The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Fred Thomsen

Fred Thomsen held Arkansas at National Program I for 6 seasons.

26–30

1936–1941 · 1 stint

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).

Arkansas, 6 seasons

+0.0

National Program II → National Program II.

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. Just 1–4 against Dutch Meyer.

Rivalry record

0–1

0.0% · 1 rival

One-score games

8–12–3

34.8% · margin ≤8

Rivalry ledger

LSU0–10%

The toughest matchup

vs. Dutch Meyer1–4–1

6 meetings, 1936–1941

’36 L’37 T’38 L’39 W’40 L’41 L

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

Power Program

4–13 23.5%

National Program

15–13 53.6%

Regional Program

1–1 50.0%

Coaching career

1936–1941

Arkansascaretaker

National Program I

Fred Thomsen held Arkansas at National Program I for 6 seasons.

12th-best Arkansas tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Succeeded by George Cole (1942–1942).

26–30