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List of college football career coaching wins leaders

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This is a list of college football coaches who are the leaders in career wins. It is limited to coaches who have won at least 200 games at a four-year college or university program in either the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) or the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). If a team competed at a time before the official organization of either of the two groups but is generally accepted as a "college football program", it is included.

Historical overview

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As of the end of the end of the 2023 season, a total of 101 head football coaches have reached the milestone of 200 career coaching wins.

In the 100 years after the first college football game in 1869, only eight coaches reached the 200-win milestone. The only two who reached the mark before 1950 were Pop Warner, with 319 wins from 1895 to 1938 (mostly at Carlisle, Pittsburgh and Stanford), and Amos Alonzo Stagg, with 314 wins from 1890 to 1946 (mostly at Chicago).[1]

By 1970, another six coaches had reached the milestone: Ace Mumford, with 233 wins from 1924 to 1961 (mostly at Southern); Fred T. Long, with 224 wins from 1921 to 1965 (mostly at Wiley); Jess Neely, with 207 wins from 1924 to 1966 (mostly at Clemson and Rice); Cleveland Abbott, with 203 wins at Tuskegee between 1923 and 1954; Jake Gaither, with 204 wins at Florida A&M from 1945 to 1969; and Eddie Anderson, with 201 wins from 1922 to 1964 (mostly at Holy Cross).[1][2]

Though only eight coaches reached the milestone from 1869 to 1970, 93 coaches have reached the mark since then.

Leaders by category

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In overall career wins, the all-time leader is John Gagliardi with 489 wins, mostly at the NCAA Division III level.[3] Gagliardi began his head coaching career at Carroll in Helena, Montana in 1949 and moved in 1953 to Saint John's in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he served until retiring after the 2012 season. Joe Paterno, the head coach at Penn State from 1966 until his 2011 firing in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, is second with 409 wins. NCAA sanctions following the scandal had stripped him of all 111 Penn State wins between 1998 and 2011,[4] but the NCAA restored those wins on January 16, 2015 as part of a settlement of a lawsuit by the state of Pennsylvania against the NCAA.[5] Eddie Robinson, head coach at Grambling State from 1941 to 1997 with a two-season hiatus during World War II in which Grambling did not field a team, is third with 408.[2][3] Bobby Bowden is fourth with 377 wins.[3]

Among the coaches with 200 career wins, Larry Kehres has the highest winning percentage with .929 in 27 seasons (1986–2012) as the head football coach at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Seven others finished their careers with 200 wins and a winning percentage of .800 or greater: Pete Fredenburg (.856), Jake Gaither (.844), Tom Osborne (.836), Mike Kelly (.819), Joe Fincham (.815), Ron Schipper (.808), and Nick Saban (.804).[1][2] One active coach has 200 wins and a winning percentage of .800 or greater: Steve Ryan (.835).

Among coaches with at least ten seasons in NCAA Division I and its predecessors, the all-time leaders in wins are Paterno (409), Robinson (408), Bowden (377), Bear Bryant (323), and Pop Warner (319).

Considering wins in Division I FBS only—including wins with "major" programs before the 1978 split of Division I football, and wins in Division I-A/FBS after the split—the all-time leaders are Paterno (409), Bowden (377), Bryant (323), Warner (319), and Amos Alonzo Stagg (314).

The only coaches with 200 Division I FCS wins after the Division I split are Jimmye Laycock (242), Roy Kidd (223), Andy Talley (217), and Jerry Moore (215).

The all-time win leaders in NCAA Division II are Danny Hale (Bloomsburg and West Chester), Gaither and Chuck Broyles, and the all-time win leaders in NCAA Division III are Gagliardi and Kehres.

Among coaches expected to be active in 2024, the career wins leaders are Kevin Donley (348), Brian Kelly (283), and Mack Brown (282).[1][2]

The coaches with the most wins at one college are Gagliardi (465 at Saint John's), Paterno (409 at Penn State), Robinson (408 at Grambling), Kehres (332 at Mount Union), Ken Sparks (327 at Carson–Newman), Kidd (314 at Eastern Kentucky), Bowden (304 at Florida State) and Tubby Raymond (300 at Delaware).

Key

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* Expected to be active in the 2024 season
† Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach
†† Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player
††† Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach
200 wins with a Division I program (or historic equivalent)[n 1]

Coaches with 200 career wins

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Updated through end of 2023 season
Rank Name Years Wins Losses Ties Pct. Teams
1 John Gagliardi† 64 489 138 11 .775 Carroll (MT) (1949–1952), Saint John's (MN) (1953–2012)
2 Joe Paterno† 46 409 136 3 .749 Penn State (1966–2011)
3 Eddie Robinson†[n 2] 55 408 165 15 .707 Grambling (1941–1942, 1945–1997)
4 Bobby Bowden† 44 377[n 3] 129 4 .743 Samford (1959–1962), West Virginia (1970–1975), Florida State (1976–2009)
5 Kevin Donley* 46 355 155 1 .696 Anderson (IN) (1978–1981), Georgetown (KY) (1982–1992), California (PA) (1993–1996), Saint Francis (IN) (1998–present)
6 Ken Sparks 37 338 99 2 .772 Carson–Newman (1980–2016)
7 Larry Kehres† 27 332 24 3 .929 Mount Union (1986–2012)
8 Bear Bryant† 38 323 85 17 .780 Maryland (1945), Kentucky (1946–1953), Texas A&M (1954–1957), Alabama (1958–1982)
9 Pop Warner† 49 319 106 32 .730 Georgia (1895–1896), Iowa State (1895–1899), Cornell (1897–1898, 1904–1906), Carlisle (1899–1903, 1907–1914), Pittsburgh (1915–1923), Stanford (1924–1932), Temple (1933–1938)
10 Roy Kidd† 39 314 124 8 .713 Eastern Kentucky (1964–2002)
10 Amos Alonzo Stagg††† 57 314 199 35 .605 Springfield (1890–1891), Chicago (1892–1932), Pacific (CA) (1933–1946)
12 Frosty Westering† 40 305 96 7 .756 Parsons (1962–1963), Lea (1966–1971), Pacific Lutheran (1972–2003)
12 Larry Wilcox 42 305 153 0 .666 Benedictine (KS) (1979–2020)
14 Tubby Raymond†[n 4] 36 300 119 3 .714 Delaware (1966–2001)
15 Nick Saban 28 292[n 5] 71 1 .804 Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995–1999), LSU (2000–2004), Alabama (2007–2023)
16 Brian Kelly* 34 289[n 6] 106 2 .730 Grand Valley State (1991–2003), Central Michigan (2004–2006), Cincinnati (2006–2009), Notre Dame (2010–2021), LSU (2022–present)
17 Ron Schipper† 36 287 67 3 .808 Central (IA) (1961–1996)
18 Mack Brown†* 35 282 149 1 .654 Appalachian State (1983), Tulane (1985–1987), North Carolina (1988–1997, 2019–2024), Texas (1998–2013)
19 Frank Beamer† 35 280 144 4 .657 Murray State (1981–1986), Virginia Tech (1987–2015)
20 Monte Cater 37 275 117 2 .701 Lakeland (1981–1986), Shepherd (1987–2017)
21 Al Bagnoli 40 269 134 0 .667 Union (NY) (1982–1991), Penn (1992–2014), Columbia (2015–2022)
21 K. C. Keeler* 31 269 111 1 .707 Rowan (1993–2001), Delaware (2002–2012), Sam Houston State (2014–present)
22 Bob Ford[n 7] 45 265 191 1 .581 St. Lawrence (1965–1968), Albany (1973–2013)
23 Dennis Douds 45 264 204 3 .564 East Stroudsburg (1974–2018)
25 Roger Harring† 31 261 75 7 .771 Wisconsin–La Crosse (1969–1999)
26 Rick Giancola 39 260 143 2 .644 Montclair State (1983–2022)
27 Hank Biesiot 38 258 121 1 .680 Dickinson State (1976–2013)
28 LaVell Edwards† 29 257 101 3 .716 BYU (1972–2000)
28 Frank Girardi† 36 257 97 5 .723 Lycoming (1972–2007)
28 Andy Talley† 37 257 155 2 .623 St. Lawrence (1979–83), Villanova (1985–2016)
31 Tom Osborne† 25 255 49 3 .836 Nebraska (1973–1997)
31 Jim Malosky 40 255 125 13 .665 Minnesota–Duluth (1958–1997)
33 Steve Johnson 34 252 110 1 .696 Bethel (MN) (1989–2023)
34 Lou Holtz† 33 249 132 7 .651 William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State (1972–1975), Arkansas (1977–1983), Minnesota (1984–1985), Notre Dame (1986–1996), South Carolina (1999–2004)
34 Jimmye Laycock 39 249 194 2 .562 William & Mary (1980–2018)
36 Mike Kelly† 27 246 54 1 .819 Dayton (1981–2007)
36 Rob Ash 36 246 137 5 .640 Juniata (1980–1988), Drake (1989–2006), Montana State (2007–2015)
38 Billy Joe†[n 8] 34 245 127 4 .657 Cheyney (1972–1978), Central State (1981–1993), Florida A&M (1994–2004), Miles (2008–2010)
39 Jerry Moore† 31 242 135 2 .641 North Texas (1979–1980), Texas Tech (1981–1985), Appalachian State (1989–2012)
39 Mel Tjeerdsma† 27 242 82 4 .744 Austin (1984–1993), Northwest Missouri State (1994–2010)
41 Woody Hayes† 33 238 72 10 .759 Denison (1946–1948), Miami (OH) (1949–1950), Ohio State (1951–1978)
42 Steve Ryan* 23 236 46 0 .837 Morningside (2002–present)
43 John Merritt† 32 235 70 12 .760 Jackson State (1952–1962), Tennessee State (1963–1983)
44 Bo Schembechler† 27 234 65 8 .775 Miami (OH) (1963–1968), Michigan (1969–1989)
44 Chris Ault† 28 234[n 9] 108 1 .684 Nevada (1976–1992, 1994–1995, 2004–2012)
44 Rich Lackner 36 234 125 2 .651 Carnegie Mellon (1986–2021)
44 Bob Nielson* 32 234 127 1 .648 Ripon (1989–1990), Wartburg (1991–1995), Wisconsin–Eau Claire (1996–1998), Minnesota–Duluth (1999–2003, 2008–2012), Western Illinois (2013–2015), South Dakota (2016–present)
48 Ace Mumford† 36 233 85 23 .717 Jarvis Christian (1924–1926), Bishop (1927–1929), Texas College (1931–1935), Southern (1936–1942, 1944–1961)
48 Joe Taylor 30 233 96 4 .706 Howard (1983), Virginia Union (1984–1991), Hampton (1992–2007), Florida A&M (2008–2012)
50 Tim Murphy 36 232 134 1 .634 Maine (1987–1988), Cincinnati (1989–1993), Harvard (1994–2023)
50 Hayden Fry† 37 232 178 10 .564 SMU (1962–1972), North Texas (1973–1978), Iowa (1979–1998)
52 Pete Fredenburg 24 231 39 0 .856 Mary Hardin–Baylor (1998–2021)
52 Norm Eash* 37 231 133 1 .634 Illinois Wesleyan (1987–present)
54 Willard Bailey 37 230 150 7 .603 Virginia Union (1971–1983, 1995–2003), Norfolk State (1984–1992), Saint Paul's (VA) (2005–2010)
55 Mike Drass 25 229 61 1 .789 Wesley (DE) (1993–2017)
55 Jim Tressel† 25 229 79 2 .742 Youngstown State (1986–2000), Ohio State (2001–2010)
57 Steve Spurrier††† 26 228 89 2 .718 Duke (1987–1989), Florida (1990–2001), South Carolina (2005–2015)
58 John Luckhardt† 27 225 70 2 .761 Washington & Jefferson (1982–1998), California (PA) (2002–2011)
59 Joe Fincham 25 224 51 0 .815 Wittenberg (1996–2021)
59 Fred T. Long 44 224 145 31 .599 Paul Quinn (1921–1922), Wiley (1923–1947, 1956–1965), Prairie View A&M (1948), Texas College (1949–1954)
61 Walt Hameline[n 10] 34 223 139 2 .615 Wagner (1981–2014)
62 Jim Margraff 29 221 89 3 .711 Johns Hopkins (1990–2018)
63 Gene Carpenter† 32 220 90 6 .706 Adams State (1968), Millersville (1970–2000)
63 Larry Kindbom 37 220 149 1 .596 Kenyon (1983–1988), Washington (MO) (1989–2019)
65 Ted Kessinger† 28 219 57 1 .792 Bethany (KS) (1976–2003)
65 Ron Harms† 31 219 112 4 .660 Concordia (NE) (1964–1969), Adams State (1970–1973), Texas A&M–Kingsville (1979–1999)
67 Bill Cronin 25 218 65 0 .770 Georgetown (KY) (1997–2021)
67 Mike Feminis* 26 218 87 0 .715 Saint Xavier (1999–present)
67 Mike Ayers 33 218 160 2 .577 East Tennessee State (1985–1987), Wofford (1988–2017)
67 Ron Randleman 36 218 167 6 .565 William Penn (1969–1975), Pittsburg State (1976–1981), Sam Houston State (1982–2004)
71 Jim Christopherson 32 217 102 7 .676 Concordia (Moorhead) (1969–2000)
71 Fred Martinelli† 35 217 119 12 .641 Ashland (1959–1993)
71 Bill Zwaan 25 217 90 0 .707 Widener (1997–2002), West Chester (2003–2023)
74 Bill Snyder† 27 215 117 1 .647 Kansas State (1989–2005, 2009–2018)
75 Kirk Ferentz* 29 214 143 0 .599 Maine (1990–1992), Iowa (1999–present)
76 Danny Hale 25 213 69 1 .754 West Chester (1984–1988), Bloomsburg (1993–2012)
76 Dennis Franchione 30 213 135 2 .611 Southwestern (KS) (1981–1982), Pittsburg State (1985–1989), Texas State (1990–1991), New Mexico (1992–1997), TCU (1998–2000), Alabama (2001–2002), Texas A&M (2003–2007), Texas State (2011–2015)
78 Larry Korver 29 212 77 7 .729 Northwestern (IA) (1968–1994)
78 Bill Manlove† 32 212 111 1 .656 Widener (1969–1991), Delaware Valley (1992–1995), La Salle (1997–2001)
78 Eric Hamilton 36 212 144 6 .594 TCNJ (1977–2012)
81 Sherman Wood* 32 210 118 1 .640 Bowie State (1993–1998), Salisbury (1999–present)
82 Mike Swider 24 209 52 0 .798 Wheaton (IL) (1996–2019)
82 Peter Mazzaferro 41 209 158 11 .567 Waynesburg (1959–1963), Curry (1963), Bridgewater State (1968–1986, 1988–2004)
84 Willie Fritz* 27 208 116 0 .642 Central Missouri Mules (1997–2009), Sam Houston State (2010–2013), Georgia Southern (2014–2015), Tulane (2016–2023), Houston (2024–present)
85 Jess Neely† 40 207 176 19 .539 Southwestern (TN) (1924–1927), Clemson (1931–1939), Rice (1940–1966)
86 Jim Butterfield† 27 206 71 1 .743 Ithaca (1967–1993)
86 Mike Maynard 32 206 91 1 .693 Redlands (1988–2021)
88 Carl Poelker 31 205 100 1 .672 Millikin (1982–1995), McKendree (1996–2012)
88 Harold Elliott 37 205 179 9 .533 Southwestern (KS) (1964–1968), Washburn (1969–1970), Emporia State (1971–1973), Texas–Arlington (1974–1983), Northwest Missouri State (1988–1993), Eastern New Mexico (1994–2004)
90 Jake Gaither†[n 11] 25 204 36 4 .844 Florida A&M (1945–1969)
91 Mike Van Diest 20 203 54 0 .790 Carroll (MT) (1999–2018)
91 Warren B. Woodson† 31 203 95 14 .673 Arkansas State Teachers (1935–1940), Hardin–Simmons (1941–1942, 1946–1951), Arizona (1952–1956), New Mexico State (1958–1967), Trinity (TX) (1972–1973)
91 Cleveland Abbott 31 203 96 28 .664 Tuskegee (1923–1954)
94 Don Nehlen† 30 202 128 8 .609 Bowling Green (1968–1976), West Virginia (1980–2000)
95 Vince Dooley† 25 201 77 10 .715 Georgia (1964–1988)
95 Eddie Anderson† 39 201 128 15 .606 Loras (1922–1924), DePaul (1925–1931), Holy Cross (1933–1938, 1950–1964) Iowa (1939–1942, 1946–1949)
95 Mike DeLong 34 201 139 2 .591 Maine Maritime (1979–1980), Springfield (MA) (1984–2015)
95 Keith W. Piper 39 201 141 18 .583 Denison (1954–1992)
99 Darrell Mudra† 26 200 81 4 .709 Adams State (1959–1962), North Dakota State (1963–1965), Arizona (1967–1968), Western Illinois (1969–1973), Florida State (1974–1975), Eastern Illinois (1978–1982), Northern Iowa (1983–1987)
99 Joe Glenn 28 200 134 1 .599 Doane (1976–1979), Northern Colorado (1989–1999), Montana (2000–2002), Wyoming (2003–2008), South Dakota (2012–2015)
99 Jim Sweeney 32 200 154 4 .564 Montana State (1963–1967), Washington State (1968–1975), Fresno State (1976–1977, 1980–1996)

Active coaches nearing 200 career wins

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This list identifies active coaches with at least 175 career wins; updated through end of 2023 season
Rank Name Years Wins Losses Ties Pct. Teams
* Paul Vosburgh 35 196 168 0 .538 William Penn (1985–1987), St. John Fisher (1991–present)
* Chris Creighton 27 191 114 0 .626 Ottawa (KS) (1997–2000), Wabash (2001–2007), Drake (2008–2013), Eastern Michigan (2014–present)
* Mike Sirianni 21 185 44 0 .808 Washington & Jefferson (2003–present)
* Dave Murray 33 184 155 0 .543 Cortland (1990–1996), Lebanon Valley (1997), Alfred (1998–2013), Hamilton (2014–present)
* Kevin Callahan 31 182 142 0 .562 Monmouth (1993–present)
* Rich Rodriguez 26 181 125 2 .591 Salem (1988), Glenville State (1990–1996), West Virginia (2001–2007), Michigan (2008–2010), Arizona (2012–2017), Jacksonville State Gamecocks (2022–present)
* Todd Knight 30 180 133 2 .575 Delta State (1993–1998), Ouachita Baptist Tigers (1999–present)
* Mark Farley 23 179 101 0 .639 Northern Iowa (2001–present)
* Chris Hatcher 24 178 100 0 .640 Valdosta State (2000–2006), Georgia Southern (2007–2009), Murray State (2010–2014), Samford (2015–present)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The list includes coaches with 200 wins regardless of division. Coaches with 200 wins at a Division I school (or historic equivalents) are designated with the referenced peach shading. The referenced shading has also been used for coaches with historic programs that were among the elite programs of their era. For example, Amos Alonzo Stagg's wins with the University of Chicago are included.
  2. ^ Although Robinson has 408 total wins at Grambling, he has only 154 NCAA Division I wins. Robinson's first two wins were before Grambling was an accredited college. When the NCAA first split into the University Division (predecessor to today's Division I) and College Division (predecessor to today's Divisions II and III) in 1956, Grambling became a member of the College Division, and remained at that level until the split of the College Division after the 1972 season. At that time, Grambling became a Division II school, and did not move to Division I until 1977. The following year, when Division I-AA was created, Grambling became a charter member of that group and has remained there to this day.
  3. ^ Bobby Bowden had 389 wins on the field. A March 6, 2009 NCAA ruling, which was appealed and then upheld on January 5, 2010, required Florida State to vacate 12 wins from the 2006 and 2007 seasons in relation to an academic scandal which resulted in using ineligible players.
  4. ^ Although Raymond has 300 total wins at Delaware, he has only 181 NCAA Division I wins. From 1966 to 1972, Delaware was in the College Division, and once the NCAA adopted its current three-division setup in 1973, Delaware became a Division II school. Delaware did not move to Division I-AA until 1980; they have remained at that level ever since.
  5. ^ Nick Saban had five wins vacated from the 2007 season in relation to an academic scandal regarding textbooks. Four football players were found to have used their scholarships to obtain free textbooks for friends and/or girlfriends.
  6. ^ In 2018, Notre Dame was forced to vacate all 13 games from the 2012 season, including their loss in the BCS National Championship Game, and all 9 wins from the 2013 season, including their victory in the Pinstripe Bowl.[6]
  7. ^ Although Ford has 265 total wins and 256 at Albany, he only has 98 NCAA Division I wins. Ford's first nine wins were at St. Lawrence, which was then in the College Division and is now in Division III. When Albany reinstated varsity football in 1973 with Ford as head coach, it did so as a Division III program; it joined Division II in 1995 and did not move to Division I-AA (now FCS) until 1999.
  8. ^ Although Joe has 245 wins, only 86 came at Division I Florida A&M; all other victories were with lower division programs.
  9. ^ In 1985, UNLV was forced to forfeit all 7 games from the 1983 season and all 11 wins from the 1984 season, including their victory in the California Bowl.[7] Ault and his team were given a win as a result.
  10. ^ Although Hameline has 223 total wins, all at Wagner, he has only 128 NCAA Division I wins. Wagner was a Division III school when he became head coach in 1981, and did not upgrade to the I-AA/FCS level until 1993.
  11. ^ Although Gaither has 204 wins at Florida A&M, FAMU did not move up to Division I until the creation of I-AA football in 1978, nine years after Gaither retired. All games coached by Gaither were designated as College Division games, either implicitly (games prior to 1956) or explicitly (1956 and later).

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "NCAA Career Statistics". NCAA. Retrieved June 21, 2010. (The NCAA Career Statistics database allows the viewer to obtain coaching records for all NCAA coaches by inputting the individual's name in the linked window.)
  2. ^ a b c d "NCAA Coaching Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2013. (The linked document is a report published by the NCAA listing the winningest coaches based on data through the end of the 2012 season. Updated information on coaches active in subsequent seasons is available through the other sources listed in the "References" section.)
  3. ^ a b c "All-Time Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010. (The referenced page reflects the updated information on the Top 10 winningest coaches. Records for other coaches are available in the database in alphabetical order through links from the referenced page.)
  4. ^ "Penn State sanctions: $60M, bowl ban". ESPN. July 23, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  5. ^ "Joe Paterno is now winningest coach". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  6. ^ Gartland, Dan (February 13, 2018). "Notre Dame Forced to Vacate Wins From National Runner-Up Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  7. ^ McCurdie, Jim (March 13, 1985). "UNLV Punished for Using Ineligible Football Players". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
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