Born in Detroit, Michigan, Nagel was raised in Southern California and attended Los Angeles High School during World War II.

Nagel graduated in 1945 and enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was a three time letter-winner from 1946 to 1949 as a quarterback and halfback for the Bruins.

Nagel played for head coach Red Sanders and was named all-Pacific Coast Conference and UCLA's Most Improved Player.

In January 1958, Nagel was named head coach at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, then a member of the Skyline Conference.

[4][5] Just 30 years old with four young children, he was the youngest major college head coach at the time; he succeeded Jack Curtice, who left after eight seasons for Stanford University.

[4] Utah had won the conference title in 1957 with junior quarterback Lee Grosscup and sophomore safety Larry Wilson, a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Curtice accepted the Stanford job two weeks earlier, but delayed his departure until March to assist Nagel with the transition.

Nagel compiled a 42–39–1 (.518) record at Utah; his 1964 team was led by quarterback Pokey Allen, running back Ron Coleman, and receiver Roy Jefferson.

They defeated West Virginia 32–6 in the Liberty Bowl, played indoors in New Jersey at the Atlantic City convention center, and finished with 9–2 record.

"[10] In five seasons as head coach, Burns' teams won just sixteen games, ending with a 1–9 record and a last place finish in the Big Ten in 1965.

Nagel brought a talented coaching staff to Iowa; his assistants included George Seifert and Ted Lawrence.

Behind Podolak and some solid sophomore players, including Larry Lawrence and running back Denny Green, Iowa had one of its best seasons in years.

Most Hawkeye fans felt that the team had turned a corner and were expecting big things in 1969, since Iowa had only five senior starters in 1968.

In the spring of 1969, Nagel dismissed Greg Allison and Charles Bolden, both black football players, from the team for "personal problems."

Still, rumors flew that Stevens' group was organizing a "black boycott" of the football team's upcoming spring practice.

At the end of four years, the black gladiator is tossed back into the colony exhausted from his toil and exploitation in the mother country.

"[14] Three days later, it was reported that the seven freshmen who were among the sixteen dismissed black players had disassociated themselves from the BAU and wanted to return to the team.

The "Black Boycott" left some scars on both sides and may have been the first push toward the ouster of Nagel, who seemed to have turned the corner the previous season.

Less than one month later, star quarterback Larry Lawrence and fullback Tom Smith quit the team and transferred to Miami, loudly proclaiming that they would never stay and play for Nagel.

Charges and counter-charges followed, and after a long investigation, the Iowa Board of Athletics relieved both Evashevski and Nagel of their respective duties on May 19, 1970.

I cannot be satisfied with this reason...Hasn't there been disharmony for 18 years, through the Paul Brechler, Jerry Burns, and Ray Nagel eras?

Gus Schrader of the Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote, "We have heard dozens of fans say, 'I'd just like to see Nagel coach out his contract without Evashevski looking over his shoulder on every move.

"[20] The support was so strong that a few days later, in what Maury White of the Des Moines Register called an event that "may rank as the most startling reversal since the discovery of the boomerang."

At the awards banquet shortly after the last game, he made a speech praising his seniors and categorizing Iowa's football future as bright.

[1] In his five years at WSU, Nagel spearheaded the creation of the Cougar Club, coordinated fundraising, and served on the NCAA Football Rules Committee from 1973 to 1976.