The Detroit Titans were the

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

team which represented the University of Detroit (now

University of Detroit Mercy The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Cath ...

) from

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. The team posted an undefeated season in 1928, staking a claim to a national title. The program was terminated in 1964 for financial reasons.

History

Under head coach

Gus Dorais Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais (July 2, 1891 – January 3, 1954) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. Dorais played college football at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913 at quarterba ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

, the Titans won all nine of their games. Several years later Parke H. Davis, considered to be a "major selector" by the NCAA, named the 1928 team to a share of the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. From 1922 on, the Titans played their home games at

University of Detroit Stadium University of Detroit Stadium, also known as U of D Stadium, Titan Stadium, or Dinan Field, was an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located on the campus of the University of Detroit in Detroit, Michigan. The stadium ...

(also known as U of D Stadium, Titan Stadium, and Dinan Field) near McNichols Road (Six Mile Road) and Fairfield Street on the university's McNichols campus. The football program had incurred large losses since 1951, and was discontinued after the 1964 season. At the time of the sport's termination, university president Rev. Laurence V. Britt stated that the institution "does not currently have and does not foresee any prospects of its having the substantial funds" required to continue the program.

Conference affiliations

Detroit was both independent and affiliated with the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

. * Unknown (1896–) * Independent (–1947) *

(1948–1956) * Independent (1957–1964)

Championships

National championships

Detroit won its only

in 1928, with Parke H. Davis selecting both Detroit and

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. The school claims this championship.

Head coaches

Notable personnel

Players in the NFL draft

References

External links

University of Detroit Football Collection
{{University of Detroit Mercy American football teams established in 1892 American football teams disestablished in 1964 1892 establishments in Michigan 1964 disestablishments in Michigan