SAGINAW, Mich. — Frank "Muddy" Waters, the College Football Hall of Fame coach who had a successful run at Hillsdale College and finished his long career at Michigan State, died Wednesday. He was 83.
Waters died of congestive heart failure in Saginaw, where he had lived several months at an assisted living facility after moving from the Lansing area, Hillsdale spokesman Brad Monastiere said.
Waters coached at Hillsdale from 1954 through 1973, spent the following five seasons at Saginaw Valley State, then was head coach at Michigan State from 1980-82.
Hillsdale won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in each of Waters' first seven years there. His 1955 team went 9-0 and gained national recognition for refusing to play in the Tangerine Bowl when bowl officials said the team's black players couldn't dress for the game in Orlando, Fla.
Waters' record at Hillsdale was 138-47-5. He started Saginaw Valley State's football program and led the Cardinals to a 24-26-2 record in five seasons. Waters finished his coaching career at his alma mater, Michigan State, where his Spartans went 10-23 in three seasons.