List of college football coaches with 200 wins explained

This is a list of college football coaches with 200 career wins. "College level" is defined as 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

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]

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

Leaders by category

In overall career wins, the all-time leader is John Gagliardi with 489 wins, mostly at the NCAA Division III level. 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,^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] Bobby Bowden is fourth with 377 wins.^[5]

Among the coaches with 200 career wins, Larry Kehres has the highest winning percentage with 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] ^[4] 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] ^[4]

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

	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)

Coaches with 200 career wins

Updated through end of 2023 season

Name	Years	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.	Teams
^†	64	489	138	11		Carroll (MT) (1949–1952), Saint John's (MN) (1953–2012)
^†	46	409	136	3		Penn State (1966–2011)
^†	55	408	165	15			Grambling (1941–1942, 1945–1997)
^†	44	377	129	4			Samford (1959–1962), West Virginia (1970–1975), Florida State (1976–2009)
	45	348	153	1		Anderson (IN) (1978–1981), Georgetown (KY) (1982–1992), California (PA) (1993–1996), Saint Francis (IN) (1998–present)
	37	338	99	2		Carson–Newman (1980–2016)
^†	27	332	24	3		Mount Union (1986–2012)
^†	38	323	85	17		Maryland (1945), Kentucky (1946–1953), Texas A&M (1954–1957), Alabama (1958–1982)
^†	49	319	106	32		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)
^†	39	314	124	8		Eastern Kentucky (1964–2002)
^†††	57	314	199	35		Springfield (1890–1891), Chicago (1892–1932), Pacific (CA) (1933–1946)
^†	40	305	96	7		Parsons (1962–1963), Lea (1966–1971), Pacific Lutheran (1972–2003)
	42	305	153	0		Benedictine (KS) (1979–2020)
^†	36	300	119	3		Delaware (1966–2001)
	28	292	71	1		Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995–1999), LSU (2000–2004), Alabama (2007–2024)
^†	36	287	67	3		Central (IA) (1961–1996)
	34	283	103	2		Grand Valley State (1991–2003), Central Michigan (2004–2006), Cincinnati (2006–2009), Notre Dame (2010–2021), LSU (2022–present)
^†*	35	282	149	1		Appalachian State (1983), Tulane (1985–1987), North Carolina (1988–1997, 2019–present), Texas (1998–2013)
^†	35	280	144	4		Murray State (1981–1986), Virginia Tech (1987–2015)
	37	275	117	2		Lakeland (1981–1986), Shepherd (1987–2017)
	40	269	134	0		Union (NY) (1982–1991), Penn (1992–2014), Columbia (2015–2022)
	45	265	191	1		St. Lawrence (1965–1968), Albany (1973–2013)
	45	264	204	3		East Stroudsburg (1974–2018)
	30	262	109	1		Rowan (1993–2001), Delaware (2002–2012), Sam Houston State (2014–present)
^†	31	261	75	7		Wisconsin–La Crosse (1969–1999)
	39	260	143	2		Montclair State (1983–2022)
	38	258	121	1		Dickinson State (1976–2013)
^†	29	257	101	3		BYU (1972–2000)
^†	36	257	97	5		Lycoming (1972–2007)
bgcolor=#FFE5B4	^†	37	257	155	2		St. Lawrence (1979–83), Villanova (1985–2016)
^†	25	255	49	3		Nebraska (1973–1997)
	40	255	125	13		Minnesota–Duluth (1958–1997)
	34	252	110	1		Bethel (MN) (1989–2023)
^†	33	249	132	7		William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State (1972–1975), Arkansas (1977–1983), Minnesota (1984–1985), Notre Dame (1986–1996), South Carolina (1999–2004)
	39	249	194	2		William & Mary (1980–2018)
^†	27	246	54	1		Dayton (1981–2007)
	36	246	137	5		Juniata (1980–1988), Drake (1989–2006), Montana State (2007–2015)
^†	34	245	127	4		Cheyney (1972–1978), Central State (1981–1993), Florida A&M (1994–2004), Miles (2008–2010)
^†	31	242	135	2		North Texas (1979–1980), Texas Tech (1981–1985), Appalachian State (1989–2012)
^†	27	242	82	4		Austin (1984–1993), Northwest Missouri State (1994–2010)
^†	33	238	72	10		Denison (1946–1948), Miami (OH) (1949–1950), Ohio State (1951–1978)
^†	32	235	70	12		Jackson State (1952–1962), Tennessee State (1963–1983)
^†	27	234	65	8		Miami (OH) (1963–1968), Michigan (1969–1989)
^†	28	234	108	1		Nevada (1976–1992, 1994–1995, 2004–2012)
	36	234	125	2		Carnegie Mellon (1986–2021)
^†	36	233	85	23		Jarvis Christian (1924–1926), Bishop (1927–1929), Texas College (1931–1935), Southern (1936–1942, 1944–1961)
	30	233	96	4		Howard (1983), Virginia Union (1984–1991), Hampton (1992–2007), Florida A&M (2008–2012)
	36	232	134	1		Maine (1987–1988), Cincinnati (1989–1993), Harvard (1994–2023)
^†	37	232	178	10		SMU (1962–1972), North Texas (1973–1978), Iowa (1979–1998)
	24	231	39	0		Mary Hardin–Baylor (1998–2021)
	37	230	150	7		Virginia Union (1971–1983, 1995–2003), Norfolk State (1984–1992), Saint Paul's (VA) (2005–2010)
	25	229	61	1		Wesley (DE) (1993–2017)
^†	25	229	79	2		Youngstown State (1986–2000), Ohio State (2001–2010)
	31	228	125	1		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)
	23	228	45	0		Morningside (2002–present)
^†††	26	228	89	2		Duke (1987–1989), Florida (1990–2001), South Carolina (2005–2015)
	37	227	129	1		Illinois Wesleyan (1987–present)
^†	27	225	70	2		Washington & Jefferson (1982–1998), California (PA) (2002–2011)
	25	224	51	0		Wittenberg (1996–2021)
	44	224	145	31		Paul Quinn (1921–1922), Wiley (1923–1947, 1956–1965), Prairie View A&M (1948), Texas College (1949–1954)
	34	223	139	2		Wagner (1981–2014)
	29	221	89	3		Johns Hopkins (1990–2018)
^†	32	220	90	6		Adams State (1968), Millersville (1970–2000)
	37	220	149	1		Kenyon (1983–1988), Washington (MO) (1989–2019)
^†	28	219	57	1		Bethany (KS) (1976–2003)
^†	31	219	112	4		Concordia (NE) (1964–1969), Adams State (1970–1973), Texas A&M–Kingsville (1979–1999)
	25	218	65	0		Georgetown (KY) (1997–2021)
	33	218	160	2		East Tennessee State (1985–1987), Wofford (1988–2017)
	36	218	167	6		William Penn (1969–1975), Pittsburg State (1976–1981), Sam Houston State (1982–2004)
	32	217	102	7		Concordia (Moorhead) (1969–2000)
^†	35	217	119	12		Ashland (1959–1993)
	25	217	90	0		Widener (1997–2002), West Chester (2003–2023)
^†	27	215	117	1		Kansas State (1989–2005, 2009–2018)
	25	214	82	0		Saint Xavier (1999–present)
	25	213	69	1		West Chester (1984–1988), Bloomsburg (1993–2012)
	30	213	135	2		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)
	29	212	77	7		Northwestern (IA) (1968–1994)
^†	32	212	111	1		Widener (1969–1991), Delaware Valley (1992–1995), La Salle (1997–2001)
	36	212	144	6		TCNJ (1977–2012)
	24	209	52	0		Wheaton (IL) (1996–2019)
	41	209	158	11		Waynesburg (1959–1963), Curry (1963), Bridgewater State (1968–1986, 1988–2004)
	28	208	140	0		Maine (1990–1992), Iowa (1999–present)
	27	208	116	0		Central Missouri Mules (1997–2009), Sam Houston State (2010–2013), Georgia Southern (2014–2015), Tulane (2016–2023), Houston (2024–present)
^†	40	207	176	19		Southwestern (TN) (1924–1927), Clemson (1931–1939), Rice (1940–1966)
^†	27	206	71	1		Ithaca (1967–1993)
	32	206	91	1		Redlands (1988–2021)
	31	205	100	1		Millikin (1982–1995), McKendree (1996–2012)
	37	205	179	9		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)
^†	25	204	36	4		Florida A&M (1945–1969)
	20	203	54	0		Carroll (MT) (1999–2018)
^†	31	203	95	14		Arkansas State Teachers (1935–1940), Hardin–Simmons (1941–1942, 1946–1951), Arizona (1952–1956), New Mexico State (1958–1967), Trinity (TX) (1972–1973)
	31	203	96	28		Tuskegee (1923–1954)
^†	30	202	128	8		Bowling Green (1968–1976), West Virginia (1980–2000)
	31	202	117	1		Bowie State (1993–1998), Salisbury (1999–present)
^†	25	201	77	10		Georgia (1964–1988)
^†	39	201	128	15		Loras (1922–1924), DePaul (1925–1931), Holy Cross (1933–1938, 1950–1964) Iowa (1939–1942, 1946–1949)
	34	201	139	2		Maine Maritime (1979–1980), Springfield (MA) (1984–2015)
	39	201	141	18		Denison (1954–1992)
^†	26	200	81	4		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)
	28	200	134	1		Doane (1976–1979), Northern Colorado (1989–1999), Montana (2000–2002), Wyoming (2003–2008), South Dakota (2012–2015)
	32	200	154	4		Montana State (1963–1967), Washington State (1968–1975), Fresno State (1976–1977, 1980–1996)	Please do not update this list for one or a few active coaches unless you are prepared to update all active coaches in like kind and in a timely fashion. This list has been specifically dated with care and making partial updates impedes its overall maintenance.-->

Active coaches nearing 200 career wins

This list identifies active coaches with at least 175 career wins; updated through end of 2023 season

Rank	Years	Wins	Losses	Ties	Teams
Please do not update this list for one or a few active coaches unless you are prepared to update all active coaches in like kind and in a timely fashion. This list has been specifically dated with care and making partial updates impedes its overall maintenance.-->
	35	196	168	0	William Penn (1985–1987), St. John Fisher (1991–present)
	27	191	114	0	Ottawa (KS) (1997–2000), Wabash (2001–2007), Drake (2008–2013), Eastern Michigan (2014–present)
	21	185	44	0	Washington & Jefferson (2003–present)
	33	184	155	0	Cortland (1990–1996), Lebanon Valley (1997), Alfred (1998–2013), Hamilton (2014–present)
	31	182	142	0	Monmouth (1993–present)
	26	181	125	2	Salem (1988), Glenville State (1990–1996), West Virginia (2001–2007), Michigan (2008–2010), Arizona (2012–2017), Jacksonville State Gamecocks (2022–present)
	30	180	133	2	Delta State (1993–1998), Ouachita Baptist Tigers (1999–present)
	23	179	101	0	Northern Iowa (2001–present)
	24	178	100	0	Valdosta State (2000–2006), Georgia Southern (2007–2009), Murray State (2010–2014), Samford (2015–present)

Notes and References

Web site: NCAA Career Statistics. NCAA. 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.)
News: Penn State sanctions: $60M, bowl ban . . July 23, 2012 . September 27, 2013.
News: Joe Paterno is now winningest coach . Associated Press . ESPN.com . January 16, 2015 . January 16, 2015.
Web site: NCAA Coaching Records. 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.)
Web site: All-Time Coaching Records. College Football Data Warehouse. June 20, 2010. September 19, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100919012011/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/coach_records.php. dead. (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.)