30 Best College Football Coaches of All-Time
By Hayden Hyde
12. Bud Wilkinson
- Career Record: 145-29-4
- Record at Each School: 145-29-4 at Oklahoma.
- Bowl Record: 6-2
- Honors and Awards: Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969. 3 National Championships, 14 Big 8 Championships. 1949 AFCA Coach of the Year.
Bud Wilkinson was the head coach at Oklahoma from 1947-1963, which is where he etched his name in college football immortality. He moved up the ranks as an assistant coach at Syracuse, Minnesota, and Iowa Pre-Flight before he got his first, and only, college head coaching gig.
He started off his time at Oklahoma by winning a share of the conference title and he would continue that trend for the next 13 seasons. From 1947-1959, Oklahoma won their conference. That’s incredible to not even have one down year over more than a decade’s time.
In addition to his conference championships, Wilkinson collected three national championships in 1950, 1955, and 1956. Oklahoma only suffered one losing season under Wilkinson’s tenure. Oklahoma’s 47-game winning streak under Wilkinson is still the longest winning streak in college football and a record that may never be broken.
Wilkinson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969, and for good reason. He’s one of four coaches in Oklahoma history with more than 100 wins and he has one of the highest winning percentages in college football history.
Next: Fielding Yost