Best coaches of all time.

[LynahFan]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

The Gophers under Don Lucia posted an 8 game NCAA post season winning streak from 2001-2004. No coach with 20+ years of D1 coaching experience and 2 or more NCAA titles has ever accomplished that.

Yeah, all those coaches from the 60s and 70s sucked - nary an 8 game NCAA win streak to be found.

What a silly metric - it's really only been possible since ~2002, and 3 guys have done it in 8 years.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Right, I corrected that. Thanks.

No worries, but this was actually his 21st year including his time at Miami

5 Season at Miami from '89-'94
16 Seasons at DU from '94-'10

[HarleyMC]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

No worries, but this was actually his 21st year including his time at Miami

5 Season at Miami from '89-'94
16 Seasons at DU from '94-'10

So I better add Gwoz into the stack:

Active coaches with 20 or more years of D1 coaching experience and 2 or more NCAA titles:

Rank Coach W L T Pct.
11 BERENSON, RED 673 310 68 .673
17 PARKER, JACK 815 413 101 .651
26 LUCIA, DON 521 291 82 .629
33 YORK, JERRY 821 529 89 .601
44 GWOZDECKY, GEORGE 429 311 65 .573
47 COMLEY, RICK 749 583 100 .558

[Hammer]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Quick note of housecleaning:

Harley, those totals are as of the beginning of last season. Berenson is at 699 wins now.

[HarleyMC]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Quick note of housecleaning:

Harley, those totals are as of the beginning of last season. Berenson is at 699 wins now.

Yeah I mentioned earlier they weren't updated but close for the sake of comparison. Do you have the updated numbers?

[Hammer]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

It might help if I read back more than a couple posts. That's completely on me.

I knew something wasn't right just by looking at Berenson's total. It seemed like he was going on 700 against Miami.

No, I don't have the numbers at hand. Yours seem to do the job for the moment.

[HarleyMC]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Active coaches with 20 or more years of D1 coaching experience and 2 or more NCAA titles (updated):

Rank Coach W L T Pct.
11 BERENSON, RED 699 328 69 .669
17 PARKER, JACK 834 429 104 .648
26 LUCIA, DON 539 310 84 .623
33 YORK, JERRY 850 539 92 .604
44 GWOZDECKY, GEORGE 456 321 69 .579
47 COMLEY, RICK 768 596 106 .558

Yeah, all those coaches from the 60s and 70s sucked - nary an 8 game NCAA win streak to be found.

What a silly metric - it's really only been possible since ~2002, and 3 guys have done it in 8 years.

I'm looking at NCAA post season winning streaks among active coaches with the following criterion: 1) 20+ years D1 coaching, 2) 2 or more NCAA titles, and 3) consecutive NCAA appearances. Under those criterion, only Lucia and Gwoz have accomplished that. Not an earth shattering stat, but interesting.

[Puck Swami]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Agree with the notion that you can't compare the 60s to today. It's getting increasingly harder to compare the 90s to today it seems.

It was plenty hard to win an NCAA title in the '60s too, when talent was more concentrated on top teams, there were less assistants/preparation tools and you didn't have as much interconference play.

Great coaches exist in all eras. Knute Rockne, John Wooden, and Bear Bryrant would be winners today just as they did yesterday. I think coaches like Heyliger, Armstrong, Mariucci, and MacInnes would be winners today in college hockey.

[Hokydad]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Shawn Walsh

[Ralph Baer]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Ned Harkness has to be in the discussion: 4 national titles at 2 different schools, 3 in hockey and 1 in lacrosse (RPI, 1952)! As a Cornellian, I have to think that his Cornell lacrosse teams (35-1 in his three seasons as coach) would have won a title or two if there had been a tournament (instead of a poll rife with southern snobbery).

Every school he touched (RPI, Cornell, Union) became a contender virtually overnight.

The RPI lacrosse national title was a poll, not a tourney. It was shared with UVA.

FWIW, Harkness also brought RPI's lacrosse team to England where they represented the US in the Olympics and finished 8-0-1 including pre-Olympic games in England. Lacrosse was a demo sport.

[yuber]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

How many wins Gino Gasparini? He had some pretty good squads at North Dakota.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

How many wins Gino Gasparini? He had some pretty good squads at North Dakota.

Speaking of Gino, He had a stretch of 8 consecutive NCAA wins in the early 80's as well. In fact, he had a stretch from '80-'87 where he was 14-1 in the NCAA Tournament. Not too shabby

[Eaglefan06]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Let me clarify one additional criteria: Don Lucia did it over three consecutive seasons without missing the NCAAs. As you pointed out, BC missed the NCAAs is 2009.



The criteria was 20+ yrs. of coaching D1 and 2 or more titles. If you include his time at Miami his tenure in D1 is 21 years, so you're right he does equal Lucia's streak from 2003-05.

That isn't true at all.

Lucia was 8-1 in those 3 tournaments. Lucia was 7-0 in 2002 and 2003. He was 8-1 in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

[UncleRay]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

I'm looking at NCAA post season winning streaks among active coaches with the following criterion: 1) 20+ years D1 coaching, 2) 2 or more NCAA titles, and 3) consecutive NCAA appearances. Under those criterion, only Lucia and Gwoz have accomplished that. Not an earth shattering stat, but interesting.

What you're looking at, then, is consecutive NC's. Conveniently constructed to include your guy, and exclude virtually everybody else.

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Best coaches of all time.

Great coaches exist in all eras. Knute Rockne, John Wooden, and Bear Bryrant would be winners today just as they did yesterday. I think coaches like Heyliger, Armstrong, Mariucci, and MacInnes would be winners today in college hockey.

I've always believed this as well. Great coaches (or leaders in any endeavor) know how to get the most out of whatever circumstances they find themselves in. If John Wooden could figure it out in the 1960s, or Knute Rockne in the 1920s, they would also have the requisite skills to analyze all that's before them and succeed today. Vision is vision. Hell, for the last 15 years I'd have dug Rockne out of his grave and taken my chances with him compared to what else I have seen around here...