The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Madison Bell

Madison Bell held SMU at Power Program II for 11 seasons.

67–39
1936–1949 · 1 stint
SMU
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerSMUPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakySMU, 1936: 5-4, Power Program III1936SMU, 1937: 5-6, Power Program III1937SMU, 1938: 6-4, Power Program III1938SMU, 1939: 6-3, Power Program III1939SMU, 1940: 8-1, Power Program III1940SMU, 1941: 5-5, Power Program III1941SMU, 1945: 5-6, National Program II1945SMU, 1946: 4-5, National Program II1946SMU, 1947: 9-0, Power Program III1947SMU, 1948: 9-1, Power Program II1948SMU, 1949: 5-4, Power Program II1949+0.0One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 1st career season — faster than 57% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #1 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

SMU, 11 seasons
+0.0
Power Program III → Power Program II.

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

10–9 against his rivals. Just 2–7 against Homer Norton.

Rivalry record
10–9–3
45.5% · 2 rivals
One-score games
24–17–8
49.0% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
TCU4–4–336%
Rice6–555%
The toughest matchup
vs. Homer Norton2–7
9 meetings, 1936–1947
’36 L’37 L’38 W’39 L’40 L’41 L’45 L’46 L’47 W
22% win rate across a real, 9-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Dynasty
0–1 0.0%
Blue Blood
0–1 0.0%
Power Program
8–16 33.3%
National Program
42–17 71.2%
Regional Program
4–1 80.0%

Coaching career

1936–1949
SMUcaretaker
Power Program II
Madison Bell held SMU at Power Program II for 11 seasons.

3rd-best SMU tenure of 18 by the numbers.

Succeeded by H.N. Russell (1950–1952).

67–39