Barry Alvarez
Barry Alvarez went 118–75–4 on the field as a head coach, 1990–2014, at Wisconsin; 119–74–4 officially, with 1994 (8–3–1) after forfeits. Share
- Record
- 119–74–4 official; 118–75–4 on the field
- Seasons
- 18
- Schools
- 1
- Final AP top 10
- 3 seasons
- Hall of Fame
- 2010 inducted
- Best season
- 1999 10–2, No. 4
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Wisconsin | 1–10 | 10th | |||
| 1991 | Wisconsin | 5–6 | T–8th | |||
| 1992 | Wisconsin | 5–6 | T–6th | |||
| 1993 | Wisconsin | 10–1–1 | T–1st | Rose Bowl W | 6 | |
| 1994 | Wisconsin | 7–4–1 (8–3–1 official) | 4th | Hall of Fame Bowl W | ||
| 1995 | Wisconsin | 4–5–2 | T–7th | |||
| 1996 | Wisconsin | 8–5 | 7th | Copper Bowl W | ||
| 1997 | Wisconsin | 8–5 | 5th | Outback Bowl L | ||
| 1998 | Wisconsin | 11–1 | T–1st | Rose Bowl W | 6 | |
| 1999 | Wisconsin | 10–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 4 | |
| 2000 | Wisconsin | 9–4 | T–5th | Sun Bowl W | 23 | |
| 2001 | Wisconsin | 5–7 | T–8th | |||
| 2002 | Wisconsin | 8–6 | T–8th | Alamo Bowl W | ||
| 2003 | Wisconsin | 7–6 | T–7th | Music City Bowl L | ||
| 2004 | Wisconsin | 9–3 | 3rd | Outback Bowl L | 17 | |
| 2005 | Wisconsin | 10–3 | T–3rd | Capital One Bowl W | 15 | |
| 2006–11: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2012 | Wisconsin interim, bowl game | 0–1 | Rose Bowl L | |||
| 2013: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2014 | Wisconsin interim, bowl game | 1–0 | Outback Bowl W | 13 | ||
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.
Players he coached
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Jamar Fletcher2000 Jim Thorpe Award- Erasmus JamesConsensus All‑American, 2004
- Aaron GibsonConsensus All‑American, 1998
- Tom BurkeConsensus All‑American, 1998
- Cory RaymerConsensus All‑American, 1994
- Michael BennettNo. 27 pick, 2001
- Lee EvansNo. 13 pick, 2004
- Wendell BryantNo. 12 pick, 2002
- Kevin Stemke2000 Ray Guy Award
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 65 | 26–38–1 | 41% |
| Against top-10 teams | 25 | 6–18–1 | 26% |
| Against rivals | 30 | 16–14 | 53% |
| Conference games | 128 | 64–61–3 | 51% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 13 | 9–4 | 69% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 76 | 41–31–4 | 57% |
| At home | 102 | 67–32–3 | 67% |
| On the road | 80 | 41–38–1 | 52% |
| At neutral sites | 15 | 10–5 | 67% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 116 | 88–26–2 | 77% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 81 | 30–49–2 | 38% |
His own 197 games on file, 1990–2014, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Mason 1997–2005 | 7–2 | Minnesota | 9 | |
| Joe Paterno 1995–2005 | 5–4 | Penn State | 9 | |
| John Cooper 1990–2000 | 2–6–1 | Ohio State | 9 | |
| Gary Barnett 1992–2002 | 5–3 | Northwestern, Colorado | 8 | |
| Joe Tiller 1997–2005 | 4–3 | Purdue | 7 | |
| Kirk Ferentz 1999–2005 | 3–4 | Iowa | 7 | |
| Hayden Fry 1990–1998 | 2–5 | Iowa | 7 | |
| Lloyd Carr 1997–2005 | 1–6 | Michigan | 7 | |
| Ron Turner 1997–2004 | 4–2 | Illinois | 6 | |
| Jim Colletto 1991–1996 | 3–2–1 | Purdue | 6 |
Barry Alvarez’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesotaseries | 16 | 11–5 |
| Illinoisseries | 14 | 8–5–1 |
| Northwesternseries | 14 | 7–7 |
| Iowaseries | 14 | 5–9 |
| Purdueseries | 13 | 7–5–1 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 13 | 6–7 |
| Ohio Stateseries | 13 | 5–7–1 |
| Indianaseries | 12 | 7–5 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1993 Wisconsin: Bobby Dodd Award
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–73 | Lincoln NE HS (NE) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1974–75 | Lexington HS (NE) high school | Head coach | |
| 1976–78 | Mason City HS (IA) high school | Head coach | |
| 1979–86 | Iowa | Linebackers coach | |
| 1987 | Notre Dame | Linebackers coach | |
| 1988–89 | Notre Dame | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1990–2005 | Wisconsin | Head coach | |
| 2012 | Wisconsin | Interim head coach | |
| 2014 | Wisconsin | Interim head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Hayden FryIowa
- Lou HoltzNotre Dame
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bill CallahanNebraska
- Dan McCarneyIowa State, North Texas
- Jay NorvellNevada, Colorado State
- Paul WintersWayne State (MI)
- Rob IanelloAkron
- Brad ChildressMinnesota Vikings
- Lance LeipoldBuffalo, Kansas, Wisconsin Whitewater
- Jason EckNew Mexico, Idaho
- Jeff HortonNevada, UNLV, Minnesota
- Paul ChrystPittsburgh, Wisconsin
- Ron CooperEastern Michigan, Louisville, Alabama A&M, Long Island University
- Thomas HammockNorthern Illinois
- and 7 more
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayden Fry | Iowa | 1979–86 | Linebackers coach | |
| Lou Holtz | Notre Dame | 1987–89 | 1987: linebackers coach; 1988–89: defensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (19)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Callahan | Wisconsin, 1990–94: offensive line coach | Nebraska | |
| Dan McCarney | Wisconsin, 1990–94: defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | Iowa State, North Texas | |
| Jay Norvell | Wisconsin, 1990–94: offensive line, wide receivers and tight ends coach | Nevada, Colorado State | |
| Paul Winters | Wisconsin, 1990: running backs coach; 1991: tight ends coach; 1992–94: compliance | Wayne State (MI) | |
| Rob Ianello | Wisconsin, 1990–93: assistant coach; 2003–04: tight ends coach | Akron | |
| Brad Childress | Wisconsin, 1991–92: running backs coach; 1993–98: offensive coordinator | Minnesota Vikings | |
| Lance Leipold | Wisconsin, 1991–93: graduate assistant | Buffalo, Kansas, Wisconsin Whitewater | |
| Jason Eck | Wisconsin, 1999–2001: graduate assistant | New Mexico, Idaho | |
| Jeff Horton | Wisconsin, 1999–2005: quarterbacks coach | Nevada, UNLV, Minnesota | |
| Paul Chryst | Wisconsin, 2002: tight ends coach; 2005: co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | Pittsburgh, Wisconsin | |
| Ron Cooper | Wisconsin, 2002: defensive backs coach | Eastern Michigan, Louisville, Alabama A&M, Long Island University | |
| Thomas Hammock | Wisconsin, 2003–04: graduate assistant; 2012: assistant head coach and running backs coach | Northern Illinois | |
| Bret Bielema | Wisconsin, 2004–05: defensive coordinator | Wisconsin, Arkansas, Illinois | |
| Charlie Partridge | Wisconsin, 2012: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | Florida Atlantic | |
| Chris Ash | Wisconsin, 2012: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Rutgers | |
| Matt Canada | Wisconsin, 2012: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Maryland | |
| Cory Hall | Wisconsin, 2014: graduate assistant | Oregon State | |
| Dave Aranda | Wisconsin, 2014: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | Baylor | |
| Jeff Genyk | Wisconsin, 2014: special teams and tight ends coach | Eastern Michigan |
Other assistants under him (14)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Cosgrove | Wisconsin, 1990–94: inside linebackers coach; 1995–2003: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | |
| Russ Jacques | Wisconsin, 1990–91: offensive coordinator | |
| Bill Busch | Wisconsin, 1994: graduate assistant; 2014: special teams and defensive backs coach | |
| Brian White | Wisconsin, 1995–98: running backs coach; 1999–2005: offensive coordinator and running backs coach | |
| Phil Elmassian | Wisconsin, 1997–99: defensive backs coach | |
| Spence Nowinsky | Wisconsin, 1999–2002: graduate assistant | |
| Darrell Wilson | Wisconsin, 2000–01: special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach | |
| Eddie Faulkner | Wisconsin, 2012: tight ends coach | |
| Jon Budmayr | Wisconsin, 2012: student assistant | |
| Mike Markuson | Wisconsin, 2012: offensive line coach | |
| Zach Azzanni | Wisconsin, 2012: wide receivers coach | |
| Andy Ludwig | Wisconsin, 2014: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Chris Beatty | Wisconsin, 2014: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| Thomas Brown | Wisconsin, 2014: running backs 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.
How he coached
Alvarez’s teams went for it on 23% of fourth downs and on 42% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 40% of plays and took 26.3 seconds a play, 2004–2005.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 11 g | 25 of 93 27% | 48% | 38% | 26.4 | −0.12 | |
| 2005 13 g | 18 of 96 19% | 35% | 41% | 26.1 | +0.03 | |
| All 24 g | 43 of 189 23% | 42% | 40% | 26.3 | −0.04 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.