Most national championships by coach

[Archangel]

What coach has won the most national championships? Tried googling but couldn't find much.

[sanantoniosooner]

John Wooden

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Football, my guess would be Frank Leahy or Bear Bryant.

[badger]

In football?

current coaches:

STOOPS!!! (1)
Mack Brown (1)
Pete Carroll (1)
Nick Saban (1)
Steve Spurrier (1)
Jim Tressel (1)
Llloyd Carr (1)
Phil Fulmer (1)
Joe Paterno (2)
Bobby Bowden (2)

I'm probably forgetting a few.

[OklahomaTuba]

Paul "Bear" Bryant. Won 6 of them I think.

[FaninAma]

Doesn't Alabama have about 4 coaches with at least 10 each to account for their 40+ claimed national titles?

How many did Knute Rockne have? Amos Alonzo Stagg?

[sooneron]

Ditka

[Octavian]

Paul "Bear" Bryant. Won 6 of them I think.

correct

[goingoneight]

Bob Stoops, you know... that OU coach who came in back in 1999 and coached until he won ten MNC's and set an NCAA record 100 consecutive wins...































































burp... I'm sober now.

[TopDawg]

If you start counting in '36 (when the AP started), these are the coaches with multiple ones:

Bernie Bierman: 2 (Minnesota)
Frank Leahy: 4 (Notre Dame)
Red Blaik: 3 (Army)
Bud Wilkinson: 3 (Oklahoma)
Woody Hayes: 5 (Ohio State, 4 of those are split NCs)
Bear Bryant: 6 (Alabama)
John McKay: 4 (USC)
Darrell Royal: 3 (Texas)
Ara Parseghian: 3 (Notre Dame)
Duffy Daugherty: 2 (Michigan State)
Bob Devaney: 2 (Nebraska)
Barry Switzer: 3 (Oklahoma)
Joe Paterno: 2 (Penn State)
Dennis Erickson: 2 (Miami)
Tom Osborne: 3 (Nebraska)
Bobby Bowden: 2 (Florida State)

[TopDawg]

OU and Notre Dame are the only ones with at least 2 coaches who have won at least 3 titles.

[Harry Beanbag]

Paul "Bear" Bryant. Won 36 of them I think.


Yep.

[TopDawg]

Doesn't Alabama have about 4 coaches with at least 10 each to account for their 40+ claimed national titles?

How many did Knute Rockne have? Amos Alonzo Stagg?

Pre '36 here's what you got:

Hurry Up Yost: 5 (Michigan)
Percy Haughton: 3 (Harvard)
Bill Roper: 2 (Princeton)
Bill Hollenback: 2 (Penn State)
Pop Warner: 2 (Pittsburgh) 1 (Stanford)
Andy Smith: 3 (Cal)
Gil Dobie: 2 (Cornell)
Wallace Wade: 3 (Alabama)
Howard Jones: 2 (USC)
Harry Kipke: 2 (Michigan)
Bernie Bierman: 2 (Minnesota) then he had two after '36

Amos Alonzo Stagg had 1.

[SoonerTerry]

I can't believe this post went to 10 before someone mentioned Barry and Bud

[Harry Beanbag]

Yale won 10 NCs from 1872 to 1887 with no head coach.

[TopDawg]

There were 22 years between Hurry Up Yost's 1st title and last title.

16 years for Woody Hayes.

[Harry Beanbag]

I can't believe this post went to 10 before someone mentioned Barry and Bud


Probably because neither one of them were the answer to the question.

[NorthernIowaSooner]

Frank Leahy won four or five at notre dame

[TopDawg]

In 1918, Pop Warner's Pittsburgh team won the College Football Researchers Association and the Helms Athletic Foundation National Titles with a record of 4-1-0. Michigan won the National Championship Foundation Title that year with a record of 5-0-0.

[NorthernIowaSooner]

i guess he won four, and two disputed ones, one at notre dame and one at boston college

[TopDawg]

The only multiple-loss team to win it was Murray Warmath's 1960 Minnesota squad with a record of 8-2-0. They split that year with Johnny Vaught's Mississippi squad.

[TopDawg]

Yale won 10 NCs from 1872 to 1887 with no head coach.

Lafayette was the only team that wasn't Yale, Harvard or Princeton to win a NC before 1901.

[Harry Beanbag]

Heh. Princeton won the 1869 title with a record of 1-1. They lost their regular season game with Rutgers 4-6, but came back the next week to whip the Scarlet Knights butt in the Championship game 8-0.

From 1869-1877 they won 6 NCs with a combined record of 8-1-1. Of course there were only like three schools playing football back then.

[Harry Beanbag]

Lafayette was the only team that wasn't Yale, Harvard or Princeton to win a NC before 1901.


I've got Penn winning two of them in the 1890s. The Ivy League was tougher than the Big 12 South back then. ;)

[TopDawg]

I don't see how we didn't win the title in '49...at least a split title.

Notre Dame was 9-0 pre-bowl and 10-0 after bowls. We were 10-0 and then 11-0. Plus, in our bowl game, we beat #9 LSU 35-0.

Also, in 1947, Notre Dame and Michigan finished 1, 2. Michigan beat #8 USC 49-0 in the Rose Bowl. After the game they had "an unprecedented 'Who's #1?" AP poll. Michigan won the vote 226-119, but the AP ruled that the Irish would remain the #1 team of record for the year.

[TopDawg]

I've got Penn winning two of them in the 1890s. The Ivy League was tougher than the Big 12 South back then. ;)

Oops, you're right. Missed those.

[Harry Beanbag]

I don't see how we didn't win the title in '49...at least a split title.

Notre Dame was 9-0 pre-bowl and 10-0 after bowls. We were 10-0 and then 11-0. Plus, in our bowl game, we beat #9 LSU 35-0.

Also, in 1947, Notre Dame and Michigan finished 1, 2. Michigan beat #8 USC 49-0 in the Rose Bowl. After the game they had "an unprecedented 'Who's #1?" AP poll. Michigan won the vote 226-119, but the AP ruled that the Irish would remain the #1 team of record for the year.


I think Beano Cook was the commissioner of the AP poll back then.

[TopDawg]

Check out WWII's affect on the Top 20 polls of 43 and 44.

43:

Notre Dame
Iowa Pre-Flight
Michigan
Navy
Purdue
Great Lakes Naval Station
Duke
DelMonte Pre-Flight
Northwestern
March Field
Army
Washington
Georgia Tech
Texas
Tulsa
Dartmouth
Bainbridge Navy Training School
Colorado College
Pacific
Penn

44:
Army
Ohio State
Randolph Field
Navy
Bainbridge Navy Training School
Iowa Pre-Flight
USC
Michigan
Notre Dame
March Field
Duke
Tennessee
Georgia Tech
Norman Pre-Flight
Illinois
El Toro Marines
Great Lakes Naval Station
Fort Pierce
St. Mary's Pre-Flight
Second Air Force

[TopDawg]

I think Beano Cook was the commissioner of the AP poll back then.

I thought he'd retired by then.

[Harry Beanbag]

Check out WWII's affect on the Top 20 polls of 43 and 44.


44:
Norman Pre-Flight



They beat OU that year. Bastards.

[TopDawg]

That rivalry had the potential to put Duke/UNC to shame.

[Octavian]

Woody Hayes: 5 (Ohio State, 4 of those are split NCs)


Hayes won 3.

'54
'57
'68

His other NC's weren't from one of the two nationally recognized polling services and are claimed by only the most homerish of Buckeyes.



1961: AP - Alabama, UPI - Alabama

Ohio St. was named champion by the Football Writers Association of America.



1970: AP - Nebraska, UPI - Texas

The Buckeyes were named champions by the National Football Foundation



If we want to go down that road, Barry won 7.

[Harry Beanbag]

That rivalry had the potential to put Duke/UNC to shame.


Yeah. I'm just glad we stopped playing the Dallas Athletic Club and the Honolulu Town Team. They owned our asses.

[TopDawg]

Hayes won 3.

'54
'57
'68

His other NC's weren't from one of the two nationally recognized polling services and are claimed by only the most homerish of Buckeyes.



1961: AP - Alabama, UPI - Alabama

Ohio St. was named champion by the Football Writers Association of America.



1970: AP - Nebraska, UPI - Texas

The Buckeyes were named champions by the National Football Foundation



If we want to go down that road, Barry won 7.

Well, several of those I listed were from those sources, so you might find more to knock out.

[TopDawg]

Re: Woody Hayes, the 1970 one is a stretch but the 1961 seems fairly reasonable at first glance.

[Octavian]

Well, several of those I listed were from those sources, so you might find more to knock out.

yeah, too many NC compilations are made up of from what the programs report about their own histories.

not many programs hold themselves to the same post-'36 standard as OU.

[TopDawg]

yeah, too many NC compilations are made up of from what the programs report about their own histories.

not many programs hold themselves to the same post-'36 standard as OU.

Yeah. It's sick. And it sucks when tv stations compare us to another school and give the other school credit for "X" number of titles because they claim "Y" number of non-AP or UPI titles, while not counting those same polls in our numbers.

[Octavian]

Re: Woody Hayes, the 1970 one is a stretch but the 1961 seems fairly reasonable at first glance.

Well, it was during the AP/UPI era and neither poll named them champ.

This is from buckeyeplanet.com, concerning the history of Ohio St.'s national championship teams.


As the Big Ten champion, Ohio State should have played in the Rose Bowl. However, in 1961, the league did not have a formal contract with the Rose Bowl, and thus its teams were not obliged to participate. After the football team won the conference title, Ohio State's faculty council, by a vote of 28-25, rejected the Rose Bowl invitation. In support of its decision, the council claimed that Ohio State had become too much of a "football school", and that athletics were overshadowing its academic reputation. The Buckeyes had to settle for a near-perfect 8-0-1 record, which placed them second in both major polls behind Alabama (11-0-0). Although the Buckeyes did not win either of the "recognized" national titles, they were named the champs by Football Writers Association of America; Ohio State claims a national championship for 1961.


http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33918

[Octavian]

Yeah. It's sick. And it sucks when tv stations compare us to another school and give the other school credit for "X" number of titles because they claim "Y" number of non-AP or UPI titles, while not counting those same polls in our numbers.

I hear ya, but I'm glad the OU fanbase doesn't claim bogus championships.

We don't need to, and it would diminish the real ones we earned.

If I was a fan of another major power like Bama, SC, Notre Dame, etc...I wouldn't want my fanbase claiming flimsy titles either.

[TopDawg]

Yeah, the almanac had that too. Crazy, eh? Can you imagine that happening today?

But I mean, it's not as crazy a claim as their 1970 one when they finished 5th in the AP poll.

[TopDawg]

I hear ya, but I'm glad the OU fanbase doesn't claim bogus championships.

We don't need to, and it would diminish the real ones we earned.

If I was a fan of another major power like Bama, SC, Notre Dame, etc...I wouldn't want my fanbase claiming flimsy titles either.

Yeah, but that AP stuff from 47 and 49 is kinda shady. They had a love affair with Notre Dame going on.

[OklahomaTuba]

Woody got the choking national championship as well. That has to count for something.

[garland sooner]

well then... my question is this:

if we were to claim "flimsy" national championships like ohio state, how many would we have?

[Octavian]

well then... my question is this:

if we were to claim "flimsy" national championships like ohio state, how many would we have?



Various organizations have named National Champions in college football since 1869. Utilizing the selectors as recognized by the NCAA, Oklahoma has been recognized for 16 different seasons: 2003, 2000, 1986, 1985, 1980, 1978, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1967, 1956, 1955, 1953, 1950 and 1949.

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=300&ATCLID=30520

[tommieharris91]

Spek for beating me to it.

[garland sooner]

if i have spek, i'd give it for finding it.

[bearcat_sooner]

Various organizations have named National Champions in college football since 1869. Utilizing the selectors as recognized by the NCAA, Oklahoma has been recognized for 16 different seasons: 2003, 2000, 1986, 1985, 1980, 1978, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1967, 1956, 1955, 1953, 1950 and 1949.

I only count 15..........I wonder what the other one is?

[Octavian]

I only count 15..........I wonder what the other one is?

hmm...I dunno, looks like the site left one off.

We were undefeated in '54, in the second year of the Streak. Maybe that one.

[8timechamps]

Didn't they mention that Tressle won 4 titles at Youngstown? Of course, that's not D-1, but still somewhat impressive.

The difference in Stoops and Tressle is that Stoops can really coach.

[BIG_IKE]

Technically....if you count from the beginning of College Football...Princeton and Yale have the most...they were having 15-0 , 16-0 seasons way back in the day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I-A_national_football_championship

[sanantoniosooner]

Technically....if you count from the beginning of College Football...Princeton and Yale have the most...they were having 15-0 , 16-0 seasons way back in the day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I-A_national_football_championship
The whole "retroactively awarded" thing is a little bogus.

[starrca23]

Chuck Norris is the only man to coach and win 10 titles...at the same time!

[picasso]

Pop Warner was Jim Thorpe's coach at Carlisle.

[BIG_IKE]

Percy Houghton won 3 for Harvard
and Wallace Wae won 3 for Bama

[BIG_IKE]

hmm...I dunno, looks like the site left one off.

We were undefeated in '54, in the second year of the Streak. Maybe that one.

Actually it was the 1957 Season.
We were picked by Berryman.


In 1954 OU, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Ohio State were undefeated.

Ohio State and UCLA ended up getting MNC honors, we were left out :mad:

[RiddlerOK]

Hayes won 3.

'54
'57
'68

His other NC's weren't from one of the two nationally recognized polling services and are claimed by only the most homerish of Buckeyes.

1961: AP - Alabama, UPI - Alabama

Ohio St. was named champion by the Football Writers Association of America.


1970: AP - Nebraska, UPI - Texas

The Buckeyes were named champions by the National Football Foundation

If we want to go down that road, Barry won 7.

Thanx for clearing this up. I get tired of hearing the mis-informed trump up their teams with fictitional championships that couldn't hold water on a national level.

[washington's fave]

Here is another list that breaks it down year by year and who won "name of polling service - enter here" MNC.

http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html

[SteelClip49]

Bernie Bierman: 2 (Minnesota)
Frank Leahy: 4 (Notre Dame)
Red Blaik: 3 (Army)
Bud Wilkinson: 3 (Oklahoma)
Woody Hayes: 5 (Ohio State, 4 of those are split NCs)
Bear Bryant: 6 (Alabama)
John McKay: 4 (USC)
Darrell Royal: 3 (Texas)
Ara Parseghian: 3 (Notre Dame)
Duffy Daugherty: 2 (Michigan State)
Bob Devaney: 2 (Nebraska)
Barry Switzer: 3 (Oklahoma)
Joe Paterno: 2 (Penn State)
Dennis Erickson: 2 (Miami)
Tom Osborne: 3 (Nebraska)
Bobby Bowden: 2 (Florida State)

Duffy Daugherty won 1 (1965); 1966 may be looked at as one but not nationally recognized. Notre Dame won both the AP and UPI. Woody Hayes won 3 national titles (2 were split). Ara P. won 2 in 66 and 73. Red Blaik won 2 in just 44 and 45 despite being undefeated in 46 but that title was Notre Dame. Minnesota coach Bernie Bierman won 5 national titles (3 since the AP began: 36, 40, 41.

[SteelClip49]

STOOPS!!! (1)
Mack Brown (1)
Pete Carroll (1)
Nick Saban (1)
Steve Spurrier (1)
Jim Tressel (1)
Llloyd Carr (1)
Phil Fulmer (1)
Joe Paterno (2)
Bobby Bowden (2)

Earlier post with active coaches winning a national championship^^^


Carroll has 2 despite what people say about the rules. It's an AP title and is legit. 2 others that are not mentioned up there: Howard Smellydrunkaberger (FAU Coach) with Miami in 1983 and Bobby Ross (Army Coach) with 11-0-1 Georgia Tech in 1990.

[badger]

STOOPS!!! (1)
Mack Brown (1)
Pete Carroll (1)
Nick Saban (1)
Steve Spurrier (1)
Jim Tressel (1)
Llloyd Carr (1)
Phil Fulmer (1)
Joe Paterno (2)
Bobby Bowden (2)

Earlier post with active coaches winning a national championship^^^


Carroll has 2 despite what people say about the rules. It's an AP title and is legit. 2 others that are not mentioned up there: Howard Smellydrunkaberger (FAU Coach) with Miami in 1983 and Bobby Ross (Army Coach) with 11-0-1 Georgia Tech in 1990.
you are new poster, welcome. you can hit "quote" on the bottom left corner of a poster's post in order to quote them. That way, no re-typing or copy/pasting necessary!

Carrol DOES NOT have two. That co-championship bs may fly in california, but NOT HERE.

[FrostySooner]

I think that USC is the modern day Bama. I was fully expecting for them to claim their third title in 4 years today because they beat Michigan and Ohio State lost to Florida which makes them the best because Florida really didn't deserve to be there. If so, the AP would probably powder their arses and give them the AP title just to glorify their program some more.