Don Faurot Donald Burrows Faurot ( June 23 , 1902 – October 19 , 1995 ) was an American football and basketball player and coach . He served as the head football coach at the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College , now Truman State University , from 1926 to 1934 and at the University of Missouri from 1935 to 1942 and again from 1946 to 1956 . During World War II , Faurot coached the Iowa Pre - Flight Seahawks in 1943 and the football team at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in 1944 . He was also the head basketball coach at the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College from 1925 to 1934 , tallying a mark of 92 – 74 . Faurot lettered in three sports while at Missouri from 1922 to 1924 : in football , as a halfback , basketball and baseball . Faurot is credited with inventing the split - T formation . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1961 . The playing surface as Missouri ' s Memorial Stadium was named Faurot Field in his honor in 1972 . Early life and playing career . Faurot was born in Mountain Grove , Missouri on June 23 , 1902 to parents Frederick W . Faurot and Charlotte Burrows Faurot . He lost two fingers on his right hand in a boyhood farming accident , yet still became an accomplished multi - sport athlete . Faurot ' s association with the University of Missouri started when he was a young boy who would sneak into old Rollins Field to watch the Tigers play and practice . He was the eldest of four brothers to win a football letter at MU . Faurot was a three - sport letterman from 1922 to 1924 . A lightweight 145 - pound fullback in football , he also captained the basketball team and was an infielder in baseball . He was a member of FarmHouse Fraternity while attending the University of Missouri . Coaching career . Kirksville State . After college , Faurot was appointed head coach at Kirksville State Teachers College ( now Truman State University ) , where he spent nine years , from 1926 through 1934 , with a record of 63 wins , 13 losses and 3 ties . From 1932 to 1934 , his teams had a 26 - 0 record , the best small - college record in the country . During the run the team was the MIAA champion in 1927 , 1928 , 1929 , 1930 , 1932 , 1933 and 1934 . He also coached the basketball team to the 1927 MIAA championship . In 1933 , he lead KSTC to a 26 - 6 win against Missouri in Columbia , leading athletic personnel to take notice . This win , along with his MIAA conference titles in 1933 and 1934 led to the offering of the head coaching position at Missouri following the 1934 season . Missouri . In 1935 , Faurot was named head coach of the Missouri Tigers , where he would remain until 1956 except for three years of service in the United States Navy during World War II . At Missouri , he took over a team that had won only two games in three years and with the athletic program over $ 500 , 000 in debt . His major contributions were two - fold ; payment of the $ 500 , 000 debt through scheduling Ohio State over 9 of 11 years ( losing all games ) , and to football through his innovation of the Split - T offense at Mizzou in 1941 . In the post - World War II era , countless universities adopted the Faurot formation — most notably , Bud Wilkinson and Jim Tatum , who learned the offense first - hand while serving as his assistant coaches with the Iowa Pre - Flight Seahawks during World War II . More than 60 years later , it is still in vogue today at all levels of football . Several of football ’ s most notable formations — the Wishbone , Wingbone , Veer or I - attack and others — utilize Faurot ’ s option play as their basic concept . In 19 years as the Tiger football coach , Faurot ’ s record was 101 wins , 79 losses and 10 ties . His 1939 team , featuring All American " Pitchin ' " Paul Christman , won Faurot ’ s first Big Six title and a bid to the Orange Bowl . His 1941 team also won the Big 6 tile after a 45 - 6 drubbing of Kansas , and played in the Sugar Bowl . After a last - second win against arch - rival Kansas in 1956 , he stepped down as head coach and became athletic director . Under him , the Tigers won three conference titles and went to four bowl game s . When he retired as athletic director in 1967 , the program was in the black and the capacity of the football stadium ' s capacity had doubled to more than 50 , 000 through five different expansions . Honors . Faurot is a member of the National Football Foundation ' s College Football Hall of Fame , the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame , the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame , the Orange Bowl Hall of Honor , the Blue - Gray Game Hall of Fame , past president of the American Football Coaches Association , and recipient of the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award for his distinguished service in the advancement of the best interests of football . In 1972 , the Tigers ’ football playing surface was officially named Faurot Field — something he said probably rated as his greatest personal honor . As a graduate student in agriculture in 1926 , Faurot helped lay the sod on the field , prior to the opening of Memorial Stadium that fall . In 1995 , he placed the final square of sod as MU successfully converted the stadium ’ s floor back to natural grass . Through 1994 , Faurot was active as a talent procurer and coach for the annual Blue - Gray Football Classic in Montgomery , Alabama . He was secretary of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame for many years , and was also the executive secretary of the Missouri Senior Golf Association . He spent a term after his retirement as assistant director in charge of special events for the MU Alumni Association . Though he stepped down as athletic director in 1967 , he never really found a way to retire , maintaining an office at the Tom Taylor Building where he spent several hours nearly every day . He was a regular attendee at football practice until shortly before his death . He died October 19 , 1995 in Columbia , the week of the MU Homecoming . He was 93 years old .