Former BGSU coach Nehlen joining College Football Hall of Fame

Don Nehlen

Former BGSU head coach, and quarterback, Don Nehlen is one of two Division I-A coaches entering the College Football Hall of Fame.

Nehlen is the second person with BGSU ties to be inducted into the hall of fame. His college coach, Doyt Perry, was enshrined in 1988.

The other coach entering the hall of fame is Auburn's Pat Dye. They will be inducted Dec. 6 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City

Nehlen, a Canton native, was the head coach at his alma mater from 1968-76 and earned the title "Master of the Upset" for beating teams like Syracuse, Purdue and BYU. In those nine seasons, BGSU posted a 53-35-4 record. He also served as defensive coordinator for the Falcons from 1965-68.

He was also a three-year letterman at Bowling Green, playing quarterback from 1955-57 and helping the Falcons to a 21-2-4 record and a Mid-American Conference championship in 1956.

After leaving BGSU, Nehlen went to West Virginia University, where he led the Mountaineers to 13 bowl games and two bids for national titles, playing Notre Dame in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl and Florida in the 1994 Sugar Bowl. He retired after 21 seasons at WVU with 149 wins, the most in school history. His 202 career victories place him 17th in NCAA history.

Nehlen, the national coach of the year in 1988 and 1993, coached 15 first-team All-Americans, 82 all-conference players and 51 players who went on to play professional football. His resume included coaching stints in the Blue-Gray, East-West Shrine and Hula Bowl all-star games, and he served as president of the 10,000-member American Football Coaches Association in 1997.

He is a member of the BGSU, Mid-American Conference, WVU and Gator Bowl halls of fame.

Only 166 coaches and 781 players have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame from among more than 4.4 million who have played or coached the game during the past 137 years.