The best coaches in the NCAA
NCAA football, particularly Division IA, is one of the most competitive college sports. Many coaches have had winning seasons, but fans only remember the best. Bobby Bowden, forty-four years after coaching his first college game and after twenty-nine years with Florida State, is the winningest coach in NCAA history. His Seminoles were ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Top Five for fourteen consecutive seasons. His 1999 team was the first to advance from the opening game to the championship while maintaining his number one AP ranking the entire time. He ranks second in most bowl wins. When he took over in 1976, the Seminoles had won a total of just four games in three seasons. His career record with the Seminoles, playing against some of the toughest teams in the league, is 278-70-4.
Also considered a great NCAA coach is Joe Paterno. As he prepares for his 40th year with Penn State, he ranks second in all-time wins, behind only Bobby Bowden. He led the Nittany Lions to national championships in 1982 and 1986 and had five undefeated/unleashed seasons. Oh, and he’s the one Bobby Bowden is chasing for all-time bowl wins with a 20-10-1 record.
If NCAA football was a religion in Alabama, Paul “Bear” Bryant would be its messiah. He led the Crimson Tide to six national titles between 1961 and 1979. At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest coach of all time and also held the record for most bowl wins. Bear was known as a stern and serious trainer. He once suspended his star quarterback, Joe Namath, causing him to miss the 1964 Sugar Bowl.
But Bowden and Paterno, great as they are, may never be able to achieve the greatness that a certain Norwegian achieved while training at America’s most famous Irish Catholic university. Knute Rockne has been the subject of countless books and even a movie that featured a former president, Ronald Reagan, as his most famous player, George Gipp. Even people who don’t know much about football or Notre Dame surely know the “Win one for the Gipper” line. What Rockne could have accomplished will never be known. He was cut in the prime of it, dying in a plane crash at age 42. But in his short thirteen years at Notre Dame, he managed to compile a record of 105-12-5, including six national championships. That’s the most winning percentage (.881) of any NCAA football coach. He also created the unstoppable backfield known as the Four Horsemen who led the Fighting Irish to a 28-2 record. He was very loved not only by his players, but also by the fans.
Sure, there will be other great coaches in the NCAA’s future. But no one can ever forget these great men or their amazing achievements.
