The Louisville Cardinals and Miami Hurricanes’ future matchups against each other have a little bit more meaning to them in the future.
On Monday, it was announced that the two ACC programs will now be a trophy game with “The Schellenberger Trophy” on the line for each matchup.
The trophy features a bronze version of Schellenberger’s famous cowboy boots.
Howard Schellenberger coached at Miami, Louisville, Oklahoma, and FAU over his head coaching career, but his best years came with the Hurricanes and Cardinals.
Schellenberger coached at Miami from 1979 through 1983, where he went 41-16 over five seasons and led the program to a national championship in 1983. Following the 1983 season, Schellenberger looked to join the USFL’s “The Spirit of Miami” as their general manager, head coach, part-owner, and president. He would resign just a few months into the job after the USFL shifted its schedule from the spring to the fall. However, by then, Jimmy Johnson was already named the next head coach at Miami.
After taking off the 1984 season, Schellenberger would take over the Louisville Cardinals program in 1985. The Cardinals had just two winning seasons in the ten years before he took over the program. It wouldn’t be a smooth operation for Schellenberger with the Cardinals; he would win just eight combined games in his first three seasons.
The Cardinals would win eight games alone in 1988 before going 6-5 in 1999. His best season with the program came in 1990, leading the Cardinals to a 10-1 record and a Fiest Bowl victory over Alabama; the Cardinals would finish 14th in the country that season, their best final ranking to that point in program history.
He stayed at Louisville until 1994, when he was hired to replace Gary Gibbs at Oklahoma, but resigned after one season in which he went 5-5-1. He would return to coaching in 2001 with Florida Atlantic, helping the school build its football program from scratch and make the transition from FCS to FBS. He would stay with the Owls until 2011.
The Schnellenberger Trophy
It's official! We are set to play Miami annually for the trophy, which features the boots worn by Coach Howard Schnellenberger. #GoCards pic.twitter.com/CPWEExUjKM
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) July 24, 2023
While Schellenberg is not in the college football hall of fame, mainly due to his 158-151-3 record (coaches must have at least a .600 winning percentage), very few head coaches have had impacts like Schellenberger.