Tony Dungy won a Super Bowl as a defensive back with Pittsburgh, and a few years later, he was their defensive back and then their defensive coordinator. After a three-year stint with the Minnesota Vikings as their defensive coordinator, he earned the job as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head coach in 1996.

Bob Johnson was one of the top college hockey coaches in the 1970s, where his school, Wisconsin, won three National Championships and six WCHA Tournaments. Like his rival, Herb Brooks, who coached Minnesota, Johnson also coached the U.S. at the Olympics (1976), and he was also the head coach for the Americans at the 1981, 1984, and 1987 Canada Cup.

Lou Holtz’s first head coaching job was in 1969 when he was hired at the College of William & Mary. He did well, bringing his squad to the Tangerine Bowl, and Holtz then moved to North Carolina State, winning the ACC Championship in 1973. Staying with the Wolfpack for four seasons, Holtz never missed going to a bowl game, winning two (Peach 1972 and Liberty 1973).

One of the most effortless statements to make in football coaching is that Eddie Robinson was the most successful ever in historically black colleges. You can (and we will) go a step further and say that he was among the best ever.

After playing four years at Tennessee-Martin, Pat Summitt became a graduate student at Tennessee. The Lady Vols coach suddenly retired, and at age 22, Summitt stepped in to fulfill the vacancy.

A car racer and course designer, Bill France Sr. had his greatest early success as a promoter on the beaches of Daytona. France did well, but he recognized the need to create a standardized circuit where rogue promotors could not stiff drivers and consistency across the sport could breed. With that in mind, he spearheaded the creation of NASCAR in 1948.

On the surface, this might seem like a strange choice for a nomination, but the contributions of Dr. James Andrews to sports is unquantifiable.

Ron Wolf won two Super Bowls as a scout with the Oakland Raiders, but he had far greater success when he finally made it to the position of general manager with the Green Bay Packers.

Dana White, who was the manager for Tito Ortiz and Chuck Lidell, learned that the Semaphore Entertainment Group, which owned the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was looking to sell. Mixed Martial Arts had drawn some good numbers on pay per view, but it struggled overall with negative perception and was hemorrhaging money. White convinced his friend, Lorenzo Fertitta, to bankroll buying the company, which they did with White as its president.

Where would ice sports be without the ice resurfacer, or as we know it as the Zamboni?