When Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles notched their 10th victory of the 1991 season in early November, the amazing Seminole coach had once again figured a way to put himself among the elite coaches of all time. Only Bear Bryant and Bud Wilkinson had been able to coach their teams to 10 or more wins in eight consecutive seasons in all the storied history of college football. The Sugar Bowl win in 1998 also solidified Bowden’s place as college football’s best bowl coach. His 16-4-1 record in bowl games is light years ahead of any coach with more than 10 appearances. Bobby Bowden is the only coach in the NCAA Division I history to win 10 or more games in 11 consecutive seasons. It’s been well chronicled how the Bowden left the snow and ice of West Virginia to come to Florida State and save the program. Three seasons after he walked on campus, he had taken one of the worst football teams in the country to within one game of a national championship. Bowden’s Florida State record is 207-51-4. That includes a 109-25-2 record in Tallahassee and a 94-35-2 mark away from home. He has built those numbers against some of the nation’s toughest schedules, earning respect for his team, the top players to his programs and a reputation as a competitor in the process. He and son Terry, the head coach at Auburn University and 1993's national Coach-of-the-Year, are the first father-son duo to lead Division I-A programs, let alone to coach them at the same time.
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Bobby Bowden