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25 best college football coaches never to win a national title

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Oct 25, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder waits to lead his team onto the field before the start of a game against the Texas Longhorns at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder waits to lead his team onto the field before the start of a game against the Texas Longhorns at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 1, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Barry Alvarez reacts as gatorade gets dumped on him after they beat the Auburn Tigers in the 2015 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Auburn Tigers 34-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Barry Alvarez reacts as gatorade gets dumped on him after they beat the Auburn Tigers in the 2015 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Auburn Tigers 34-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
  • Head Coaching Record: 119-74-4 at Wisconsin 1990-2005 (2012, 2014 interim)
  • Closest He Came to Winning a National Championship: 1999; 10-2, won the Rose Bowl, No. 4 final ranking
  • Notable: Three Big Ten Championships (1993, 1998, 1999), 1993 AFCA and Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, 1993 and 1998 Big Ten Coach of the Year, College Football Hall of Fame

Every coach on this list has failed to win a national championship as a head coach, but several have built or rebuilt programs into national powers, then stuck around to become legends at their respective universities. Barry Alvarez fits that mold perfectly.

When Alvarez was hired as the head coach at Wisconsin following a successful stint as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame (in which he helped the Fighting Irish win the 1988 national title), the Badgers were just 9-36 overall over the previous four seasons. It took time for Alvarez to put a winning team on the field, but after posting a 1-10 record in 1990 and back-to-back 5-6 campaigns in 1991 and 1992, Wisconsin exploded with a  10-1-1 record in 1993, in which the Badgers earned a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1963 and finished the season ranked No. 6 by the Associated Press.

After a handful of mediocre seasons, Wisconsin won the Big Ten again in 1998 and 1999, and won the Rose Bowl in each season. The 1999 squad was the closest Alvarez would get to a national championship with the Badgers. They finished 10-2 and ranked No. 4. Following his fourth and final double-digit winning season in 2005, Alvarez retired from the head coaching position with a record of 118-73-4 and moved into a full-time role as athletic director.

Since his retirement, Alvarez has returned to the sidelines twice as interim head coach. He coached the Badgers in the 2012 Rose Bowl (a loss to Stanford), and again in the 2014 Outback Bowl victory over Auburn.

Next: Don Faurot

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