The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Dixie Howell

Dixie Howell held Idaho at Regional Program V for 4 seasons.

The builder
36–35
1938–1950 · 2 stints
Arizona StateIdaho
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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.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerARIZONA STATEIDAHORegional Programthe building-block levelArizona State, 1938: 3-6, Regional Program III1938Arizona State, 1939: 8-2, Regional Program III1939Arizona State, 1940: 7-2, Regional Program II1940Arizona State, 1941: 5-5, Regional Program II1941+3.4Idaho, 1947: 4-4, Regional Program V1947Idaho, 1948: 3-6, Regional Program V1948Idaho, 1949: 3-5, Regional Program V1949Idaho, 1950: 3-5, Regional Program V1950+1.8One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Arizona State, 4 seasons
+3.4
Regional Program III → Regional Program II.
Idaho, 4 seasons
+1.8
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.

0–1 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Phil Sarboe.

Rivalry record
0–1
0.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
6–8–3
35.3% · margin ≤8
Rivalry ledger
Arizona0–10%
The toughest matchup
vs. Phil Sarboe0–3
3 meetings, 1947–1949
’47 L’48 L’49 L
0% win rate across a real, 3-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Power Program
0–1 0.0%
National Program
5–21 19.2%
Regional Program
6–6 50.0%

Coaching career

1947–1950
Idahocaretaker
Regional Program V → Regional Program V
Dixie Howell held Idaho at Regional Program V for 4 seasons.

4th-best Idaho tenure of 7 by the numbers.

13–20
1938–1941
Arizona Statecaretaker
Regional Program III → Regional Program II
Dixie Howell moved Arizona State from Regional Program III to Regional Program II in 4 seasons.

17th-best Arizona State tenure of 19 by the numbers.

Followed Rudy Lavik (1936–1937) · succeeded by Hilman Walker (1942–1942).

23–15