MIAMI (AP) — Howard Schnellenberger is being remembered for reviving football at Miami and Louisville and starting the program at Florida Atlantic during a coaching career that spanned a half century. Schnellenberger died Saturday in South Florida. He had a career record below .500, but when it came to building, he was a winner. He led the Miami Hurricanes to the first of their five national championships in 1983, and coached Louisville to a Fiesta Bowl win over Alabama to cap the 1990 season. And as an assistant at Alabama, he recruited Joe Namath. Howard Schnellenberger was 87.
![Howard Schnellenberger, 87, Miami, Louisville coach, dies](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/02fab86/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1688+0+150/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4b%2Ff1%2F40b288974419b7a10d3e017001dc%2Fap21086509749112.jpg)
Joel Auerbach/AP
In this Dec. 23, 2014 photo, former Florida Atlantic and Miami head coach, Howard Schnellenberger holds the game balls prior to the start of the Boca Raton Bowl NCAA college football game between Marshall and Northern Illinois at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla. Schnellenberger, who coached Miami to the 1983 national championship and built programs at Louisville and Florida Atlantic, died Saturday, March 27, 2021, at the age of 87, Florida Atlantic announced. (AP Photo/Joel Auerbach)
![Howard Schnellenberger, 87, Miami, Louisville coach, dies](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/02fab86/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1688+0+150/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4b%2Ff1%2F40b288974419b7a10d3e017001dc%2Fap21086509749112.jpg)
Posted
and last updated
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.