List of Indiana Hoosiers head football coaches

The Indiana Hoosiers football team represents Indiana University in the Leaders Division of the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers compete as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 29 different head coaches since it began play during the 1887 season.[1]

The Hoosiers have played over 1,100 games over 122 seasons. Four different head coaches have led the Hoosiers to postseason bowl games: John Pont, Lee Corso, Bill Mallory and Bill Lynch. Indiana has a 3-6 record over 9 bowl games in which they have competed. The Hoosiers have been guided to the Big Ten Conference title twice: in 1945 by Bo McMillin and in 1967 by Pont. The 1967 season culminated in the Hoosiers first and only Rose Bowl appearance, a 14-3 loss to USC.

Pont spent the most seasons (14) as the Indiana head coach, but Bill Mallory has led the Hoosiers for the most games (149). Mallory took the program to six different bowl games, far more than any other coach in school history. The highest winning percentage by any coach is by Madison G. Gonterman, who lead the Hoosiers to a 12-3-1 record (.781) over two seasons in 1896-97. The lowest winning percentage for any coach in the modern era is by Bob Hicks, who went 1-8 (.111) in 1957, his only season at the helm.

In 2007, head coach Terry Hoeppner died of brain cancer.[2] Offensive coordinator Bill Lynch took over as head coach and led the 2007 Hoosiers to a 7-6 season, which included a last-second win over rival Purdue in the Bucket Game and a trip to the Insight Bowl. The bowl berth was the first for the Hoosiers in 14 years.[3]

The current head coach of the Hoosiers is Kevin Wilson, who was hired in December 2010.[4] Indiana is the first head coaching job for Wilson, who previously held assistant and coordinator positions at Miami (OH), Northwestern and Oklahoma. As the Sooners’ offensive coordinator in 2008, Wilson coached Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford.[5] Wilson was given the Broyles Award that season as the nation’s top assistant coach.[6]

In Wilson's first season, the Hoosiers went 1-11. Despite a young roster and a number of injuries, including losing starting quarterback Tre Roberson in the second game to a season-ending broken leg, Wilson’s Hoosiers went 4-8 in 2012. The following season, his Hoosiers improved to 5-7.

Coaches

Head Coach Years Seasons Record Pct. Conf. Record Pct. Conf. Titles Bowl Games vs Purdue
Arthur B. Woodford 1887–1888 2 0–1–1 .250
Evans Woollen 1889 1 0–1 .000
Billy Herod 1891 1 1–5 .167 0–1
None 1892–1893 2 3–6–1 .350 0–2
Ferbert & Huddleston 1894 1 0–4–1 .100 0–1
Dana Osgood & Wren 1895 1 4–3–1 .563
Madison G. Gonterman 1896–1897 2 12–3–1 .781 0–1
James H. Horne 1898–1904 7 33–21–5 .602 3–13–1 .206 0 0 3–3
James M. Sheldon 1905–1913 9 35–26–3 .570 7–25–2 .235 0 0 3–3–1
Clarence Childs 1914–1915 2 6–7–1 .464 2–7 .222 0 0 0–2
Ewald O. Stiehm 1916–1921 5 20–18–1 .526 5–10–1 .344 0 0 3–0–1
James P. Herron 1922 1 1–4–2 .286 0–2–1 .167 0 0 0–0–1
Bill Ingram 1923–1925 3 10–12–1 .457 3–8–1 .292 0 0 1–1–1
Harlan Page 1926–1930 5 14–23–3 .388 5–16–2 .261 0 0 1–4
Earle C. Hayes 1931–1933 3 8–14–4 .385 2–11–4 .235 0 0 0–3
Bo McMillin 1934–1947 14 63–48–11 .561 34–34–6 .500 1 0 9–4–1
Clyde Smith 1948–1951 4 8–27–1 .236 4–19 .174 0 0 0–4
Bernie Crimmins 1952–1956 5 13–32 .289 6–24 .200 0 0 0–5
Bob Hicks 1957 1 1–8 .111 0–6 .000 0 0 0–1
Phil Dickens 1958–1964 7 20–41–2 .333 8–27–2 .243 0 0 1–5–1
John Pont 1965–1972 8 31–51–1 .380 21–36–1 .371 1 1 2–7
Lee Corso 1973–1982 10 41–68–2 .378 28–52–2 .354 0 1 4–6
Sam Wyche 1983 1 3–8 .273 2–7 .222 0 0 0–1
Bill Mallory 1984–1996 13 69–77–3 .473 39–65–1 .376 0 6 7–6
Cam Cameron 1997–2001 5 18–37 .327 12–28 .300 0 0 1–4
Gerry DiNardo 2002–2004 3 8–27 .229 3–21 .125 0 0 0–3
Terry Hoeppner 2005–2006 2 9–14 .391 4–12 .250 0 0 0–2
Bill Lynch 2007–2010 4 19–30 .388 6–26 .188 0 1 2–2
Kevin Wilson 2011–present 3 10–26 .278 5–19 .208 0 0 2–1
Totals 1887–present 123 459–631–45 .424 199–466–24 .306 2 9 39–71–6

Notes

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