Robert Allen Spoo (November 2, 1937 – October 15, 2018) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

from 1987 to 2011 (with an interruption in 2006 due to surgery), compiling a record of 144–131–1. Spoo led the

Eastern Illinois Panthers The Eastern Illinois Panthers are the intercollegiate athletic programs of Eastern Illinois University (EIU) located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. The Panthers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and compet ...

to five conference titles, nine playoff berths, and ten finishes in the Top 25 polls. He coached nine First Team All-Americans, including Tristan Burge and

Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...

. Spoo was an alumnus of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and a former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

on the

Purdue Boilermakers football The Purdue Boilermakers football team represents Purdue University in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Purdue plays its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. ...

team. Prior to receiving the head coaching position at Eastern Illinois, Spoo served as an assistant at Purdue and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. He also coached at the high school level. Spoo and his wife, Suzie, had one daughter. After retiring, the Spoos continued to reside in

Charleston, Illinois Charleston is a city in, and the county seat of, Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,286, as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor, Mattoon. Both are p ...

. He died on October 15, 2018, at the age of 80.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoo, Bob 1937 births 2018 deaths American football quarterbacks Eastern Illinois Panthers football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football players Wisconsin Badgers football coaches High school football coaches in Illinois People from Charleston, Illinois Sportspeople from Chicago Players of American football from Chicago