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The best coaches in the NCAA

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NCAA football, particularly Division IA, is one of the most competitive college sports. Many coaches have had winning seasons, but fans only remember the greatest. Bobby Bowden, forty-four years after coaching his first college game and twenty-nine years with Florida State, is the winningest coach in NCAA history. His Seminoles ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Top Five for fourteen consecutive seasons. His 1999 team was the first to move from the opening game to the championship, maintaining their number one AP ranking the entire time. He ranks second in most bowl wins. When he took office in 1976, the Seminoles had won a total of just four games in three seasons. His career record with the Seminoles, playing with some of the toughest teams in the league, is 278-70-4.

Also considered a great NCAA coach is Joe Paterno. As he prepares to turn 40 with Penn State, he is 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 to win all-time in bowls with a 20-10-1 record.

If NCAA football were a religion in Alabama, Paul “Bear” Bryant would be its messiah. He led 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 the most bowl wins. Bear was known as a tough and no-nonsense coach. 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 coaching America’s most famous Irish Catholic university. Knute Rockne has been the subject of countless books and even a movie featuring a former president, Ronald Reagan, as its most famous player, George Gipp. Even people who don’t know much about soccer or Notre Dame surely know the phrase “Win one for the Gipper.” What Rockne may have accomplished will never be known. He was shot down in his prime, dying in a plane crash at age 42. But in his short thirteen years at Notre Dame, he managed to compile a 105-12-5 record, including six national championships. That’s the most winning percentage (.881) of any NCAA football coach. Also created was the unstoppable backfield known as the Four Horsemen that led the Fighting Irish to a 28-2 record. He was well loved not only by his players, but also by the fans.

Sure, there will be other great coaches in the future of the NCAA. But no one can forget these great men and their amazing achievements.

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