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Miami Hurricanes football

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The distinctive 'Split-U', the official logo of University of Miami athletics
The distinctive 'Split-U', the official logo of University of Miami athletics
The University of Miami Hurricanes football team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and one of the preeminent programs in all of college football. Miami has won five national championships (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2001), all of which have come since 1983, making it the most successful college football program of the past quarter century.

The program also holds the NCAA record for the longest home winning streak (58 games), a span which ran from 1985 to 1994. In addition, two Hurricanes have won the prestigious Heisman Trophy: quarterback Vinny Testaverde in 1986 and quarterback Gino Torretta in 1992.

The team plays its home games at the historic Miami Orange Bowl, located off-campus in the city of Miami. The current head coach is Larry Coker. The current defensive coordinator is Randy Shannon. The current offensive coordinator is Rich Olson.

Contents

Team information

Sebastian the Ibis, the official mascot of the University of Miami
Enlarge
Sebastian the Ibis, the official mascot of the University of Miami

Nickname: Hurricanes
Outfitter: Nike
Uniforms:

Fight Song: Miami U. How-Dee-Doo
Mascot: Sebastian the Ibis
Marching Band: The Band of the Hour
Traditional Rivals: Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles
National Championships: Five
Conference Championships: Nine
Conference History: Bowl Appearances: 30 (17-13)

Chronology of Miami head coaches

Years Coach Record
1927–1928 Howard P. Buck 7–10–2
1929 J. Burton Rix 3–2
1930 Ernest E. Brett 3–4–1
1931–1934 Thomas McCann 18–15–4
1935–1936 Irl I. Tubbs 11–5–2
1937–1942 Jack Harding 54–32–3
1943–1944 Eddie Dunn 6–8–1
1945–1947 Jack Harding 54–32–3
1948–1963 Andy Gustafson 93–65–3
1964–1970 Charlie Tate 34–27–3
1970 Walt Kichefski 2–7
1971–1972 Fran Curci 9–13
1973–1974 Peter R. Elliot 11–11
Years Coach Record
1975–1976 Carl Selmer 5–16
1977–1978 Lou Saban 9–13
1979–1983 Howard Schnellenberger 41–16
1984–1988 Jimmy Johnson 52–9
1989–1994 Dennis Erickson 63–9
1995–2000 Butch Davis 51–20
2001–present Larry Coker 53–9

The \"decade of dominance\"

The period in college football from 1983 through 1992 is sometimes referred to as "The Decade of Dominance" by Miami fans because Miami won four national championships in those ten seasons and played for a national championship in three other seasons (1986 Sugar Bowl, 1987 Fiesta Bowl, and 1992 Sugar Bowl).

The Schnellenberger Era (1979-1982)

Prior to 1979, Miami was considered a lightweight independent football program by most people, having a sub-.500 record from 1970-79, to the point where the university regents seriously considered dropping football from the athletic department altogether.

In 1979, after the departure of Lou Saban, Miami hired former Baltimore Colts head coach Howard Schnellenberger, who had also served as an assistant coach under both Bear Bryant and Don Shula as their new head coach. Schnellenberger immediately took to fighting a battle on numerous fronts, first by eliminating the dead weight from the program by seeing who quit from not wanting to work. Schnellenberger compared his first UM camp with being as brutal-- if not moreso-- as any of the infamously brutal training camps under Bear Bryant that he witnessed.

The next step was to spearhead a public relations campaign that Miami had no money in their athletic budget to fund. As a result, Schnellenberger spoke in front of countless alumni groups and rotary clubs, more often than not extolling his vision that within the next five years that there would be a National Championship brought to Miami, a claim that at the time no one took seriously.

The last and most intregal step was the pro-style passing offense that Schnellenberger wanted to install at Miami, feeling it would give Miami an advantage versus schools that were not accustomed to handling teams with that type of passing scheme. And one of the keys to that offense would be a recruiting coup that Lou Saban had pulled prior to Schnellenberger's arrival: stealing QB Jim Kelly because they offered Kelly the chance to be a QB, as opposed to nearby Penn State, who envisoned Kelly as a linebacker.

Miami started out slowly its first year under Schnellenberger with a 5-6 record, but highlighted its season with a road win versus Penn State -- ranked #19 at the time-- by a 26-10 margin, which gave Miami something to build on in the future.

Miami would continue a gradual progression between 1980 and 1982, including Miami's first bowl appearance in 14 years, defeating Virginia Tech in the 1981 Peach Bowl although disaster would strike during Kelly's senior season when he would miss half the season with a separated shoulder. Miami would go 7-4 in 1982, but not be invited to play in a bowl game.

1983

Miami entered 1983 with a number of question marks on their roster, with a young defense and a hole to replace Kelly at quarterback, with the winner being a lanky redshirt freshman whom Schnellenberger had recruited out of Ohio named Bernie Kosar. Miami was considered to be promising in the future, but there were no expectations for 1983 other than the fact that it would be a transition season.

They started the season in Gainesville to play their rival the University of Florida, who took advantage of the young Hurricanes to the tune of 28-3. Although in the course of losing, Kosar set the school record for most completions in a game with 25. After that loss, Miami would proceed to win its next 10 games, including victories over Notre Dame and Florida State, making its way to #5 in the polls. Because of conference commitments in the bowl stucture of the time (#2 Texas was required to go to the Cotton Bowl, #4 Illinois to the Rose Bowl and #3 Auburn to the Sugar Bowl), Miami was invited to play the #1-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl. Almost immediately, the lightly-regarded Hurricanes were listed as a double-digit underdog, as Miami was not considered to be a threat to the juggernaut Cornhuskers, who boasted Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier and the then-most prolific offense in the history of college football.

As Bowl Day unfolded, #2 Texas was upset 10-9 by Georgia, #4 University Of Illinois was blown out by UCLA and #3 Auburn won unimpressively versus Michigan 9-7, all setting the table for Miami to take the National Championship should they win.

In front of a decidedly pro-Hurricanes crowd, Miami came out of the gates throwing, and Nebraska had no early answer for it, and Miami jumped out to a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Using a trick play known as the fumblerooski at a critical point in a drive, Nebraska scored in the 2nd quater to make it 17-7 and by the 3rd quarter tied the game at 17. Kosar responded by leading Miami's next two drives down the field, making it 31-17, with Nebraska responding in the 4th quarter with reserve HB Jeff Smith (in for an injured Rozier) scoring two touchdowns, including one in the last minute to make it 31-30. Nebraska coach Tom Osborne then made a fateful decision: rather than win the national title by having the game end in a 31-31 tie, he elected to go for a 2-point conversion, which failed due to Miami DB Ken Calhoun deflecting the attempted pass, giving Miami its first-ever national championship.

The Jimmy Johnson Era (1984-1988)

In the aftermath of Miami's national championship, Schnellenberger elected to take a job offer from the USFL's Washington Federals, contingent on them moving their franchise to Miami, which never happened. Having already resigned at UM, Schnellenberger ended up accepting an offer as head coach of the University of Louisville, which was Schnellenberger's hometown.

Miami, scrambling to find a head coach, hired Oklahoma State University head coach Jimmy Johnson, who was met with a loud chorus of "Jimmy Who?" by the local alumni, fans and media. Johnson was also met at the job by an slighted staff of Schnellenberger's assistants who partially resented Johnson for being selected over someone within the program as coach.

The Johnson-led Hurricanes started off strong, with wins over Auburn and Florida, but then Miami would lose to both Michigan and rival Florida State. However, towards the end of the season, Miami would find itself in two of the most improbable games in NCAA history back-to-back, losing both. First blowing a 31-0 halftime lead versus Maryland to eventually lose 40-38 and then the next game losing to Boston College 47-45 on the famous "Hail Flutie" pass thrown by Doug Flutie. Miami would be invited to the Fiesta Bowl, only to lose to UCLA 38-35.

The next year, with Bernie Kosar deciding to make himself eligable for the NFL Supplemental Draft, the keys to the offense were handed over to Vinny Testaverde. 1985 would begin with a home loss to Florida, which would be the last home game Miami would lose until 1994. From there, Miami would win its next ten striaght, including a road win over top-ranked Oklahoma and an embarassingly convincing win over Notre Dame 58-7. #3 Miami recieved and invite to the Sugar Bowl to play Tennessee, and despite still having a chance to be voted National Champions if Oklahoma were to lose, Miami got thumped by the Vols 35-7.

In 1986, Miami would have its first undefeated regular season in school history, with the exclamation point being a victory over #1 Oklahoma for the second year in a row. Testeverde would become the first Hurricane to ever win the Heisman Trophy and were favored heavily to win their second national championship over #2 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. In contrast to the jacket-and-tie Nittany Lions, Miami roamed around Tempe most of the week wearing camouflage fatigues and walked out in of a midweek steak fry attended by both teams in lockstep. Miami would end up committing seven turnovers in the course of the game, losing 14-10. There were two national perceptions that came from this: 1) that Miami was a renegade football program and 2) that Jimmy Johnson wasn't capable of winning the big one".

With 1986's team leaders Testaverde, Alonzo Highsmith and Jerome Brown gone to the NFL, Miami inserted sophmore QB Steve Walsh as their new starter. Despite the loss of the dominant DT Brown, Johnson felt that his defense was the best in the nation. Only one time that season would Miami give up more than 17 points, and that was to rival Florida State, who by this time were also a Top-5 team in their own right. Miami started the year with a 31-4 farewell beating (It wouldn't be until the 2001 Sugar Bowl that the two schools would play again) with Florida's only points coming on two punt snaps by Miami that sailed out of the end zone for safties and a 51-7 drubbing of Johnson's alma matter . After a midseason scare from an excellent Florida State team, from which Miami had to come back from a late 19-3 deficit to win 26-25, Miami rolled to an Orange Bowl birth with another matchup versus top-ranked Oklahoma. Miami proceeded to limit Oklahoma to under 200 rushing yards and win 20-14 to win their second National Championship.

Miami started their 1988 season with a convincing 31-0 win over top-ranked Florida State and after escaping with a victory in Ann Arbour versus Michigan ran into South Bend and the start of the infamous "Catholics vs. Convicts" rivalry. On this day, Miami would lose a nail-biter to Notre Dame 31-30, a game that was painted by both a pre-game fight in the tunnel between the two teams and a couple of shoddy referee calls on both sides. Having lost to Notre Dame, Miami went 10-1 for the season but had to settle on an Orange Bowl birth versus Nebraska (won handily by Miami) rather than getting a rematch versus Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Dennis Erickson 1989-1994

Not long after the 1988 season ended, a whirlwind story appeared regarding the purchase of the Dallas Cowboys by an Arkansas oil prospecter named Jerry Jones. Jones' first order of business was removing Tom Landry as head coach and offering the job to Johnson, his former teammate at The University of Arkansas. Johnson accepted, and once again Miami was forced to scramble to find a head coach. Again, they bypassed their own staff in hiring a relative unknown coach, this time Washington State head coach Dennis Erickson. With Steve Walsh also gone to the NFL supplemental draft, Miami's new starting QB would be Craig Erickson, although future Heisman winner Gino Torretta would start a few games due to injury this season. Led by All-American Cortez Kennedy, Miami's defense from 1989 is considered to be one of its best in school history, only giving up one touchdown in one 10-quarter stretch. Despite a midseason loss to Florida State, Miami would gain a large measure of revenge versus Notre Dame in front of a then-record crowd at the Orange Bowl, dominating the top-ranked Irish 27-10. However, it was Notre Dame chosen to play in the Orange Bowl to play #1 Colorado, and Miami had to settle for Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Ironically, Notre Dame paved the way for Miami to win its third National Championship by defeating Colorado in the Orange Bowl, and Miami defeated Alabama 33-25.

In 1990, Miami would open the year with a loss to BYU and eventual Heisman winner Ty Detmer and later on in the year lose their final encounter with Notre Dame (to date, Miami and Notre Dame haven't played since) to a 9-2 record. Miami was then invited to the Cotton Bowl to play #3 Texas, a team that the week before the game, began to produce a number of quotes (mainly by Texas OT Stan Thomas and Texas DB Stanley Richards) that would end up on Miami's locker room wall. Miami's response was a 5-turnover, 9-sack 46-3 blowout. Although Miami's dominance was marred by amassing 206 penalty yards and taunting Texas at every opportunity. So much so that the NCAA redefined most of their taunting rules (known among some circles as "The Miami Rule") the following offseason.

With Gino Toretta now as the full-time starter, Miami would roll through its first 8 games leading up to a high-noon showdown versus #1 Florida State in Tallahassee. FSU would jump out to a 16-7 lead going into the 4th quarter, from which Miami would come back to score 10 4th quarter points to make it 17-16. FSU attempted one last desparate drive and with time running out, Seminole kicker Gerry Thomas missed an attempted field goal to the right of the upright, which would be the first of repeated instances where FSU would lose to Miami due to a missed field goal. However, in looking unimpressive in their last two wins versus Boston College and San Diego State, some voters were compelled to vote for undefeated Washington at #1. Because of Washington's Pac-10 commitment to play Michigan in the Rose Bowl, Washington and Miami would not end up playing for an undisputed national championship, with both schools splitting the two major polls, giving both schools claim to a National Championship.

The following year would be one of ups and downs, even in the process of Gino Toretta winning the 1992 Heisman Trophy and Miami going through the regular season undefeated and at #1 leading into the Sugar Bowl versus #2 Alabama. The aftermath of Hurricane Andrew was a year-long distraction, with Erickson even taking in several Miami players into his home because their own homes were destroyed. Also, after nearly losing to unhearlded , Miami also barely defeated Florida State, who missed a game-tying field goal attempt wide to the right yet again. Miami's luck ran out versus the hard-nosed defense of Alabama, who dominated Miami in the Sugar Bowl to win the national title by a score of 34-13.

2001 National Champions

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes are considered one of the greatest teams in college football history, and some would argue the greatest. [link]

In 2000, Miami was shut out of the Orange Bowl BCS National Championship Game by the BCS computers. Despite Miami beating Florida State head-to-head that season and being higher ranked in both human polls, it was Florida State, and not Miami, that BCS computers selected to challenge the Oklahoma Sooners for the national championship (Oklahoma would win, 13-2). The experience led to alterations in the BCS rankings system to ensure that the situation would not repeat itself in the future. Nevertheless, Miami was left with a bitter sense of disappointment, believing they had been deprived of a national championship, and stewed over an early-season loss at Washington, 34-29, that was their only slipup in an 11-1 campaign. That off-season, the team resolved to take the matter entirely out of the discretion of the computers by going a perfect 12-0. However, they had to do so under a new head coach, Larry Coker, who was named to the post after Butch Davis left to become head coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns.

University of Miami head coach Larry Coker hoisting the 2001 National Championship Trophy, Miami's fifth in a span of 18 years.
University of Miami head coach Larry Coker hoisting the 2001 National Championship Trophy, Miami's fifth in a span of 18 years.

Led by quarterback Ken Dorsey, running back Clinton Portis, free safety Ed Reed, tight end Jeremy Shockey, and offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, Miami dominated the 2001 season from start to finish.

The Hurricanes began the season with a nationally televised primetime rout of Penn State in Beaver Stadium. After the Hurricanes put together a 30-0 halftime lead, coach Coker pulled his starters and Miami cruised in the second half to a 33-7 victory. The 26-point margin tied for Penn State's worst home loss under Joe Paterno. Miami followed up the victory with blowout wins over Rutgers, Pitt, and Troy State University. After building up a 4-0 record, the 'Canes defeated Florida State in Doak Campbell Stadium, 49-27, ending the Seminoles' 54-game home unbeaten streak and 37-game home winning streak. The 'Canes then defeated West Virginia, 45-3, and Temple, 38-0, before heading to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College.

Miami was put to the test against Boston College. After jumping out to a 9-0 lead over the Eagles, Miami's offense began to sputter as Dorsey struggled with the swirling winds, throwing four interceptions. The Hurricane defense picked up the slack by limiting BC to just seven points. However, in the final minute of the fourth quarter, with Miami clinging to a 12-7 lead, BC quarterback Brian St. Pierre led the Eagles from their own 30-yard line all the way down to the Hurricanes' 9. With BC on the verge of a momentous upset, St. Pierre attempted to pass to receiver Ryan Read at the Miami 2-yard line. However, the ball ricocheted off the leg of Miami cornerback Mike Rumph, landing in the hands of defensive end Matt Walters. Walters ran ten yards with the ball before teammate Ed Reed grabbed the ball out of his hands at around the Miami 20-yard line and raced the remaining 80-yards for a touchdown, icing an 18-7 victory for the Hurricanes.

After surviving the scare from Boston College, Miami played inspired and utterly dominating football, demolishing #14 Syracuse, 59-0, and #12 Washington, 65-7, in consecutive weeks. The combined 124-7 score is an NCAA record for largest margin of victory over consecutive ranked opponents.

The final hurdle to the Rose Bowl BCS National Championship Game was at Virginia Tech. Miami jumped on Virginia Tech, leading 20-3 at halftime, 23-10 after three, and 26-10 midway through the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech added a couple of late touchdowns, but it was not enough against a stiffling Hurricane defense and an offense that outgained Virginia Tech by 134 yards, gained 12 more first downs, and controlled the ball for nearly 10-minutes more than Hokies. Miami's 26-24 victory earned the top-ranked Hurricanes an invitation to the Rose Bowl to take on BCS #2 Nebraska for the national championship.

Nebraska proved to be no competition for Miami. Miami roared to a 34-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 37-14 rout of the Huskers to capture Miami's fifth national championship and put the finishing touches on a perfect 12-0 season. Dorsey passed for 362-yards and 3 touchdowns, while receiver Andre Johnson caught 7 passes for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Miami defense shut down Heisman-winner Eric Crouch and the Huskers offense, holding Nebraska 200-yards below its season average. Dorsey and Johnson were named Rose Bowl co-MVPs.

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes scored 512 (42.6 ppg) points while yielding only 117 (9.75 papg). The Hurricanes beat opponents by an average of 32.9 points per game, the largest margin in the school's history, and set the NCAA record for largest margin of victory over consecutive ranked teams (124-7). The offense set the school scoring record, while the stout defense led the nation in scoring defense (fewest points allowed), pass defense, and turnover margin. Additionally, the Hurricane D scored eight touchdowns of its own. Six players earned All-American status and six players were finalists for national awards, including Maxwell Award winner, Ken Dorsey, and Outland Trophy winner, Bryant McKinnie. Dorsey was also a Heisman finalist, finishing third.

Among the numerous stars on the 2001 Miami squad were: Dorsey; running backs Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Najeh Davenport, and Frank Gore; tight end Jeremy Shockey; wide receiver Andre Johnson; tackles Bryant McKinnie and Joaquin Gonzalez; defensive linemen Jerome McDougle, William Joseph, and Vince Wilfork; linebackers Jonathan Vilma and D.J. Williams; and defensive backs Ed Reed, Mike Rumph, and Phillip Buchanon. Additional contributors included future stars Kellen Winslow II, Sean Taylor, Antrel Rolle, Vernon Carey, and Eric Winston. In all, an extraordinary 16 players from the 2001 Miami football team were drafted in the first-round of the NFL Draft (5 in the 2002 NFL Draft: Buchannon, McKinnie, Reed, Rumph, and Shockey; 4 in 2003: Johnson, Joseph, McDougle, and McGahee; 6 in 2004: Carey, Taylor, Vilma, Wilfork, Williams, and Winslow; and 1 in 2005: Rolle).

2005 season

University of Miami quarterback Kyle Wright throws a pass against Clemson University.
University of Miami quarterback Kyle Wright throws a pass against Clemson University.

Miami began the 2005 season ranked #8/9 (USA Today Coaches Poll/AP Poll) after a 9-3 campaign in 2004 that ended with a 27-10 pasting of the rival Florida Gators in the Peach Bowl. However, Miami dropped its first game of the season at archrival Florida State, 10-7, when punter/holder Brian Monroe fumbled the snap on a 28-yard game-trying field goal attempt by kicker Jon Peattie with 2:16 left to play in the fourth quarter. Despite gaining 313 yards of offense to Florida State's 170, Miami lost to its archrival for the first time since 1999 (6 straight wins by Miami) due to three turnovers, two missed field goals, and a muffed hold on the game-tying field goal attempt. The Hurricanes rebounded by winning 8 straight games (including a 27-7 thumping of previously unbeaten Virginia Tech in Blacksburg) and climbed to the #3 spot in both polls. However, any hopes of a sixth national championship were dashed when the 'Canes were upset, 14-10, by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Orange Bowl on November 19 (the game was originally scheduled for October 22, but was postponed in the wake of a hurricane). The Miami offense, which had problems all season, sputtered badly against Georgia Tech and quarterback Kyle Wright was booed continuously during the second half of the game by the Orange Bowl crowd for his ineffective play. The loss also knocked Miami out of a spot in the innaugural ACC Championship Game. Miami finished the regular season at 9-2 (6-2 ACC), ranked #9 in both polls, and received an invitation to return to the Peach Bowl to face the 10th-ranked LSU Tigers. However, this trip to Atlanta was much different from the Hurricanes last, as Wright and the Miami offense struggled mightily once again, and the defense, which had been the top-ranked defense in Division I-A for most of the season, was shredded by the LSU offense. Miami was routed, 40-3, in the worst-bowl loss in the program's history. The 'Canes finished the 2005 campaign with a 9-3 record and ranked #18/17 (USA Today/AP).

Three-loss seasons at Miami are viewed as failures, and the season-opening loss to FSU and the bowl loss to LSU made the 2005 campaign particularly difficult for alumni and fans of the proud program to swallow. The Hurricane offense had been the center of criticism all season long (as well as during the two previous seasons). In particular, offensive coordinator Dan Werner, offensive line coach Art Kehoe, and quarterback Kyle Wright were assigned most of the blame. In the aftermath of the Peach Bowl loss, head coach Larry Coker fired four assistants: Werner, Kehoe, running backs coach Don Soldinger, and linebacker coach Vernon Hargreaves. The firing of Kehoe was particularly controversial, as he had been with the program as a player and then a coach for over 25-years and took part in all five of Miami's national championships.

With Miami failing to win a conference championship or go to a BCS bowl the last two years and not having won a national championship since 2001, it is widely assumed that Coker will be on the hot-seat in 2006 if he does not take Miami to a BCS bowl.

Football program controversies

While Miami has been hugely successful in collegiate football, the university's football program has sometimes been a source of controversy, including various violations and actions by players that have resulted in suspensions and negative publicity for the university.

1994: Pell Grant scandal

In 1994, Tony Russell, a former University of Miami academic advisor, pleaded guilty to helping more than 80 student athletes, 57 of whom were football players, falsify Pell Grant applications. The Pell grant scandal dated all the way back to 1989 and secured more than $220,000 in federal grant money. Miami lost seven scholarships as a result of a self-imposed sanction in 1995 and another lost another 24 from the NCAA over the next two years as a result of the scandal.

2004: 7th Floor Crew

In 2004, an informal hip hop music group called the 7th Floor Crew, reportedly comprised of several UM football players and named for the 7th floor of UM's Mahoney Residential Hall[link], recorded a lewd rap song[link], called "7th Floor Crew". The song ultimately fell into the hands of national media, including ESPN and Sports Illustrated. Sung to the beat of Aaliyah's "If Your Girl Only Knew," the song's lyrics are filled with lewd sexual and racial references. Following ESPN's coverage of the song and the role of several UM football players in creating it, the university issued a statement condemning its lyrical content.

2006 Season

2006 Schedule

Date Opponent TV Kickoff
Mon, September 4 Florida State ABC 8:00pm EST
Sat, September 9 Florida A&M TBA TBA
Sat, September 16 @ Louisville ABC 3:30pm EST
Sat, September 30 Houston TBA TBA
Sat, October 7 North Carolina TBA TBA
Sat, October 14 Florida International TBA TBA
Sat, October 21 @ Duke TBA TBA
Sat, October 28 @ Georgia Tech TBA TBA
Sat, November 4 Virginia Tech TBA TBA
Sat, November 11 @ Maryland TBA TBA
Sat, November 18 @ Virginia TBA TBA
Thu, November 23 Boston College ESPN 7:30pm EST
Sat, December 2 ACC Championship TBA TBA

\"The U\"

The University is colloquially known as The U by media, players, students, and fans. The University's nickname derives in part from its distinctive 'split-U' logo, which consists of a green half and an orange half of the letter "U" on a white background. The logo is featured prominently on the sides of Miami's football helmets. The split-U logo was selected as the University's official athletics logo in 1973, after the University's athletic department noted that a number of major colleges had the initials 'UM'. Seeking to distinguish itself, the University came up with the 'U' idea and adopted the split-U as its logo. [link]

The school is also nicknamed 'Quarterback U'. The 'Quarterback U' designation came about as a result of the football program turning out a number of high-profile quarterback prospects in succession, including Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, Steve Walsh, Craig Erickson, and Gino Torretta. Similar nicknames have been bestowed upon Penn State ("Linebacker U") and USC ("Tailback U").

The "Quarterback U" nickname has produced the recent variant, "NFL U" (see below).

\"NFL U\"

Miami has had great success in producing players who go on to the National Football League. The Hurricanes hold the record for most players selected in the first round in a single draft (6, in 2004); most first-round draft picks in a two-year period (11, from 2003 to 2004); most first-round draft picks in a three-year period (15, from 2002 through 2004); and most first-round picks in a four-year period (19, from 2001 through 2004). For the past 12 years, from 1994 through 2006, Miami has had at least one player selected in the first round of the NFL draft, a record unmatched by any other college or university.

This remarkable pipeline from Miami to the NFL has led to the university being dubbed "NFL U".

The following is a partial list of University of Miami football players who currently or previously played professional football in the National Football League:

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive ends

Defensive tackles

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Punters

:* (UM Sports Hall of Fame)

Ring of Honor

In 1997, the university established the 'Ring of Honor' as a way to honor outstanding players who have passed through the Hurricane football program. Players are added on a regular basis, by either decade or position played. Their names, as well as their numbers, are then permanently affixed for display on the face of the Orange Bowl's upper deck.

The inaugural class of 1997 included Jim Dooley, Ted Hendricks, George Mira, and Vinny Testaverde. These four players are the only ones in the history of the program to have their numbers retired by the university (on the basis that if the number of every great Miami player were retired, there would not be enough numbers left to issue to current players).

A second group of players were inducted in 1999: Ottis Anderson, Don Bosseler, Bernie Kosar, and Burgess Owens. No players have been inducted since, though the Ring of Honor remains an active tradition.

Team records

Consecutive Wins: 34, 2000-02
Consecutive Wins (Regular season games only): 41, 2000-03
Consecutive Wins at Home: 58, 1985-94 (NCAA record)
Consecutive Road Wins: 20, 1984-86
Consecutive Games Without Being Shutout: 188, 1979-96
Consecutive Shutouts of Opponent: 4, 1926, 1936, 1941

See also

External link: Official site

External links: Books on University of Miami football

 

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