The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Willis Barnes

Followed Ted Shipkey. Willis Barnes held New Mexico at Regional Program II for 4 seasons.

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1942–1946 · 1 stint
New Mexico
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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 careerNEW MEXICORegional Programthe building-block levelNew Mexico, 1942: 4-5, Regional Program II1942New Mexico, 1944: 1-7, Regional Program III1944New Mexico, 1945: 6-1, Regional Program III1945New Mexico, 1946: 5-5, Regional Program III1946-3.8One 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).

New Mexico, 4 seasons
−3.8
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.

2–0 against his rivals.

Rivalry record
2–0
100.0% · 1 rival
One-score games
4–3–1
50.0% · margin ≤8
Rivalry ledger
New Mexico State2–0100%
Performance by opponent class
National Program
1–8 11.1%
Regional Program
5–0 100.0%

Coaching career

1942–1946
New Mexicocaretaker
Regional Program II → Regional Program II
Willis Barnes held New Mexico at Regional Program II for 4 seasons.

8th-best New Mexico tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Followed Ted Shipkey (1937–1941) · succeeded by Berl Huffman (1947–1949).

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