Madison Bell
Madison Bell went 151–88–17 as a head coach, 1920–1949, at Haskell, Carroll, TCU, Texas A&M and SMU. His 1935 SMU team claims the national title. Share
Three seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1920–21 at Haskell; 1922 at Carroll. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 151–88–17 career
- Seasons
- 26
- Schools
- 5
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1935
- Best season
- 1947 9–0–2, No. 3
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Haskell * | 7–2–1 | ||||
| 1921 | Haskell * | 5–4 | ||||
| 1922 | Carroll * | 3–4 | ||||
| 1923 | TCU | 4–5 | 3rd | |||
| 1924 | TCU | 4–5 | 8th | |||
| 1925 | TCU | 7–1–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1926 | TCU | 6–1–2 | T–3rd | |||
| 1927 | TCU | 4–3–2 | 5th | |||
| 1928 | TCU | 8–2 | T–3rd | |||
| 1929 | Texas A&M | 5–4 | 5th | |||
| 1930 | Texas A&M | 2–7 | 7th | |||
| 1931 | Texas A&M | 7–3 | 3rd | |||
| 1932 | Texas A&M | 4–4–2 | 4th | |||
| 1933 | Texas A&M | 6–3–1 | 4th | |||
| 1934: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1935 | SMU | 12–1 | 1st | Rose Bowl L | ||
| 1936 | SMU | 5–4–1 | 5th | |||
| 1937 | SMU | 5–6 | 6th | |||
| 1938 | SMU | 6–4 | 2nd | |||
| 1939 | SMU | 6–3–1 | T–2nd | |||
| 1940 | SMU | 8–1–1 | T–1st | 16 | ||
| 1941 | SMU | 5–5 | 5th | |||
| 1942–44: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1945 | SMU | 5–6 | 2nd | |||
| 1946 | SMU | 4–5–1 | T–5th | |||
| 1947 | SMU | 9–0–2 | 1st | Cotton Bowl T | 3 | |
| 1948 | SMU | 9–1–1 | 1st | Cotton Bowl W | 10 | |
| 1949 | SMU | 5–4–1 | 5th | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Doak Walker1948 Heisman- J.C. WetselConsensus All‑American, 1935
- Bobby WilsonConsensus All‑American, 1935
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 23 | 9–12–2 | 43% |
| Against top-10 teams | 11 | 3–7–1 | 32% |
| Against rivals | 67 | 31–26–10 | 54% |
| Conference games | 123 | 61–50–12 | 54% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 3 | 1–1–1 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 104 | 48–40–16 | 54% |
| At home | 129 | 91–34–4 | 72% |
| On the road | 95 | 43–41–11 | 51% |
| At neutral sites | 6 | 2–3–1 | 42% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 144 | 105–32–7 | 75% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 86 | 31–46–9 | 41% |
His own 230 games on file, 1923–1949, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homer Norton 1930–1947 | 5–9 | Centenary (LA), Texas A&M | 14 | |
| Dana Bible 1924–1946 | 6–5–2 | Texas A&M, Nebraska, Texas | 13 | |
| Ray Morrison 1923–1946 | 2–9–2 | SMU, Vanderbilt, Temple | 13 | |
| Morley Jennings 1926–1940 | 8–2–2 | Baylor | 12 | |
| Dutch Meyer 1935–1949 | 5–4–3 | TCU | 12 | |
| Fred Thomsen 1929–1941 | 4–5 | Arkansas | 9 | |
| Francis Schmidt 1924–1933 | 2–7 | Arkansas, TCU | 9 | |
| Jack Meagher 1929–1941 | 6–1 | Rice, Auburn | 7 | |
| Jess Neely 1940–1949 | 4–3 | Rice | 7 | |
| Clyde Littlefield 1927–1933 | 2–3–2 | Texas | 7 |
Madison Bell’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Riceseries | 20 | 13–7 |
| Texasseries | 20 | 11–7–2 |
| Baylorseries | 19 | 13–3–3 |
| Arkansasseries | 18 | 10–8 |
| Texas A&Mseries | 17 | 6–8–3 |
| TCUseries | 17 | 5–9–3 |
| SMUseries | 10 | 1–8–1 |
| Centenary (LA)series | 8 | 3–5 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920–21 | Haskell | Head coach | |
| 1922 | Carroll (WI) | Head coach | |
| 1923–28 | TCU | Head coach | |
| 1929–33 | Texas A&M | Head coach | |
| 1935–41 | SMU | Head coach | |
| 1945–49 | SMU | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Dutch MeyerTCU
- Joel HuntGeorgia, Wyoming, East Texas Baptist
- Vic HurtTulsa, Oklahoma Baptist
Coached under him, later head coaches (3)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Meyer | TCU, 1923–28: assistant coach | TCU | |
| Joel Hunt | Texas A&M, 1930–32: assistant coach | Georgia, Wyoming, East Texas Baptist | |
| Vic Hurt | SMU, 1935: assistant coach | Tulsa, Oklahoma Baptist |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.