The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Gary Blackney

Followed Moe Ankney. Gary Blackney moved Bowling Green from Regional Program III to Regional Program I in 10 seasons.

60–50
1991–2000 · 1 stint
Bowling Green
← all coaches

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 careerBOWLING GREENNational Programrespectable, streakyRegional Programthe building-block levelBowling Green, 1991: 11-1, Regional Program III1991Bowling Green, 1992: 10-2, Regional Program II1992Bowling Green, 1993: 6-3, Regional Program II1993Bowling Green, 1994: 9-2, Regional Program I1994Bowling Green, 1995: 5-6, Regional Program I1995Bowling Green, 1996: 4-7, Regional Program II1996Bowling Green, 1997: 3-8, Regional Program III1997Bowling Green, 1998: 5-6, Regional Program III1998Bowling Green, 1999: 5-6, Regional Program III1999Bowling Green, 2000: 2-9, Regional Program III2000+9.6One 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).

Bowling Green, 10 seasons
+9.6
Regional Program III → 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.

5–5 against his rivals. Just 1–3 against Bob Pruett.

Rivalry record
5–5
50.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
23–20–2
51.1% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–2
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Toledo5–550%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bob Pruett1–3
4 meetings, 1997–2000
’97 L’98 W’99 L’00 L
25% win rate across a real, 4-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
0–2 0.0%
Power Program
0–5 0.0%
National Program
2–8 20.0%
Regional Program
57–35 62.0%

Coaching career

1991–2000
Bowling Greencaretaker
Regional Program III → Regional Program I
Gary Blackney moved Bowling Green from Regional Program III to Regional Program I in 10 seasons.

6th-best Bowling Green tenure of 14 by the numbers.

Followed Moe Ankney (1986–1990) · succeeded by Urban Meyer (2001–2002).

1 NFL Draft pick: Charlie Williams (1995)

60–50