Frank Solich

Frank Solich enters his 16th season as the head coach of the Ohio football program in 2020.

Solich has turned the Bobcats into one of the Mid-American Conference's premier programs since his arrival in Athens in 2005.

He is the winningest head coach in Mid-American Conference history with 113 overall victories while his 75 conference-only wins rank second to former Central Michigan head coach Herb Deromedi’s 90. His 16 years of service match Deromedi’s (1978-93) for the most in MAC history.

Ohio is 113-81 during the Solich era. His 113 victories are the second-most in program history behind Don Peden (121; 1924-46). Ohio has gone 75-45 in conference play since Solich's arrival in Athens in 2005.

Solich is tied with Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy for fourth among active NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches in terms of longest tenure with their current school and is the longest-tenured Group of Five head coach. Prior to arriving in Athens, Solich spent six years as head coach at his alma mater, Nebraska. Solich's 22 years of experience tie him with Iowa's Kirk Ferentz (22 years) for the third-most among active NCAA FBS head coaches, ranking behind North Carolina's Mack Brown (31 years) and Alabama's Nick Saban (25).

Solich owns a career coaching record of 171-100. His 171 wins rank as the fourth most among active NCAA FBS head coaches. Solich has coached four All-America honorees and nine NFL Draft picks during his time at Ohio. The Bobcats have tallied 110 All-MAC selections over the last 15 years. He is well-respected by his peers, having been named the president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in addition to receiving the Tom Osborne Legacy Award in January of 2019.

Prior to Solich's arrival in Athens, the Bobcats had enjoyed only two winning seasons in the previous 22 years. The tone was set for his tenure at Ohio in his first home game as head coach of the Bobcats on Sept. 9, 2005 -- a 16-10 upset of Pittsburgh in overtime on national television. The following year, Solich guided the Bobcats to a nine-win season, a MAC East Division title and the program's first bowl game appearance since 1968.

The 2009 season kicked off a run of 10-straight non-losing seasons that has included nine winning campaigns and six years with at least nine victories -- including a 10-win campaign in 2011. The 2012 season began with the Bobcats earning a signature win at Penn State, upsetting the Nittany Lions by a score of 24-14. Ohio captured division titles in 2009, '11 and '16.

Solich has led the Bobcats to 11 of their 13 bowl appearances and the first five bowl victories in program history, with back-to-back wins in the 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and '12 Independence Bowl and back-to-back-to-back victories in the 2017 Bahamas Bowl, '18 DXL Frisco Bowl and '20 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (2019 season).

Solich arrived in Athens after six seasons as the head coach at the University of Nebraska. Solich spent nearly 30 years as part of the Nebraska program as a player, assistant coach and head coach.