The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Charles Atkinson

Followed Edwin Kimball. Charles Atkinson slid BYU from Regional Program IV to Regional Program V in 7 seasons.

18–49
1949–1955 · 1 stint
BYU
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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 careerBYURegional Programthe building-block levelBYU, 1949: 0-11, Regional Program V1949BYU, 1950: 4-5, Regional Program V1950BYU, 1951: 6-3, Regional Program V1951BYU, 1952: 4-6, Regional Program V1952BYU, 1953: 2-7, Regional Program V1953BYU, 1954: 1-8, Regional Program V1954BYU, 1955: 1-9, Regional Program VI1955-8.5One 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).

BYU, 7 seasons
−8.5
Regional Program V → Regional Program VI.

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.

2–11 against his rivals. Winless in 7 tries against Jack Curtice.

Rivalry record
2–11–1
14.3% · 2 rivals
One-score games
3–11–3
17.6% · margin ≤8
Rivalry ledger
Utah0–6–10%
Utah State2–529%
The toughest matchup
vs. Jack Curtice0–6–1
7 meetings, 1949–1955
’49 L’50 T’51 L’52 L’53 L’54 L’55 L
0% win rate across a real, 7-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
National Program
0–11 0.0%
Regional Program
4–25 13.8%

Coaching career

1949–1955
BYUcaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program V
Charles Atkinson slid BYU from Regional Program IV to Regional Program V in 7 seasons.

10th-best BYU tenure of 12 by the numbers.

Followed Edwin Kimball (1937–1948) · succeeded by Harold Kopp (1956–1958).

18–49