The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Forest Evashevski

Followed Leonard Raffensperger. Forest Evashevski took Iowa from Regional Program II to Power Program I.

The ascent
63–33
1950–1960 · 2 stints
Washington StateIowa
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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 careerWASHINGTON STATEIOWABlue Bloodpermanent top tierPower Programperennial contenderNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelWashington State, 1950: 4-3, National Program III1950Washington State, 1951: 7-3, National Program III1951+0.4Iowa, 1952: 2-7, Regional Program II1952Iowa, 1953: 5-3, Regional Program I1953Iowa, 1954: 5-4, National Program III1954Iowa, 1955: 3-5, National Program II1955Iowa, 1956: 9-1, National Program I1956Iowa, 1957: 7-1, Power Program III1957Iowa, 1958: 8-1, Power Program I1958Iowa, 1959: 5-4, Power Program I1959Iowa, 1960: 8-1, Power Program I1960+39.7One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Power Program in his 8th career season — faster than 16% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #314 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).

Washington State, 2 seasons
+0.4
National Program III → National Program III.
Iowa, 9 seasons
+39.7
Regional Program II → Power Program I.

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.

12–8 against his rivals. Just 1–4 against Bennie Oosterbaan.

Rivalry record
12–8
60.0% · 3 rivals
One-score games
18–14–6
47.4% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Wisconsin5–456%
Minnesota6–367%
Washington1–150%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bennie Oosterbaan1–4–1
6 meetings, 1953–1958
’53 L’54 L’55 L’56 L’57 T’58 W
17% win rate across a real, 6-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
Dynasty
0–1 0.0%
Blue Blood
9–9 50.0%
Power Program
9–13 40.9%
National Program
23–10 69.7%
Regional Program
18–0 100.0%

Coaching career

1952–1960
Iowatransformer
Regional Program II → Power Program I
Forest Evashevski took Iowa from Regional Program II to Power Program I.

1st-best Iowa tenure of 13 by the numbers.

Followed Leonard Raffensperger (1950–1951) · succeeded by Jerry Burns (1961–1965).

52–27
1950–1951
Washington Statecaretaker
National Program III → National Program III
Forest Evashevski held Washington State at National Program III for 2 seasons.

12th-best Washington State tenure of 21 by the numbers.

Followed Phil Sarboe (1945–1949) · succeeded by Alton Kircher (1952–1955).

11–6