Stadium Size, Football Droppers, and Deemphasizers: Carnegie Mellon

Carnegie Mellon University began in 1900 with funding from Andrew Carnegie. Commonly referred to as Carnegie Tech, a 1967 merger with the Mellon Institute resulted in today's incarnation. Carnegie Tech's football team arrived in 1906, primarily playing nearby small colleges and normal schools.

(1907 Carnegie yearbook)

That pattern remained the same for a few years, but a shift in the Skibos' (now Tartans) fortunes began in 1914 when they hired the former Chicago All-American Walter Steffen as head coach. Although Steffen remained a Chicago resident rather than moving to Pittsburgh, he slowly increased the program's competitiveness and scheduling. They played 3 or 4 big-time teams per year in the early 1920s and 4 to 6 per year from the mid-1920s through the 1930s.

As documented in the linked story, many of the program's high points came during Steffen's tenure, including victories over Knute Rockne's Notre Dame teams in 1926 and 1928. The late 1930s saw another ascendence under Bill Kern when they earned a Top 10 ranking, won the Lambert Cup for Eastern supremacy, and played in the 1939 Cotton Bowl.

Carnegie Tech’s 1938 football team and Cotton Bowl participants. (1939 Carnegie yearbook)

During their time at the top, the Tartans called Forbes Field or neighboring Pitt Stadium home.