Claim: The 1894 Michigan State Normal Normalites football team was coached by Verne S. Bennett, an MSNS alumni and former president of the Normal Athletic Association and editor of the Atheneum Society.
Evidence: In their first and only season under head coach Verne S. Bennett, the Normalites compiled a record of 5–2 and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 176 to 70. He enrolled at Michigan State Normal School in 1891, and while in school he served as president of the Normal Athletic Association, and as editor of the Atheneum Society. As a senior, he gave a commencement oration on international law, which is recorded as being "especially fine."