ESPN: Statistical Look at Penn State Coach's Career
Joe Paterno is one of the only college coaches who has claimed 400+ wins.
Nov. 9, 2011— -- Joe Paterno is in his 46th season as Penn State head football coach and has joined John Gagliardi of St. John's (Minn.) and Eddie Robinson of Grambling as the only coaches with 400-plus wins.
Paterno is 84 years old, which ties him with Amos Alonzo Stagg as the oldest major-college football coach on record. Stagg was 84 for his final season (1946 at Pacific).
Below is a look at some notable benchmarks from his 60-plus year career:
1. Joe Paterno has been Penn State's head coach since 1966. His first game was on Sept. 17, 1966. Of the other current 119 head coaches in college football's FBS division, 31 had not yet been born when Paterno coached his first game.
2. Since 1966, there have been nearly 900 head coaching changes in college football's FBS division. While at Penn State, Paterno beat 80 different teams. Oklahoma and Florida are the only teams that Paterno has faced MORE than once without a win (0-2 vs both).
3. Paterno is scheduled to pass Amos Alonzo Stagg for most games coached in Division I this week against Nebraska. Both currently have 548 games coached.
4. With 409 career wins, Paterno is the winningest coach in major college football history. He has averaged 8.9 wins per season as Penn State's head coach. He also holds the NCAA records for most bowl appearances (37) and bowl wins (24). He is 24-12-1 in bowl games.
5. Joe Paterno's Penn State tenure (including 16 years as assistant coach) has spanned 61 years and 12 U.S. presidential administrations.
6. Allegations surrounding the handling of suspected abuse involving Joe Paterno's former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky continue to circulate. To find a timeline of these events, please click here.
Bographical Information/Career Facts
Born: Dec. 21, 1926 (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Alma Mater: Brown (class of 1950)
1st Season at PSU (asst. coach): 1950
1st Season at PSU (head coach): 1966
Career W-L: 409-136-3
Career Bowl W-L: 24-12-1
Perfect Seasons: 5 (1968, 1969, 1973, 1986, 1994)
National Championships: 2 (1982, 1986)
Big Ten Championships (since '93): 3 (1994, 2005, 2008)
U.S. presidents during PSU tenure: 9
U.S. presidents during PSU tenure*: 12
* since 1950
The statistics for this story were compiled by ESPN.
Related Stories
ABC News Live