The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Frank Lauterbur

Followed Ray Nagel. Frank Lauterbur slid Iowa from Regional Program I to Regional Program II in 3 seasons.

Peak, then fade
52–60
1963–1973 · 2 stints
ToledoIowa
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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 careerTOLEDOIOWANational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelToledo, 1963: 2-7, Regional Program II1963Toledo, 1964: 2-8, Regional Program III1964Toledo, 1965: 5-5, Regional Program III1965Toledo, 1966: 2-7, Regional Program III1966Toledo, 1967: 9-1, Regional Program I1967Toledo, 1968: 5-4, Regional Program I1968Toledo, 1969: 11-0, National Program II1969Toledo, 1970: 12-0, National Program II1970+6.0Iowa, 1971: 1-10, Regional Program II1971Iowa, 1972: 3-7, Regional Program II1972Iowa, 1973: 0-11, Regional Program III1973-8.6One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached National Program in his 7th career season — faster than 9% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #597 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).

Toledo, 8 seasons
+6.0
Regional Program II → National Program II.
Iowa, 3 seasons
−8.6
Regional Program II → Regional Program III.

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.

6–9 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Joe Paterno.

Rivalry record
6–9–1
37.5% · 4 rivals
One-score games
11–18–2
35.5% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–3
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Bowling Green3–4–138%
Minnesota0–30%
Wisconsin1–233%
Northern Illinois2–0100%
The toughest matchup
vs. Joe Paterno0–3
3 meetings, 1971–1973
’71 L’72 L’73 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
Blue Blood
0–3 0.0%
Power Program
0–12 0.0%
National Program
10–16 38.5%
Regional Program
26–20 56.5%

Coaching career

1971–1973
Iowacaretaker
Regional Program I → Regional Program II
Frank Lauterbur slid Iowa from Regional Program I to Regional Program II in 3 seasons.

10th-best Iowa tenure of 13 by the numbers.

Followed Ray Nagel (1966–1970) · succeeded by Bob Commings (1974–1978).

5 NFL Draft picks: Kerry Reardon (1971), Craig Clemons (1972), Charles Bolden (1972), John Muller (1973), Dan Dickel (1974)

4–28
1963–1970
Toledocaretaker
Regional Program I → National Program II
Frank Lauterbur moved Toledo from Regional Program I to National Program II in 8 seasons.

2nd-best Toledo tenure of 13 by the numbers.

Followed Clive Rush (1962–1962) · succeeded by Jack Murphy (1971–1976).

48–32