Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
1987 and 1997 Rose Bowl Games
2012 Inductee
John Cooper was the first, and currently the only, head coach in the history of the Rose Bowl Game to lead both a Big Ten and a Pac-12 team to victories—first with Arizona State in 1987 and then with Ohio State in 1997.
In his three years at ASU, Cooper led his teams to a then-school-record three consecutive bowl games and ended his career with the Sun Devils with an impressive 25–9–2 mark. At Ohio State, Cooper ranks second only to the legendary Woody Hayes in all-time wins. He led his teams to 10 consecutive bowl games and finished his career with the Buckeyes with a 111–43–4 record. During his career, he produced 21 first-team All-Americas, 16 first-round NFL Draft picks and a Heisman Trophy winner. Prior to his stints at Arizona State and Ohio State, Cooper also served as head coach at Tulsa.
Cooper was named National Coach of the Year in 1986 by the Associated Press and received similar honors from The Sporting News, Football Writers Football News and the Pac-12 Conference. Cooper served as president of the American Football Coaches Association and as an ESPN analyst, and has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, University of Tulsa Hall of Fame, and the Greater Knoxville Hall of Fame.
