| Year | Record | Championship |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | 6-4 | NWO Champions |
| 1927 | 5-2 | NWO Champions |
| 1929 | 4-2-1 | NWO Co-Champions |
| 1967 | 9-1 | MAC Co-Champions |
| 1969 | 11-0 | MAC Champions |
| 1970 | 12-0 | MAC Champions |
| 1971 | 12-0 | MAC Champions |
| 1981 | 9-3 | MAC Champions |
| 1984 | 9-2-1 | MAC Champions |
| 1990 | 9-2 | MAC Co-Champions |
| 1995 | 11-0-1 | MAC Champions |
| 1997 | 9-3 | MAC West Champions |
| 1998 | 7-5 | MAC West Champions |
| 2000 | 10-1 | MAC West Co-Champions |
| 2001 | 10-2 | MAC Champions |
| 2002 | 9-5 | MAC West Co-Champions |
| 2004 | 9-4 | MAC Champions |
| 2005 | 9-3 | MAC West Co-Champions |
Steeped in tradition, The University of Toledo football program has produced countless memorable players and great moments in its history.
From Mel Triplett in the 50’s to Chuck Ealey in the 70’s to Chester Taylor and Bruce Gradkowski in the 21st century, Rocket stars have put their unique stamp on college football history.
And whether it was the legendary 35-game winning streak from 1969-71, or the GMAC Bowl victory in 2005, Toledo’s football history is rich with highlights.
Rocket football dates back to 1917 when a group of Toledo University (as it was known then) students put together a football team with the help of a young professor, John Brandeberry. Toledo lost its first game to the University of Detroit by the incredible score of 145-0, but the foundation of the program had been established.
Prospects for Toledo gradually improved after that first season. Coach James Dwyer led Toledo to its first winning record and its first Northwest Ohio league championship in 1923. Eventually Toledo became a reliable football power, with just one losing season from 1933 to 1948.
Toledo joined the Mid-American Conference in football in 1952 and won its first MAC championship in 1967, but the Rockets really jumped onto the national map two years after that.
From 1969-71, Toledo captured the country’s eye by winning 35 consecutive games, three straight MAC championships and three straight Tangerine Bowl titles. In each of the three undefeated seasons, Toledo was ranked in the top 20.
The 35-game winning streak ended as the second-longest in major college football history, bettered only by a 47-game string put together by the great Oklahoma teams of 1953-57.
The most famous star of the A Championship Legacy 1969-71 teams was the legendary quarterback Chuck Ealey. Ealey earned MAC “Back of the Year” honors for an unprecedented three consecutive years and numerous All-America honors from AP, UPI and Football News magazine. Ealey also became the first player in MAC history to receive votes for the Heisman
Trophy, receiving 168 points for an eighth-place finish in 1971.
Toledo won its fifth and sixth MAC championships in 1981 and 1984, but it was in the 1990’s and 21st century that the Rockets really took off as a national presence. A major renovation of the Glass Bowl was completed in 1990, making the venerable old stadium one of the jewels of the MAC. The Rockets were coached in the 90’s by Gary Pinkel, who amassed a 73-37-3 record by departing for Missouri following the 2000 season. Pinkel’s teams won or shared four titles and cracked the top 25 three times in his final six seasons.
Taking the Rockets to even greater heights has been Tom Amstutz, a Toledo native and UT graduate who had spent 21 years as an assistant coach. Amstutz has led the Rockets to unprecedented success and popularity, winning two MAC titles, four division crowns, and leading the Rockets to four bowl games in seven years at the helm.
