The 1959 Eastern Michigan Hurons football team represented Eastern Michigan University in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1959 college football season.
[3] The Hurons had great success in the 1950s, winning IIAC conference championships in 1954, 1955 and 1957.
However, by 1959, Eastern Michigan had ceased granting athletic scholarships, even though IIAC rules permitted member schools to do so.
The school also banned recruiting and drastically reduced the football program's budget to $15,300.
"[4] Using non-scholarship athletes against IIAC schools with scholarship athletes, Trosko's Eastern Michigan teams were unable to compete and suffered a 29-game winless streak (0–27–2) between October 7, 1959, and October 27, 1962.