(Most all-time Div 1-FBS wins)

Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno (born December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York), is an American football coach and the current head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, a position he has held since 1966. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an FBS football coach, and has coached more bowl game wins and undefeated seasons than any other coach in college football history. Paterno is one of four active coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (along with Chris Ault, Bobby Bowden, and John Gagliardi).

Joe Paterno grew up during the Great Depression and nearly had to leave high school because the tuition of $20 a month was such a burden for his family. In 1944, Paterno graduated from Brooklyn Prep and headed to Brown University to study and play football. At Brown he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Upsilon chapter). There, he was a quarterback and also played cornerback. He currently still shares, along with Greg Parker, the Brown U. record for career interceptions with 14. Paterno is a member of the Brown University Class of 1950. Paterno joined his college coach Rip Engle as an assistant coach at Penn State in 1950; Engle, who coached five seasons—1944-49—at Brown, had coached Paterno.