The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Aldo Donelli

Followed Lou Little. Aldo Donelli held Columbia at Regional Program IV for 11 seasons.

Peak, then fade

45–68

1939–1967 · 2 stints

Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Reached National Program in his 1st career season — faster than 41% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #1 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).

Duquesne, 2 seasons

+0.1

National Program I → National Program I.

Columbia, 11 seasons

−0.1

Regional Program V → Regional Program V.

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

Just 1–9 against John Yovicsin.

One-score games

8–12–2

36.4% · margin ≤8

vs. Blue Blood or better

1–0

100.0%

The toughest matchupNemesis

vs. John Yovicsin1–9–1

11 meetings, 1957–1967

’57 L’58 L’59 L’60 L’61 W’62 L’63 T’64 L’65 L’66 L’67 L

Performance by opponent class

Blue Blood

1–0 100.0%

Power Program

0–3 0.0%

National Program

5–22 18.5%

Regional Program

17–28 37.8%

Coaching career

1957–1967

Columbiacaretaker

Regional Program IV → Regional Program IV

Aldo Donelli held Columbia at Regional Program IV for 11 seasons.

2nd-best Columbia tenure of 2 by the numbers.

Followed Lou Little (1936–1956).

30–67

1939–1940

Duquesnecaretaker

National Program I → National Program I

Aldo Donelli held Duquesne at National Program I for 2 seasons.

1st-best Duquesne tenure of 1 by the numbers.

15–1