 5–4 | 2–3 | 14th | |||||
| Mississippi State: | 8–8–1 | 3–7 | |||||||
| Tulane Green Wave (Southern Conference) (1927–1931) | |||||||||
| 1927 | Tulane | 2–5–1 | 2–5–1 | 18th | |||||
| 1928 | Tulane | 6–3–1 | 3–3–1 | T–10th | |||||
| 1929 | Tulane | 9–0 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1930 | Tulane | 8–1 | 5–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 1931 | Tulane | 11–1 | 8–0 | T–1st | L Rose | ||||
| Tulane: | 36–10–2 | 24–8–2 | |||||||
| Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference) (1932–1941) | |||||||||
| 1932 | Minnesota | 5–3 | 2–3 | 6th | |||||
| 1933 | Minnesota | 4–0–4 | 2–0–4 | T–1st | |||||
| 1934 | Minnesota | 8–0 | 5–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 1935 | Minnesota | 8–0 | 5–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 1936 | Minnesota | 7–1 | 4–1 | T–2nd | 1 | ||||
| 1937 | Minnesota | 6–2 | 5–0 | 1st | 5 | ||||
| 1938 | Minnesota | 6–2 | 4–1 | 1st | 10 | ||||
| 1939 | Minnesota | 3–4–1 | 2–3–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1940 | Minnesota | 8–0 | 6–0 | 1st | 1 | ||||
| 1941 | Minnesota | 8–0 | 5–0 | 1st | 1 | ||||
| Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks (Independent) (1942) | |||||||||
| 1942 | Iowa Pre-Flight | 7–3 | |||||||
| Iowa Pre-Flight: | 7–3 | ||||||||
| Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference) (1945–1950) | |||||||||
| 1945 | Minnesota | 4–5 | 1–5 | T–8th | |||||
| 1946 | Minnesota | 5–4 | 3–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1947 | Minnesota | 6–3 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1948 | Minnesota | 7–2 | 5–2 | 3rd | 16 | ||||
| 1949 | Minnesota | 7–2 | 4–2 | 3rd | 8 | ||||
| 1950 | Minnesota | 1–7–1 | 1–4–1 | 7th | |||||
| Minnesota: | 93–35–6 | 57–28–6 | |||||||
| Total: | 153–65–12 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
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