The alma maters of the head coaches around the conference and the country.
SEC
| School | Head coach | Alma mater |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Nick Saban | Kent State |
| Arkansas | Bret Bielema | Iowa |
| Auburn | Gus Malzahn | Henderson State (Ark.)* |
| Florida | Jim McElwain | Eastern Washington |
| Georgia | Kirby Smart | Georgia |
| Kentucky | Mark Stoops | Iowa |
| LSU | Les Miles | Michigan |
| Ole Miss | Hugh Freeze | Southern Miss |
| Mississippi State | Dan Mullen | Ursinus (Pa.) |
| Missouri | Barry Odom | Missouri |
| South Carolina | Will Muschamp | Georgia |
| Tennessee | Butch Jones | Ferris State (Mich.) |
| Texas A&M | Kevin Sumlin | Purdue |
| Vanderbilt | Derek Mason | Northern Arizona |
*-Malzahn spent his first two seasons at Arkansas.
ACC
| School | Head coach | Alma mater |
|---|---|---|
| Boston College | Steve Addazio | Central Connecticut |
| Clemson | Dabo Swinney | Alabama |
| Duke | David Cutcliffe | Alabama |
| Florida State | Jimbo Fisher | Samford |
| Georgia Tech | Paul Johnson | Western Carolina* |
| Louisville | Bobby Petrino | Carroll College (Mont.) |
| Miami | Mark Richt | Miami |
| North Carolina | Larry Fedora | Austin College (Texas) |
| N.C. State | Dave Doeren | Drake |
| Pittsburgh | Pat Narduzzi | Rhode Island |
| Syracuse | Dino Babers | Hawaii |
| Virginia | Bronco Mendenhall | Oregon State |
| Virginia Tech | Justin Fuente | Murray State* |
| Wake Forest | Dave Clawson | Williams (Mass.) |
*-Johnson did not play football at Western Carolina. Fuente started his playing career at Oklahoma before transferring.
Other notable coaches
| School | Head coach | Alma mater |
|---|---|---|
| Baylor | Art Briles | Houston, Texas Tech |
| Kansas State | Bill Snyder | Missouri |
| Oklahoma | Bob Stoops | Iowa |
| Oklahoma State | Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State |
| TCU | Gary Patterson | Kansas State |
| Texas | Charlie Strong | Central Arkansas |
| Iowa | Kirk Ferentz | Connecticut |
| Michigan State | Mark Dantonio | South Carolina |
| Ohio State | Urban Meyer | Cincinnati |
| Penn State | James Franklin | East Stroudsburg (Pa.) |
| Notre Dame | Brian Kelly | Assumption (Mass.) |
| Arizona | Rich Rodriguez | West Virginia |
| Oregon | Mark Helfrich | Southern Oregon |
| Stanford | David Shaw | Stanford |
| UCLA | Jim Mora | Washington |
| Southern California | Clay Helton | Houston |
| Utah | Kyle Whittingham | BYU |
| Washington | Chris Petersen | UC-Davis |
| Washington State | Mike Leach | BYU (did not play) |
| Houston | Tom Herman | California Lutheran |
| Georgia State | Trent Miles | Indiana State |
| Colorado State | Mike Bobo | Georgia |