Dave McClain
Dave McClain went 83–61–6 as a head coach, 1971–1985, at Ball State and Wisconsin. Wikipedia’s season articles record two seasons differently (1973, 5–5–1 and 1974, 6–4); by them his record is 92–67–6. Share
Two seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1971–72 at Ball State (on file under another coach). They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 83–61–6 career
- Seasons
- 15
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1974 2–0
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Ball State * | 4–5–1 | ||||
| 1972 | Ball State * | 5–4–1 | ||||
| 1973 | Ball State | 0–3–1 (Wikipedia: 5–5–1) | ||||
| 1974 | Ball State | 2–0 (Wikipedia: 6–4) | ||||
| 1975 | Ball State | 9–2 | T–3rd | |||
| 1976 | Ball State | 8–3 | 1st | |||
| 1977 | Ball State | 9–2 | 3rd | |||
| 1978 | Wisconsin | 5–4–2 | 6th | |||
| 1979 | Wisconsin | 4–7 | T–7th | |||
| 1980 | Wisconsin | 4–7 | T–6th | |||
| 1981 | Wisconsin | 7–5 | T–3rd | Garden State Bowl L | ||
| 1982 | Wisconsin | 7–5 | 5th | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 1983 | Wisconsin | 7–4 | T–4th | |||
| 1984 | Wisconsin | 7–4–1 | T–4th | Hall of Fame Classic L | ||
| 1985 | Wisconsin | 5–6 | 8th |
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
Richard JohnsonNo. 11 pick, 1985- Darryl SimsNo. 20 pick, 1985
- Ray SnellNo. 22 pick, 1980
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 | 26 | 5–19–2 | 23% |
| Against top-10 teams | 11 | 3–8 | 27% |
| Against rivals | 26 | 14–11–1 | 56% |
| Conference games | 87 | 45–39–3 | 53% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 3 | 1–2 | 33% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 44 | 24–16–4 | 59% |
| At home | 69 | 44–23–2 | 65% |
| On the road | 58 | 29–27–2 | 52% |
| At neutral sites | 3 | 1–2 | 33% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 72 | 55–15–2 | 78% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 58 | 19–37–2 | 34% |
His own 130 games on file, 1973–1985, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bo Schembechler 1978–1985 | 1–7 | Michigan | 8 | |
| Earle Bruce 1979–1985 | 4–3 | Ohio State | 7 | |
| Hayden Fry 1979–1985 | 0–6–1 | Iowa | 7 | |
| Lee Corso 1978–1984 | 3–3 | Indiana, Northern Illinois | 6 | |
| Joe Salem 1979–1983 | 5–0 | Minnesota | 5 | |
| Dennis Green 1981–1985 | 4–1 | Northwestern | 5 | |
| Mike White 1981–1985 | 0–5 | Illinois | 5 | |
| Jim Young 1978–1981 | 1–2–1 | Purdue | 4 | |
| Terry Donahue 1979–1982 | 0–4 | UCLA | 4 | |
| Jim Tait 1974–1978 | 3–0 | Richmond | 3 |
Dave McClain’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Northwesternseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Northern Illinoisseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Minnesotaseries | 8 | 6–2 |
| Indianaseries | 8 | 5–3 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 8 | 5–3 |
| Ohio Stateseries | 8 | 4–4 |
| Michiganseries | 8 | 1–7 |
| Iowaseries | 8 | 0–7–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Crestline HS (OH) high school | Head coach | |
| 1961 | Bowling Green | Graduate assistant | |
| 1962 | Cornell | Assistant coach | |
| 1963–66 | Miami (OH) | Assistant coach | |
| 1967–68 | Kansas | Assistant coach | |
| 1969–70 | Ohio State | Assistant coach | |
| 1971–77 | Ball State | Head coach | |
| 1978–85 | Wisconsin | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Doyt PerryBowling Green
- Tom HarpCornell
- Bo SchembechlerMiami (OH)
- Pepper RodgersKansas
- Woody HayesOhio State
Assistants who became head coaches
- Dwight WallaceBall State
- Moe AnkneyBowling Green
- Glen MasonKent State, Kansas, Minnesota
- Jim HillesWisconsin
- Doug GraberRutgers, Montana State, Frankfurt Galaxy
- John O’GradyWisconsin River Falls
- Dick ScesniakKent State
- Mike FaragalliToronto Argonauts
- Ron McBrideUtah, Weber State
Worked under (5)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doyt Perry | Bowling Green | 1961 | Graduate assistant | |
| Tom Harp | Cornell | 1962 | Assistant coach | |
| Bo Schembechler | Miami (OH) | 1963–66 | Assistant coach | |
| Pepper Rodgers | Kansas | 1967–68 | Assistant coach | |
| Woody Hayes | Ohio State | 1969–70 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (9)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dwight Wallace | Ball State, 1971–73: offensive coordinator | Ball State | |
| Moe Ankney | Ball State, 1971–75: defensive backs coach | Bowling Green | |
| Glen Mason | Ball State, 1972: graduate assistant; 1974: defensive line coach | Kent State, Kansas, Minnesota | |
| Jim Hilles | Ball State, 1972–77: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Wisconsin, 1978–85: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Wisconsin | |
| Doug Graber | Ball State, 1976–77: defensive backs coach; Wisconsin, 1978–81: defensive backs coach | Rutgers, Montana State, Frankfurt Galaxy | |
| John O’Grady | Wisconsin, 1981–82: graduate assistant; 1985: special teams and offensive line coach | Wisconsin River Falls | |
| Dick Scesniak | Wisconsin, 1982: offensive line coach | Kent State | |
| Mike Faragalli | Wisconsin, 1982: wide receivers coach | Toronto Argonauts | |
| Ron McBride | Wisconsin, 1983–84: offensive line coach | Utah, Weber State |
Other assistants under him (4)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Dudley | Wisconsin, 1980–85: offensive coordinator | |
| Chuck Heater | Wisconsin, 1982–84: defensive backs coach | |
| Fred Jackson | Wisconsin, 1983–85: wide receivers coach | |
| Brian Borland | Wisconsin, 1985: graduate assistant |
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.