This page documents the history of the Memphis Tigers football program.
Overview Early history (1912–1974)
West Tennessee State Normal School's football team had their first season in 1912. The team was coached by Clyde Wilson. In 1922, Lester Barnard was the Tigers head coach. His team compiled a 5–2–2 record. Zach Curlin succeeded Barnard and served as the Tigers head coach from 1924 to 1936. During Curlin's tenure, the school was a member of two athletic conferences, the Mississippi Valley Conference (1928–1934) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1935–1941). When Curlin stepped down as the football coach after the 1936 campaign, the school's search committee recommended Allyn McKeen and immediately hired Cecil C. Humphreys as the school's president from Tennessee Junior College in Martin, now named the University of Tennessee at Martin. McKeen's 1937 squad posted a 3–6 record, setting the stage for the Tigers' only undefeated and untied season in school history. Allyn McKeen coached the Tigers in the 1937 and 1938 seasons, compiling a 13–6 record. His 1938 team went undefeated at 10–0. McKeen departed the Tigers after two seasons to accept the head football coach position at Mississippi State and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1991.
West Tennessee State Teacher's College changed its name to Memphis State College in 1941. After that year, the Tigers became an independent and remained so until joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1968. Despite fielding a 56-player team in 1942, one of the largest in school history to that point, Memphis State managed to compile only a 2–7 record in 1942 due to many players being chosen for selective service for World War II. The Tigers did not field a football team from 1943 to 1946 due to the events surrounding World War II. In 1947, athletics director Cecil Humphreys turned to his former college teammate at the University of Tennessee, Ralph Hatley, head coach at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, to lead the football program. One of his first moves as head coach was to name Billy Murphy as an assistant coach. Hatley's first Tigers team in 1947 had 38 freshmen, but still managed to earn a 6–2–1 record. In 1949, Hatley's Tigers outscored their opponents 385–87 throughout the season and led the nation in total points scored for the season. In 1949, Memphis State finished 9–2 and set a then-school record with 21,000 in attendance to watch the team play Ole Miss. Hatley hired Ken Donahue as line coach in 1951. During Hatley's tenure as head coach, Memphis State graduated 98% of its football players. Hatley's Tigers made their first bowl appearance in school history in the 1956 Burley Bowl, a 32–12 victory over East Tennessee that was the final playing of the Johnson City, Tennessee bowl game. Hatley retired as head coach after the 1957 season with a 60–43–5 record. He retired as the school's winningest head coach and remained so until he was surpassed by his successor in 1967.
Billy Murphy took over as head coach in 1958 and served as head football coach for the Tigers for fourteen seasons. In 1963, Murphy led the Tigers to a 9–0–1 record. After a season-opening win over Southern Miss, the Tigers tied No. 2 Ole Miss by a score of 0–0. That game would be the only non-win for Memphis that year as the Tigers went on to grab wins over Tulsa, North Texas, West Texas State, Mississippi State, Louisville, South Carolina, Chattanooga and Houston to post just the second unbeaten season in program history. The Houston game was postponed from November 23 to November 30 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Murphy was named the National Coach of the Year by the Detroit Times and was also named a recipient of the Memphis Civilian Award. Running back Dave Casinelli became the first Memphis State player to lead the NCAA in a major individual statistical category and the first Southern player to win the NCAA rushing title since John Dottley in 1949. Going into the final game of the 1963 season, he ranked third in rushing yardage but totaled 210 rushing yards in the final game to finish ahead of Jimmy Sidle and Gale Sayers. He led the NCAA for the 1963 season in rushing yardage (1,016 yards) and rushing carries (219). He also tied with Cosmo Iacavazzi for the national scoring title with 84 points, each having scored 14 touchdowns. During his four years at Memphis, Casinelli established school records with 2,796 total yards from scrimmage and 36 career touchdowns. In January 1964, he signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The 1963 Tigers football team finished ranked No. 14 in the UPI Coaches Poll, the highest final ranking in school history. Memphis State ended its 27-year run as an independent when it joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 1968. Murphy retired as head coach after the 1971 season but remained as the school's athletics director until 1981. His last game as head coach was the 1971 Pasadena Bowl, a 28–9 victory over San Jose State, their second bowl appearance in school history and last for another 32 years. He left Memphis with a 91–44–1 record, making him the winningest head coach in program history.
The program's next head coach was Fred Pancoast, who came to Memphis State from his post as offensive coordinator at Georgia under Vince Dooley. After a mediocre 5–5–1 record in 1972, the Tigers finished the 1973 season with an 8–3 record. The 1973 season included a 28–21 win over Louisville in the season opener, a 24–3 victory over North Texas in the season's second game and a 17–13 victory over Ole Miss in the third game for the Tigers' first victory over the Rebels in the state of Mississippi. Despite a 35–21 loss to No. 15 Houston, the Tigers defeated Tulsa by a score of 28–16, Florida State by a margin of 13–10 Virginia Tech in a 49–16 rout and their last two games of the season over Louisiana-Lafayette by a score of 41–6 and Cincinnati by a margin of 17–13 after a 13–10 loss to Southern Miss in the Black and Blue Bowl on November 10. Memphis State left the Missouri Valley Conference after the 1973 season and returned to play as an independent, where it would remain until chartering Conference USA in 1995. The 1974 season resulted in a 7–4 record. Highlights of the season included a 16–10 victory over Louisville in the season opener, a 15–7 victory over Ole Miss for the Tigers second straight victory over the Rebels, a 20–18 victory over Colorado State, a 41–0 shutout of North Texas, a 42–14 win over Florida State, and a 34–10 victory over Wichita State in the season finale. Pancoast left the Tigers after the 1974 season to accept the head coaching position at Vanderbilt. In three seasons, he led the Tigers to a 20–12–1 record. Pancoast would be the last head coach to leave the Tigers with a winning record for 41 years.
Richard Williamson era (1975–1980)
Arkansas offensive coordinator Richard Williamson was hired as the Tigers' 15th head football coach after Fred Pancoast's departure. An end at Alabama from 1959 to 1962 under head coach Bear Bryant, Williamson served as wide receivers coach for the Crimson Tide under Bryant from 1963 to 1967 returned to Alabama to coach the defensive line under Bryant from 1970 to 1971 after serving as an assistant coach under Frank Broyles at Arkansas from 1968 to 1969. He returned to Broyles' Razorbacks staff to serve as offensive coordinator in 1972. Williamson went 32–34 in six seasons as head coach of the Tigers. Williamson was honored with the Southern Independent Conference Coach of the Year award twice as head coach of the Tigers.
The Tigers finished 7–4 in 1975. They began the season on September 6 with a 17–7 loss to Mississippi State. After a 31–20 upset victory over No. 7 Auburn, Memphis State lost their next two: 13–3 to Cincinnati and 29–10 to Arkansas State. The Tigers defeated North Texas by a margin of 21–19 on October 4. After a 21–7 loss to rival Southern Miss, Williamson's team won their last five games of the season, defeating rival Louisville 41–7 on October 18, Tulsa 16–14 on October 25, Wichita State 13–7 on November 1, Florida State 17–14 on November 8 and Houston 14–7 on November 15. Memphis State went 8–3 in 1976. The Tigers started the season with a 21–16 win over Ole Miss on September 4 and a 21–12 win over Florida State on September 11. After a close 16–14 loss to Tulsa, Memphis State defeated SMU by a count of 27–13 and Auburn by a margin of 28–27. After a 42–33 loss to Mississippi State, the Tigers shut out Wichita State by a count of 31–0 and defeated Tulane by a score of 14–7. After a 21–14 loss to in-state foe Tennessee, the Tigers defeated Louisville by a score of 26–14 and suffered a 14–12 letdown at the hands of rival Southern Miss in the season finale. Williamson's Tigers finished with a 6–5 record in 1977. In their first game after the death of rock-n-roll legend and longtime Memphis resident Elvis Presley, the Tigers lost to Ole Miss in Jackson, Mississippi by a score of 7–3. Memphis State rebounded to win their next three, defeating Tulane by a score of 27–9, Utah State by a margin of 31–26 and Virginia Tech by a count of 21–20. After dropping a 14–13 nail biter to Louisville on October 1, the Tigers defeated Mississippi State by a margin of 21–13 on October 15. Memphis State then lost a nail biter to North Texas by a count of 20–19. After a 42–14 victory over Southern Miss in the Black and Blue Bowl, Williamson's squad lost to Tennessee by a score of 27–14 and No. 16 Florida State by a count of 30–9. Memphis State defeated Wichita State by a margin of 28–14 in the season's last game on November 19.
Memphis State finished with a 4–7 record in 1978. After a season-opening 14–7 loss to Ole Miss, Williamson led the Tigers to a 17–3 win over Houston The Tigers then lost their next two, falling to Mississippi State in a 44–14 blowout and No. 8 Texas A&M in a 58–0 shutout. After a 26–13 win over Wichita State, the Tigers lost a 13–10 nail biter to Southern Miss and a 41–24 game to Tulane. Memphis State won their next two, defeating Vanderbilt by a margin of 35–14 and Louisville by a count of 29–22. Williamson's Tigers lost their last two games of the season, suffering a 41–24 loss to North Texas and a 34–14 loss to Cincinnati. The Tigers finished 5–6 in 1979. Memphis State started the season with a close 14–13 win over Mississippi State on September 8. The next week, Williamson's team lost to the other Southeastern Conference team from the Magnolia State, Ole Miss, by a score of 38–34. After a 16–10 win in the season's third game over Wichita State, Memphis State lost to Texas A&M by a margin of 17–7, Louisiana-Monroe by a count of 21–20 and Southern Miss in a 22–0 shutout. The Tigers alternated between win and loss for the remainder of the season, defeating North Texas by a margin of 22–0, losing to Vanderbilt by a score of 13–3, defeating Louisville by a count of 10–6, losing to No. 5 Florida State by a margin of 66–17 and beating Cincinnati by a count of 23–17. Memphis State struggled to a 2–9 mark in 1980. The Tigers lost their first three games of the season, falling to Mississippi State by a score of 34–7, Ole Miss in a 61–7 blowout and Georgia Tech by a count of 17–8. Williamson's squad won its first game of the season on October 4, defeating Arkansas State by a count of 24–3. The Tigers lost to Louisville by a score of 38–14 on October 11. That was followed by a 29–10 loss to North Texas on October 18. After a 24–3 loss to No. 6 Florida State, the Tigers lost consecutive 14–10 games to Vanderbilt and Cincinnati before suffering a 21–16 setback to Tulane. The Tigers won their last game of the 1980 season, a 6–0 shutout over Wichita State. Williamson was fired as head coach of the Tigers after the 1980 season.
Rex Dockery era (1981–1983)