COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes, the heart and soul of Ohio State football for 28 years, Wednesday was named to The Sporting News’ list of the Top 50 Greatest Coaches of All-Time, as selected by a panel of 118 Hall of Famers, championship coaches and other experts. Hayes came in at No. 27, joining three other Big Ten football coaching legends, Penn State’s Joe Paterno (No. 13), Michigan’s Bo Schembechler (No. 36) and Chicago’s Amos Alonzo Stagg (No. 40). The 14-page feature is part of the new Sporting News Magazine, which hits newsstands this week.

Former Ohio State and NFL head coach Paul Brown came in at No. 12. Brown coached the Buckeyes from 1941-43, going 18-8-1, before coaching the Cleveland Browns (1946-1962) and Cincinnati Bengals (1968-1975) in the NFL.

The Hayes File:

Won five national titles (1970, 1968, 1961, 1957 and 1954) Won13 Big Ten championships Won 205 overall and 152 conference gamesLed Ohio State to 11 bowl games (eight Rose Bowls) Took Ohio Stateto four consecutive Rose Bowls (1972-75) Produced 56 first teamAll-Americans Coached three Heisman Trophy and three Outland Trophywinners Coached two Lombardi Award winners

Among those who filled out ballots for SN: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany; current league coaches Kirk Ferentz, Rich Rodriguez and Jim Tressel; and former coaches Barry Alvarez, John Cooper and Bump Elliott. Other big-name coaches on SN’s panel: Bobby Bowden, Larry Brown, Whitey Herzog, Tommy Lasorda, Marv Levy, Tom Osborne, Don Shula, Steve Spurrier, Bob Stoops, Pat Summitt, Barry Switzer, Lenny Wilkens and Roy Williams, among others. The full voting panel is below.

UCLA’s John Wooden was a runaway winner, picking up 57 first-place votes from SN’s panel, which includes seven World Series-winning managers, four Super Bowl champion coaches and the winningest coaches in the NBA, NHL and college basketball.

Wooden, who won a record 10 Division I men’s basketball championships in 12 years, edged Green Bay Packers great Vince Lombardi for the top spot. Rounding out the top 20 of SN’s list: 3. Bear Bryant (college football), 4. Phil Jackson (NBA), 5. Don Shula (NFL), 6. Red Auerbach (NBA), 7. Scotty Bowman (NHL), 8. Dean Smith (college basketball), 9. Casey Stengel (MLB), 10. Rockne, 11. Pat Summitt (women’s college basketball), 12. Paul Brown (NFL), 13. Joe Paterno (college football), 14. George Halas (NFL), 15. Chuck Noll (NFL), 16. Bob Knight (college basketball), 17. Joe Gibbs (NFL), 18. Tom Landry (NFL), 19. Mike Krzyzewski (college basketball) and 20. Bill Belichick (NFL).

In addition to current and former coaches, SN’s panel includes a Super Bowl-winning owner (the Steelers’ Dan Rooney), former commissioners (MLB’s Fay Vincent, the NHL’s John Ziegler) and award-winning broadcasters (Brent Musburger, Marty Brennaman), The complete panel is below.

SN turned to former players of the top 20 coaches on the list, asking each to relive a moment that best defined their greatness. Among the guest contributors: Hall of Famers Bart Starr (on Lombardi), Dwight Stephenson (on Bryant), Paul Warfield (on Shula), Luc Robitaille (on Bowman), Mike McCormack (on Brown), Gale Sayers (on Halas), Lynn Swann (on Noll), Isiah Thomas (on Knight) and Roger Staubach (on Landry).

The new Sporting News Magazine, also featuring a special conversation between star running backs Jim Brown and Adrian Peterson, hits newsstands later this week and can be purchased at all Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets. All questions and requests should be directed to editor-in-chief Jeff D’Alessio at jdalessio@sportingnews.com.