Ara Parseghian
Ara Parseghian went 146–54–6 as a head coach, 1951–1974, at Miami (OH), Northwestern and Notre Dame. His teams claim two national titles: Notre Dame in 1966 and 1973. Wikipedia’s season articles record four seasons differently (1951, 7–3, 1952, 8–1, 1954, 8–1 and 1955, 9–0); by them his record is 170–58–6. Share
One season our game records don’t credit to him comes from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1953 at Miami (OH) (on file under another coach). It’s marked in the table.
- Record
- 146–54–6 career
- Seasons
- 24
- Schools
- 3
- National titles
- 2 claimed: 1966 and 1973
- Hall of Fame
- 1980 inducted
- Best season
- 1973 11–0, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Miami (OH) | 1–1 (Wikipedia: 7–3) | 2nd | |||
| 1952 | Miami (OH) | 2–0 (Wikipedia: 8–1) | 2nd | |||
| 1953 | Miami (OH) * | 7–1–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1954 | Miami (OH) | 3–0 (Wikipedia: 8–1) | 1st | |||
| 1955 | Miami (OH) | 2–0 (Wikipedia: 9–0) | 1st | 20 | ||
| 1956 | Northwestern | 4–4–1 | 6th | |||
| 1957 | Northwestern | 0–9 | 10th | |||
| 1958 | Northwestern | 5–4 | 7th | 17 | ||
| 1959 | Northwestern | 6–3 | 5th | |||
| 1960 | Northwestern | 5–4 | T–5th | |||
| 1961 | Northwestern | 4–5 | T–7th | |||
| 1962 | Northwestern | 7–2 | 3rd | 16 | ||
| 1963 | Northwestern | 5–4 | T–5th | |||
| 1964 | Notre Dame | 9–1 | 3 | |||
| 1965 | Notre Dame | 7–2–1 | 9 | |||
| 1966 | Notre Dame | 9–0–1 | 1 | |||
| 1967 | Notre Dame | 8–2 | 5 | |||
| 1968 | Notre Dame | 7–2–1 | 5 | |||
| 1969 | Notre Dame | 8–2–1 | Cotton Bowl L | 5 | ||
| 1970 | Notre Dame | 10–1 | Cotton Bowl W | 2 | ||
| 1971 | Notre Dame | 8–2 | 13 | |||
| 1972 | Notre Dame | 8–3 | Orange Bowl L | 14 | ||
| 1973 | Notre Dame | 11–0 | Sugar Bowl W | 1 | ||
| 1974 | Notre Dame | 10–2 | Orange Bowl W | 6 |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
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John Huarte1964 Heisman- Nick EddyThird in the 1966 Heisman vote
- Jack SnowFifth in the 1964 Heisman vote
- Walt Patulski1971 Lombardi Award
- George KunzNo. 2 pick, 1969
Ron BurtonConsensus All‑American, 1959- Clarence EllisConsensus All‑American, 1971
- Tom RegnerConsensus All‑American, 1966
- Tom SchoenConsensus All‑American, 1967
- Dave CasperConsensus All‑American, 1973
- Greg MarxConsensus All‑American, 1972
- Larry DiNardoConsensus All‑American, 1970
13 more
Jack Cvercko (Consensus All‑American, 1962); Nick Rassas (Consensus All‑American, 1965); Peter Demmerle (Consensus All‑American, 1974); Tom Gatewood (Consensus All‑American, 1970); Mike Townsend (Consensus All‑American, 1973); Gerry DiNardo (Consensus All‑American, 1974); Dick Arrington (Consensus All‑American, 1965); Fate Echols (No. 6 pick, 1962); Kevin Hardy (No. 7 pick, 1968); Mike Fanning (No. 9 pick, 1975); Jim Seymour (No. 10 pick, 1969); Mike Kadish (No. 25 pick, 1972); Paul Seiler (No. 12 pick, 1967).
18 of the 31 players from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick, the best of each school he coached among them. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 52 | 20–28–4 | 42% |
| Against top-10 teams | 39 | 15–21–3 | 42% |
| Against rivals | 91 | 67–21–3 | 75% |
| Conference games | 54 | 22–31–1 | 42% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 5 | 3–2 | 60% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 61 | 32–24–5 | 57% |
| At home | 95 | 72–22–1 | 76% |
| On the road | 89 | 56–29–4 | 65% |
| At neutral sites | 13 | 11–2 | 85% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 133 | 111–21–1 | 84% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 64 | 28–32–4 | 47% |
His own 197 games on file, 1951–1974, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duffy Daugherty 1959–1972 | 6–7–1 | Michigan State | 14 | |
| John McKay 1964–1974 | 3–6–2 | USC | 11 | |
| Alex Agase 1965–1974 | 8–1 | Northwestern, Purdue | 9 | |
| Jack Mollenkopf 1956–1969 | 3–6 | Purdue | 9 | |
| Milt Bruhn 1956–1964 | 3–6 | Wisconsin | 9 | |
| Murray Warmath 1956–1963 | 4–3–1 | Minnesota | 8 | |
| Pete Elliott 1960–1974 | 5–1 | Illinois, Miami | 6 | |
| Woody Hayes 1956–1963 | 3–3 | Ohio State | 6 | |
| Phil Dickens 1959–1963 | 5–0 | Indiana | 5 | |
| Ben Martin 1964–1974 | 5–0 | Air Force | 5 |
Ara Parseghian’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan Stateseries | 16 | 8–7–1 |
| Purdueseries | 14 | 7–7 |
| Pittsburghseries | 11 | 11–0 |
| Navyseries | 11 | 11–0 |
| USCseries | 11 | 3–6–2 |
| Northwesternseries | 10 | 10–0 |
| Illinoisseries | 10 | 6–4 |
| Wisconsinseries | 9 | 3–6 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1964 Notre Dame: Eddie Robinson
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Miami (OH) | Assistant coach | |
| 1951–55 | Miami (OH) | Head coach | |
| 1956–63 | Northwestern | Head coach | |
| 1964–74 | Notre Dame | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Woody HayesMiami (OH)
Assistants who became head coaches
- Doc UrichBuffalo, Northern Illinois
- John PontMiami (OH), Yale, Indiana, Northwestern, Mount St Joseph
- Alex AgaseNorthwestern, Purdue
- Bo SchembechlerMiami (OH), Michigan
- Mike StockEastern Michigan
- Jerry WampflerColorado State
- Ed ChlebekEastern Michigan, Boston College, Kent State
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woody Hayes | Miami (OH) | 1950 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (7)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doc Urich | Miami (OH), 1951–55: assistant coach; Northwestern, 1956–63: assistant coach; Notre Dame, 1964–65: assistant coach | Buffalo, Northern Illinois | |
| John Pont | Miami (OH), 1953–55: assistant coach | Miami (OH), Yale, Indiana, Northwestern, Mount St Joseph | |
| Alex Agase | Northwestern, 1956–63: assistant coach | Northwestern, Purdue | |
| Bo Schembechler | Northwestern, 1956–57: assistant coach | Miami (OH), Michigan | |
| Mike Stock | Northwestern, 1961: freshman coach; Notre Dame, 1969–74: freshman and wide receivers coach | Eastern Michigan | |
| Jerry Wampfler | Notre Dame, 1966–69: line coach | Colorado State | |
| Ed Chlebek | Notre Dame, 1974: assistant coach | Eastern Michigan, Boston College, Kent State |
Other assistants under him (1)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Yonto | Notre Dame, 1964–74: defensive line coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.