Our Venue Namesakes: Crisler, Yost
10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 28, 2015
This four-part series focuses on the men and women who helped shape the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus. The third part focuses on Fritz Crisler and Fielding Yost.
CRISLER CENTER -- FRITZ CRISLER (Football, 1938-47; Athletic Director, 1941-68)
Fritz Crisler developed some of the greatest innovations in Michigan football history during his tenure as the head football coach and athletic director. From 1938-47, Crisler served as the head football coach, finishing lower than second in the Big Ten only twice. In 1943, he led Michigan to its first Big Ten title in 10 years with an 8-1 record.
Prior to his time at the University of Michigan, Crisler was a three-sport athlete and an honor student at the University of Chicago. He was the head football coach and athletic director at the University of Minnesota before moving to Princeton, where he coached for six seasons, compiling a 35-9-1 record.
Crisler is recognized as the "father of two-platoon football," which involved separate groups playing offense and defense. He holds the second-highest win percentage (.805) for a Michigan head football coach with at least 50 games coached, compiling a 71-16-3 record during his 10 years at the University of Michigan. Some of the most notable players that Crisler coached included Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon and future Michigan head coach Bump Elliott.
Arguably Crisler's most famous win came over the University of Southern California at the 1947 Rose Bowl. Ranked No. 2 despite being undefeated, Michigan thumped the Trojans, 49-0, and was selected as the No. 1 team in the country in an unprecedented postseason AP poll over an undefeated Notre Dame. Crisler was also awarded the National Coach of the Year honor at the conclusion of the 1947 season.
Crisler followed Fielding Yost as the athletic director from 1941-68, presiding over seven hockey national championships, six men's swimming and diving national championships, two national championships in football and baseball, two Final Four appearances for the men's basketball team and national championships in both men's gymnastics and men's tennis. Crisler expanded the Michigan Stadium seating to over 101,001 (the "extra" seat was added in Crisler's honor, though its location is unknown) and led the effort to build the new basketball arena, which is named in his honor. But Crisler's most renowned contribution to the University of Michigan was the introduction of the winged helmet. The Wolverines first donned the winged helmets in 1938 largely to help their quarterbacks recognize their receivers running downfield.
Built in 1967, Crisler Center is the home for the men's and women's basketball teams, and women's gymnastics. It had also previously played host for wrestling and men's gymnastics.
Crisler Center (left) and Yost Ice Arena (right)
YOST ICE ARENA -- FIELDING YOST (Football, 1901-23, 1925-26; Athletic Director, 1921-41)
Fielding Yost ranks as one of the most impressive collegiate football coaches of all time. During his 25 years as the head football coach at the University of Michigan, beginning with his inaugural season in 1901, Yost accumulated a .833 win percentage, the highest of any Michigan head football coach. He concluded his tenure with the football program with a record of 165-29-10. His teams won 10 Big Ten championships and 20 of Yost's players earned All-America status.
As a law student at West Virginia University, Yost was a standout tackle on the football team. He then began his coaching career in 1897 at Ohio Wesleyan, followed by one-year stints at Nebraska, Kansas and Stanford before arriving in Ann Arbor. Yost completing winning seasons at all four schools prior to Michigan, including an undefeated season with Kansas in 1899.
In Yost's first four years (1901-05), the Wolverines won four straight national championships and went 56 consecutive games without a loss. Yost's first team finished with a perfect 10-0 record, outscored its opponents 550-0, won the Big Ten championship and the school's first national championship, defeating Stanford, 49-0, in the very first Rose Bowl. Yost's teams from 1901-05 were coined the "Point-a-Minute" teams because they outscored the opposition, 2,821-42, averaging 50 points per contest.
Yost additionally acted as Michigan's director of athletics from 1921-41. He played an instrumental role in engineering the athletic campus that still exists today, including the construction of Michigan Stadium, the University golf course, the Intramural Sports Building and what is now Yost Ice Arena.
Yost Ice Arena was originally opened in 1923 as the nation's first field house, hosting football and baseball practice during the winter months, as well as varsity basketball games and track meets. In 1973, the field house was converted into the ice arena, and has been the home of the University of Michigan ice hockey team ever since.
Previous Entries
• Part One -- Phyllis Ocker, Bennie Oosterbaan
• Part Two -- Cliff Keen, Don Canham
The 2015-16 academic year marks the 150th anniversary of Michigan Athletics. We invite the University of Michigan family to celebrate the passion that fuels us, rediscover the stories and traditions that unite us, and imagine what the future holds for us. We look forward to celebrating "This Michigan of Ours." To share a memory of Michigan Athletics, please fill out our online form or email goblue150@umich.edu.
