FRANK “MUDDY” WATERS

An exemplary coach and role model, Frank “Muddy” Waters is one of the most respected football coaches in Michigan football history. His coaching career began at Walled Lake High School in 1950, before moving on to Albion High School. While coaching at Hillsdale College, his teams won 34 games in a row, a Division II record. Waters’ teams earned trips to the playoffs twice and also played in the 1957 Holiday Bowl. He was selected NAIA Coach of the Year in 1957, the same year Hillsdale was recognized by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club as the nation’s outstanding small college football team. Hillsdale record with Waters at the helm from 1954-73 was 138-46-5. In 1973, the college’s football stadium was named Frank Waters Stadium. One year later he accepted the head football coach position at Saginaw Valley State College and began building a football program. The next year they were recognized as a varsity team and by 1979 he had led them to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. That year he was selected Michigan Coach of the Year marking the eighth time in his illustrious career that he won the award. Waters concluded his coaching career at Michigan State University (1980-82). Outside of coaching Waters remained very involved in the game of football. He was a four-time chairman of the NAIA Football Advisory Committee and was president of the NAIA Football Coaches Association. Waters was named Michigan Coach of the Year eight times, received the Distinguished American Award by the Michigan Chapter of the National Football Foundation, and was enshrined in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame, NAIA Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.