Ken Sparks (February 25, 1944 – March 29, 2017) 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 player. He served as the head football coach at

Carson–Newman University Carson–Newman University is a private Baptist university in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Carson-Newman is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1851, the university enrolls about 2,500 studen ...

Jefferson City, Tennessee Jefferson City (originally named Mossy Creek) is a city in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 8,419. History Heading southwest along ...

from 1980 until his retirement at the end of the 2016 season. He is currently the record-holder for the most wins as a coach in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

history. His

Carson–Newman Eagles The Carson–Newman Eagles are the athletic teams that represent the Carson–Newman University (formerly Carson–Newman College), located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Eagles compete as members of ...

won five

NAIA Championships Naia or NAIA may refer to: Sports * National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics * NAIA Softball Championship * NAIA Volleyball Championship * NAIA World Series * NAIA Wrestling Championship * NAIA lacrosse Other * Naia (skeleton), a Paleoa ...

(1983–1984, 1986, 1988–1989), and were three times runners-up in the

NCAA Division II playoffs The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(1996, 1998, and 1999).

Biography

Sparks was born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

. He played

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 ...

as a wide receiver at Carson–Newman and graduated from the school in 1968. He was football coach at Gibbs High School in Knoxville. The next year, he received a master's degree from

Tennessee Technological University 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 ...

where he also coached

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 ...

s and receivers. He coached at Morristown East High School in

Morristown, Tennessee Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city's population was recorded to be 30,431 at the 2020 United States cen ...

. In the early 1970s, Sparks was an assistant coach on the Carson–Newman football team that was a runner up in the NAIA championship game. He coached the school's track team and he was named Southern Collegiate Track Coach of the Year. In 1977, he returned to Carson-Newman where he coached the track team. In the fall, he coached at

Farragut High School Farragut High School, located at 11237 Kingston Pike, serves as a high school in Farragut, a suburb of Knoxville, Tennessee. Knox County Schools, the unified Knox County, Tennessee school district, operates the school. The school serves the ma ...

in Knoxville where he accumulated a 29–5 record. Among his players was

Bill Bates William Frederick Bates (born June 6, 1961) is a former American football safety who played for fifteen seasons in the National Football League, all of which were spent with the Dallas Cowboys. A fan favorite, he was a Pro Bowl selection in 19 ...

. Following his string of successes, Carson-Newman built the new

Burke–Tarr Stadium Burke–Tarr Stadium is a football stadium located in Jefferson City, Tennessee on the campus of Carson–Newman University. Construction The original structure, consisting primarily of concrete-supported wooden bleachers and a small press box, w ...

in 2005. Sparks, who was once

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was found ...

National Coach of the Year, actively pursues a Christian aspect in his coaching and is a popular public speaker. He was quoted as saying that, if football can be used as a tool to bring people to the Lord, then "it has done something. If it hasn't, we haven't done a thing, no matter how many games we won." After 37 years as the head coach at Carson-Newman University, Ken Sparks announced his retirement on November 14, 2016, at a press conference in the Ken Sparks Athletic Complex on the campus of Carson-Newman University.Legendary Carson-Newman head coach Ken Sparks announces retirement - Wate.com - November 14, 2016
/ref> Sparks died March 29, 2017, after a four-year battle with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Carson–Newman profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparks, Ken 1944 births 2017 deaths Carson–Newman Eagles football coaches Carson–Newman Eagles football players Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football coaches High school football coaches in Tennessee Tennessee Technological University alumni People from Knoxville, Tennessee Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in Tennessee

Biography

Head coaching record

College

See also

References

External links