When athletic directors and senior administration make the final decision on hiring a football coach, there are a number of factors they must consider.

Does he have a winning track record? What’s his pedigree (more like Nick Saban and Jim Tressel and less like Lane Kiffin)? How does his personality fit within the campus and athletic culture? How much will he and his staff cost? And so on.

One area that can go overlooked is where was he born? There’s actually some solid data that supports the notion that where someone was born is an excellent indicator of coaching success in college football.

This look at the Top 10 coaching havens contains a few obvious inclusions (Ohio and Texas) and a few that may come as a surprise (West Virginia and Florida). The selection process was simple. The Top 10 was generated by evaluating which states have produced the largest number of current head coaches and the overall record of those coaches at the Division I level. So impressive feats and championships at lower levels doesn’t help Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly and it doesn’t hurt WVU’s Bill Stewart (lucky guy that his 8-25 record at VMI is erased from the conversation).

Now for a closer look at these hotbeds of college football coaches.

10. Arkansas (Coaches: 3, Record: 208-123)

The trio of Tommy Tuberville (Texas Tech), Houston Nutt (Mississippi) and Charlie Strong (Louisville) edge out the remaining four states – Alabama (133-106), Oregon (123-85), Michigan (108-68) and Illinois (75-51) – with three coaches with an overall record of 208-123.

Strong, of Batesville, Ark., doesn’t add much to the equation as he’s just getting started with the Cardinals. The former Florida Gators defensive coordinator has a career mark of 0-1 following an interim assignment in 2004 following the firing of Ron Zook in Gainesville. The Gators lost to Miami in the Peach Bowl 27-10.

Tuberville, the first-year coach in Lubbock, Texas, is the big earner of the group. The Camden, Ark., native picked up 85 of his 110 wins in 10 seasons with Auburn. He also coached four seasons at Ole Miss. Nutt’s greatest success came at Arkansas as he went 75-48 in 10 seasons. The past two years the Little Rock native guided Ole Miss to consecutive 9-4 seasons and two Cotton Bowl wins.

9. North Carolina (Coaches: 3, Record: 253-128-2)

Once again we have two coaches who account for nearly every victory. Frank Beamer leads the way with a 187-92-2 record – all of it coming in 23 seasons at Virginia Tech. The Mount Airy, N.C., native has staked claim to three Big East championships and three ACC crowns.

Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson, born in Newland, N.C., has become one of the best coaches in the country with his triple option offense that he brought to Atlanta from Navy where he went 45-29 in six seasons. He’s tacked on a 20-7 mark in two years with the Yellow Jackets.

The final Tar Heel State rep is first-year East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill. The Lumberton, N.C., native enters his first year in Greenville with a 1-0 mark after guiding Texas Tech to a 41-31 Alamo Bowl win over Michigan State last season.

8. New Jersey (Coaches: 4, Record: 97-113)

Based on the poor overall record it would be easy to drop New Jersey from this list, but the state has produced four current coaches and only one has a winning record — Boston College’s Frank Spaziani (Clark, N.J.) at 9-5.

The most recognizable coach is Rutgers’ Greg Schiano, who has worked miracles in Piscataway. Following a rough start, the Wyckoff, N.J., native has led the Scarlet Knights to five straight bowls with victories in the last four.

The other two Jersey men are Minnesota’s Tim Brewster (Phillipsburg, N.J.) at 14-23, and Temple’s Al Golden (Colts Neck, N.J.) at 19-30. Brewster’s Golden Gophers are playing in a new stadium he’s recruited well the past two years, while Golden nearly coached the Owls to the Mid-American Conference title game last year. So this group could get to .500 overall in the next few years.

7. Pennsylvania (Coaches: 5, Record: 230-175)

When you think college football in Pennsylvania you immediately think of Joe Paterno, but the all-time winningest coach wasn’t born here.

Instead, this group is led by former Nebraska coach and current Ohio coach Frank Solich. The Johnstown, Pa., native has a 90-50 record and has helped the Bobcats reach two MAC title games, but both were losses. Still, that’s not bad work in Athens, Ohio.

The rest of this group is barely above .500, but there are two up-and-coming guys in Connecticut’s Randy Edsall (Glen Rock, Pa.) and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen (Drexel Hill, Pa.). Edsall is considered one of the classiest coaches in the nation and his name was thrown around last year for the Notre Dame job. Edsall is 66-65 since the Huskies moved to Division I in 2000. Mullen went 5-7 in his first season after a successful run as the offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer at Florida.

Former NFL coach Dave Wannstedt (Baldwin, Pa.) has been an outstanding recruiter for his alma mater Pittsburgh, and last year the Panthers were close to upsetting Cincinnati in the final game of the season for the Big East championship. He’s 35-26 since arriving in 2005.

The last coach isn’t as well known, but Bill Cubit (Sharon Hill, Pa.) has done an admirable job at Western Michigan while compiling a 34-27 record.

6. West Virginia (Coaches: 6, Record: 298-184-2)

This is the surprise state in the top 10. The Mountain State doesn’t produce many Division I prospects, but when it comes to coaches this group could hold its own against any other group on the list.

Alabama’s Nick Saban is the senior member and has two national championships – Alabama in 2009 and LSU in 2003. The Fairmont, W.Va., native has a 119-50-1 record during stints at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama.

Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe hails from Huntington, W.Va., and has been a solid winner at two doormat programs – Ohio and Wake Forest – where he has a combined mark of 92-84-1. Two coaches have yet to earn a win. Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher (Clarksburg, W.Va.) and Marshall’s Doc Holliday (Hurricane, W.Va.) are both in their first seasons after long careers as assistants.

Bill Stewart of New Martinsville, W.Va., is at the state’s flagship program and has a 19-8 record in two years with WVU, including a 48-28 victory over Oklahoma in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl when he was the interim coach. The man he replaced, Rich Rodriguez is a Grant Town, W.Va., native and is currently at Michigan. While Rodriguez has struggled in two seasons in Ann Arbor, he had an impressive run in Morgantown and has an overall record of 68-42.

5. Florida (Coaches: 7, Record: 225-143-2)

The Sunshine State is fortunate to have South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier among its ranks. The Ol’ Ball Coach is from Miami Beach, Fla., and he has amassed a 177-68-2 record in 21 seasons. His best run came at his alma mater Florida when he won a national championship in 1996 and went 122-27-1 in 12 seasons in Gainesville. His five seasons at South Carolina (35-28) haven’t been much more productive than his three years at Duke (20-13-1) in the late 1980s.

The other Florida coaches have not enjoyed much success. The most accomplished of the remaining six is Miami Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon. The Miami native is 21-17 in three seasons at the U. With his recent recruiting success that mark could improve rapidly.

Auburn’s Gene Chizik (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) is 13-24, but that’s a bit misleading. He took over a bottom-feeding Iowa State program and went 5-19 in two seasons. But his first year at Auburn showed a lot of promise as the Tigers went 8-5, including a victory in the Outback Bowl.

San Jose State’s Mike MacIntyre (Miami) and Western Kentucky’s Willie Taggart (Palmetto, Fla.) have yet to coach a Division I game, but neither will rack up many wins in 2010.

What’s left is Florida International’s Mario Cristobal (Miami) at 9-27 and Purdue’s Danny Hope (Gainesville, Fla.) with a 5-7 record in one season.

4. New York (Coaches: 7, Record: 557-263-3)

Despite finishing fourth the New York contingent comes in with the second-most victories at 557. The reason is uncomplicated as Joe Paterno (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has amassed an amazing 44-season record of 394-129-3 – all at Penn State.

Paterno is carrying a big portion of New York’s success, but there are some other respectable coaches from the Empire State.

Central Florida’s George O’Leary (Central Islip, N.Y.) had a respectable eight-year run at Georgia Tech (52-33) before leaving for Notre Dame. However, he resigned a few days after accepting the job because of some inaccuracies discovered on his resume. He returned to the college game in 2004 to take over UCF and went 0-11 that first year. Since his Knights have gone 34-30.

Harrison, N.Y., native Ralph Friedgen, the embattled coach at Maryland, may have fallen out of favor with the Terps but he remains a solid coach with a career record of 66-46. However, he may be in his final season if the Terps don’t improve on last year’s 2-10 record.

Dave Clawson (Youngstown, N.Y.)  built the Richmond Spiders into a Football Championship Series power and held his own in year one at Bowling Green by going 7-6. Another first-year coach was Syracuse’s Doug Marrone (Bronx, N.Y.). Marrone has rejuvenated the Orange faithful and that’s following a 4-8 season.

Akron’s Rob Ianello (Port Chester, N.Y.)  and Virginia’s Mike London (West Point, N.Y.) are still unknown commodities entering their first seasons, but London went 24-5 in two seasons after replacing Clawson at Richmond and won the 2008 FCS championship.

3. Texas (Coaches: 9, Record: 170-204)

With all of the tradition and respect that accompanies the storied history of Texas football, the current coaching list lacks an impressive name.

The two most successful coaches are Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio (El Paso, Texas) with a 40-34 record and Tulsa’s Todd Graham (Mesquite, Texas) at 33-20. Impressed? Didn’t think so.

It doesn’t get much better. Southern Mississippi’s Larry Fedora (College Station, Texas) is the only other coach with a winning record at 14-12. Baylor’s Art Briles (Rule, Texas) is close at 42-44 and that could improve this season.

Kansas’ first-year coach Turner Gill (Fort Worth, Texas) gets a pass because his 20-30 four-year record at Buffalo is the equivalent of winning back-to-back national titles at Notre Dame. Louisiana Tech’s Sonny Dykes (Big Spring, Texas) doesn’t register yet because this is his first season.

The remaining three – Rice’s David Bailiff (Dallas) at 15-22, North Texas’ Todd Dodge (Port Arthur, Texas) at 5-31 and Miami, Ohio’s Michael Haywood (Houston) at 1-11 – are really dragging down Team Texas.

2. California (Coaches: 10, Record: 466-308)

The little schools reign big in Cali.

Fresno State’s Pat Hill leads the charge with a 13-year record of 100-66. During that stretch the Los Angeles native has had just two losing seasons and his Bulldogs remain a consistent force in the Western Athletic Conference.

But Chris Petersen (Yuba City, Calif.) has become the state’s jewel with an overwhelming 49-4 record at Boise State. Petersen’s Broncos have also won two BCS bowl games since he took over in 2006 from Dan Hawkins. Colorado’s Hawkins (Fall River Mills, Calif.) is 69-44 with 53 of those victories coming at Boise. Hawkins is 16-33 in four years at Colorado and 2010 is likely his last in Boulder.

Let’s not forget the astonishing work accomplished by Utah’s Kyle Whittingham (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) since replacing Urban Meyer. Whittingham is 47-17 and that includes a perfect 13-0 2008 and victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Nevada’s Chris Ault (San Bernardino, Calif.) shouldn’t be overlooked either. In two separate stints in Reno, Ault is 68-42.

There are two respectable big-school coaches from the state – Cal’s Jeff Tedford (Lynwood, Calif.) at 67-35 and Washington’s Steve Sarkisian (Torrance, Calif.) at 5-7.

The final three are forgettable. Tulane’s Bob Toledo (San Jose, Calif.) is 58-59, Washington State’s Paul Wulff (Woodland, Calif.) is 3-22 and Eastern Michigan’s Ron English (Pomona, Calif.) is 0-12.

1. Ohio (Coaches: 13, Record: 813-490-2)

The top state is not astonishing. Ohio has an outstanding tradition of developing coaches and the list in 2010 is impressive.

The 13 Ohio coaches have five national championships among them, including two from Florida’s Urban Meyer (Toledo, Ohio). In 10 seasons, including two each at Bowling Green and Utah, Meyer has never had a losing season and an overall record of 96-18.

Bob Stoops (Youngstown, Ohio) has one title at Oklahoma in 11 seasons and an impressive 117-29 record. His brother, Mike (Youngstown) has enjoyed the same success at Arizona and sits at 33-39. But the Wildcats have reached a bowl game the past two seasons.

Ohio State’s Jim Tressel (Mentor, Ohio) and LSU’s Les Miles (Elyria, Ohio) are the other two BCS title holders. Tressel is 94-21 with the Buckeyes and Miles is 79-35 at Oklahoma State and LSU.

The winningest Ohio coach is Missouri’s Gary Pinkel. The Akron-native is 140-83-3 in 19 seasons, including 10 at Toledo. Another outstanding coach from the state is North Carolina State’s Tom O’Brien (Cincinnati). He was more successful at Boston College, but he still has an overall mark of 91-66.

Ohio also boasts three up-and-coming coaches – Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh (Toledo) is 17-20, Nebraska’s Bo Pelini (Youngstown) is 20-8 and San Diego State’s Brady Hoke (Dayton) is 38-46. There’s also Ball State’s Stan Parrish (Cleveland) who hasn’t enjoyed much success at 17-49-2 and Middle Tennessee State’s Rick Stockstill (Sidney, Ohio) at 27-23.

And let’s not forget the great recruiter, but underachieving Ron Zook (Loudonville, Ohio). The Zooker has guided great talent at Florida (23-14) and Illinois (21-39) to a 44-53 record.