University of Missouri Athletics

Dan Devine is one of the most important figures in Missouri athletic history, both for his contributions as head football coach and as athletic director. Dan came to Mizzou in 1958 after three strong years as head football coach at Arizona State. In 13 seasons at MU, he had a record of 93-37-7 with Big Eight Conference championships in 1960 and ’69. During the decade of the 1960s, Mizzou was the only team in the country never to lose more than three games in a season and had the nation’s eighth-best winning percentage (.762). His teams appeared in six bowl games, and nine times they finished the season ranked in the nation’s top-20, with bests of fourth (AP) and fifth (UPI) in 1960. That team could well have been the national champions if the final polls had been conducted after the bowl games. The only blemish on MU’s record was a final-game regular-season loss to Kansas, which eventually had to forfeit the game for using an ineligible player – Bert Coan – and MU went on to defeat Navy and Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino in the Orange Bowl. Minnesota was crowned national champs prior to the bowls but lost its Rose Bowl matchup with Washington. The 1969 Mizzou team was one of the most prolific and exciting teams in Mizzou history, with players like QB Terry McMillan, TB Joe Moore, WR Mel Gray and SB Jon Staggers. The Tigers met undefeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl but fell 10-3 to the team that finished undefeated and second in the national polls. Missouri finished sixth. At MU, Devine coached eight all-Americans and 49 all-Big Eight players. He left after the 1970 season to become head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers. Several years later he returned to the collegiate ranks as the head coach at Notre Dame where he coached the Irish to the national championship in 1977. He had huge accomplishments as Missouri’s athletic director, too. In 1967, he closed the deal and hired Norm Stewart as basketball coach. In 1992, interim chancellor Gerald Brouder was faced with a dilemma when Dick Tamburo retired as athletic director. Not wanting to handcuff the permanent chancellor with an AD hire, he sought someone who could step in and unite the state. Devine was his choice and he came back out of retirement to help. He hired Larry Smith as football coach who ended Mizzou’s football malaise with bowl seasons in 1997 and ’98. But most importantly he worked with the university administration and the Board of Curators to put in place changes that would enable the Tigers to be competitive in the ever-changing athletic landscape. Chief among those moves was a master facilities plan that put in motion most of the improvements that Tiger athletes and fans enjoy today. He served as AD until 1994. Devine was named to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1973, and the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1985.