August 2, 2017(2017-08-02) (aged 94) Granger, Indiana, U.S.
Playing career
1946–1947
Miami (OH)
1948–1949
Cleveland Browns
Position(s)
Halfback, defensive back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1950
Miami (OH) (assistant)
1951–1955
Miami (OH)
1956–1963
Northwestern
1964–1974
Notre Dame
Head coaching record
Overall
170–58–6
Bowls
3–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
MacArthur Bowl (1964)
2 national (1966, 1973)
2 MAC (1954–1955)
Awards
AFCA Coach of the Year (1964)
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1964)
Washington Touchdown Club Coach of the Year (1964)
Columbus Touchdown Club Coach of the Year (1964)
2× Football News Coach of the Year (1964, 1973)
Sporting News Coach of the Year (1966)
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1997)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1980 (profile)
Ara Raoul Parseghian (/ˈærəpɑːrˈsiːɡiən/; Armenian: Արա Ռաուլ Պարսեղյան; May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football player and coach who guided the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973. He is noted for bringing Notre Dame's Fighting Irish football program back from years of futility into national prominence in 1964 and is widely regarded alongside Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy as a part of the "Holy Trinity" of Notre Dame head coaches.[1]
Parseghian grew up in Akron, Ohio and played football beginning in his junior year of high school. He enrolled at the University of Akron, but soon quit to join the U.S. Navy for two years during World War II. After the war, he finished his college career at Miami University in Ohio and went on to play halfback for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference in 1948 and 1949. Cleveland won the league championship both of those years.
Parseghian's playing career was cut short by a hip injury. He left the Browns and took a job as an assistant coach at Miami of Ohio. When head coach Woody Hayes left in 1951 to coach at Ohio State University, Parseghian took over his job. He stayed in that position until 1956, when he was hired as head coach at Northwestern University in Illinois. In eight seasons there, he amassed a win-loss-tie record of 36–35–1 and helped turn a perennial loser into a consistent contender in the national polls.
Parseghian's success attracted the interest of Notre Dame, which had not posted a winning record in five straight seasons. He was hired as coach in 1964 and quickly turned the program around, coming close to capturing a national championship in his first year. He proceeded to win two national titles in 11 seasons as coach of the Fighting Irish, a period often referred to as "the Era of Ara". During that span, Parseghian's teams placed in the top ten of the final AP poll nine times and never finished lower than 14th.[2] He never had a losing season at Notre Dame and posted an overall record of 95–17–4, giving him the fourth-most wins of any coach in school history after Rockne (105), Brian Kelly (101) and Lou Holtz (100). Parseghian's .836 winning percentage while at Notre Dame ranks behind only Rockne's .881 and Leahy's .855, leading to his inclusion in the "Holy Trinity" of Fighting Irish coaches.[3][4]
Parseghian retired from coaching in 1974 and began a broadcasting career calling college football games for ABC and CBS. He also dedicated himself to medical causes later in life after his daughter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and three of his grandchildren died of a rare genetic disease. Parseghian was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1980. His career coaching record is 170–58–6.
^Weinreb, Michael (May 25, 2012). "Blue and Gold and Red All Over". Grantland. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
^Carchia, Carl (August 2, 2017). "Numbers place Ara Parseghian among Notre Dame's greatest coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
^"Parseghian, coach in Irish's 'Holy Trinity,' dies". Omaha World-Herald. August 3, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
^"Ara Parseghian, Notre Dame Coach Who Won Two Championships, Dies at 94". NBC News. August 2, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
Ara Raoul Parseghian (/ˈærə pɑːrˈsiːɡiən/; Armenian: Արա Ռաուլ Պարսեղյան; May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football player and coach who...
September 28, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017. AraParseghian at the College Football Hall of Fame "AraParseghian to receive award". Espn.com. November 28...
Parseghian (Armenian: Պարսէքյան) is an Armenian surname. Notable people with the surname include: AraParseghian (1923–2017), American college football...
Wildcats had a winless season with a 0–8–1 record. Miami (OH) head coach AraParseghian was the 20th head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats football team and...
lawyer and judge Ara Dinkjian (born 1958), Armenian oud player and composer Go Ara (born 1990), South Korean actress and model AraParseghian (1923–2017),...
outstanding coaches starting their careers there, such as Paul Brown, AraParseghian, Weeb Ewbank, Bill Mallory, Sid Gillman, Randy Walker, and Bo Schembechler...
March 21, 2014. "AraParseghian – Notre Dame Legendary Football Coach – Parseghian.org". Retrieved August 21, 2017. "Ara R. Parseghian Records by Year"...
Retrieved November 16, 2017. "AraParseghian remains a Notre Dame institution". September 26, 2013. "AraParseghian Coaching Record". College Football...
Woody Hayes, Bill Arnsparger, George Little, Weeb Ewbank, Sid Gillman, AraParseghian, Bo Schembechler, John Pont, Carmen Cozza, Bill Mallory, Joe Novak,...
being undersized at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) and 165 lb (75 kg). Head coach AraParseghian encouraged walk-on players from the student body. For example, Notre...
on the East side of the stadium, between the Dan Devine (Gate A) and AraParseghian (Gate B) gates, facing the Edmund P. Joyce Center. The first floor hosts...
during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The Irish, coached by AraParseghian, ended the season undefeated with 11 wins and no losses, winning the...
Associated Press. 30 May 2000. Retrieved 12 June 2017. "Notre Dame Coach AraParseghian". TIME. 20 November 1964. Retrieved 12 June 2017. University of Notre...
coach at Bowling Green. When Schembechler's former college teammate AraParseghian, Hayes' successor at Miami University, was hired as head coach at Northwestern...
1966 NCAA University Division football season. The Irish, coached by AraParseghian, ended the season undefeated with a record of 9–0–1, and won a national...
and his entire staff were fired by new athletic director Stu Holcomb. AraParseghian was named as his replacement. Saban moved on to a job as head coach...
SS Knute Rockne was scrapped in 1972. A statue of Rockne, as well as AraParseghian, both by the sculptor Armando Hinojosa of Laredo, Texas, are located...
Dan Devine's first year as head coach, taking over for the retired AraParseghian. Head coach: Dan Devine Assistants: Greg Blache (JV), Brian Boulac (OL)...
for the Miami Redhawks football team, and the great-grandnephew of AraParseghian. Nathan attended Toledo St. John's Jesuit High School and played on...
after a few years of essentially alternating with AraParseghian in that year. The next year, Ara worked for CBS. 1 of the games he didn't participate...
and 2–7, respectively. As a senior in 1964 under new Irish head coach AraParseghian however, he became the starting quarterback as the Irish won all but...
NCAA University Division football season. Led by first-year head coach AraParseghian, the Fighting Irish compiled a record of 9–1. John Huarte was the sixth...
Global Information