Sterling "Star" Wood was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Tennessee Polytechnic Institute—now known as

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

—in

Cookeville, Tennessee Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, or smaller ...

from 1950 to 1951, and

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. John ...

from 1952 to 1953 and 1955 to 1965. Wood was also the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

at East Tennessee State from 1954 to 1962. Wood attended Big Stone Gap High School in

Big Stone Gap, Virginia Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census. History The community was formerly kno ...

, where he lettered in football,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

before graduating as valedictorian of his class in 1931. He moved on to

Milligan College Milligan University is a Private university, private Christianity, Christian university in Milligan College, Tennessee. Founded in 1866 as the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, and known as Milligan College from 1881 to May 2020, the school has ...

in Milligan College, Tennessee, earning varsity letters in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

. He received a Master of Arts degree from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in 1940. Wood began his career as a teacher at the Roaring Fork mining camp and then as an English teacher and assistant football coach at Coeburn High School in

Coeburn, Virginia Coeburn is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States, along the Guest River. The population was 2,139 at the 2010 census. History The Town of Coeburn was originally named Guest Station after explorer and surveyor Christopher Gist. Gist wr ...

. He then returned to Milligan College as an English instructor and line coach to assist head football coach Steve Lacy. Wood was the backfield coach under

Beattie Feathers William Beattie "Big Chief" Feathers (August 20, 1909 – March 11, 1979) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He played college football and college basketball at the University of Tennessee. Early life and colle ...

at Appalachian State Teachers College—now known as

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

in 1942 and also an assistant under Feathers at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. He was an assistant football coach at Tennessee Tech under Hooper Eblen for three seasons before succeeding Eblen as head football coach in December 1949.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Star Year of birth missing American football ends Appalachian State Mountaineers football coaches East Tennessee State Buccaneers athletic directors East Tennessee State Buccaneers football coaches Milligan Buffaloes football coaches Milligan Buffaloes baseball players Milligan Buffaloes football players Milligan Buffaloes men's basketball players Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football coaches University of Tennessee alumni People from Big Stone Gap, Virginia Coaches of American football from Virginia Players of American football from Virginia Baseball players from Virginia Basketball players from Virginia