Sparky Woods
Sparky Woods went 79–109–5 on the field as a head coach, 1984–2014, at Appalachian State, South Carolina and VMI; 80–108–5 officially, with 1993 (5–6) after forfeits. Share
12 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1984–88 at Appalachian State; 2008–14 at VMI. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 80–108–5 official; 79–109–5 on the field
- Seasons
- 17
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1989 6–4–1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Appalachian State * | 4–7 | 7th | |||
| 1985 | Appalachian State * | 8–3 | 2nd | 12 | ||
| 1986 | Appalachian State * | 9–2–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | 6 | |
| 1987 | Appalachian State * | 11–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal L | 2 | |
| 1988 | Appalachian State * | 6–4–1 | 4th | |||
| 1989 | South Carolina | 6–4–1 | ||||
| 1990 | South Carolina | 6–5 | ||||
| 1991 | South Carolina | 3–6–2 | ||||
| 1992 | South Carolina | 5–6 | 4th (Eastern) | |||
| 1993 | South Carolina | 4–7 (5–6 official) | T–4th (Eastern) | |||
| 1994–07: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2008 | VMI * | 4–7 | T–3rd | |||
| 2009 | VMI * | 2–9 | 6th | |||
| 2010 | VMI * | 3–8 | T–4th | |||
| 2011 | VMI * | 2–9 | T–5th | |||
| 2012 | VMI * | 2–9 | 6th | |||
| 2013 | VMI * | 2–10 | 6th | |||
| 2014 | VMI * | 2–10 | 8th | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Ernest DyeNo. 18 pick, 1993
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 20 | 4–16 | 20% |
| Against top-10 teams | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 11 | 5–6 | 45% |
| Conference games | 16 | 5–11 | 31% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 20 | 8–9–3 | 48% |
| At home | 34 | 18–13–3 | 57% |
| On the road | 21 | 6–15 | 29% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 22 | 15–5–2 | 73% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 33 | 9–23–1 | 29% |
His own 55 games on file, 1989–1993, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Hatfield 1990–1993 | 1–3 | Clemson | 4 | |
| Bill Lewis 1989–1991 | 2–1 | East Carolina | 3 | |
| Bobby Ross 1989–1991 | 2–1 | Georgia Tech | 3 | |
| Frank Beamer 1989–1991 | 2–0–1 | Virginia Tech | 3 | |
| Mack Brown 1989–1991 | 2–1 | North Carolina | 3 | |
| Ray Goff 1989–1993 | 2–1 | Georgia | 3 | |
| Joe Peace 1991–1993 | 2–0–1 | Louisiana Tech | 3 | |
| Don Nehlen 1989–1991 | 1–2 | West Virginia | 3 | |
| Steve Spurrier 1989–1993 | 1–2 | Duke, Florida | 3 | |
| Bobby Bowden 1989–1991 | 0–3 | Florida State | 3 |
Sparky Woods’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| East Carolinaseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| Clemsonseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| Georgia Techseries | 3 | 2–1 |
| Georgiaseries | 3 | 2–1 |
| Dukeseries | 3 | 2–0–1 |
| North Carolinaseries | 3 | 2–1 |
| Virginia Techseries | 3 | 2–0–1 |
| Louisiana Techseries | 3 | 2–0–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Tennessee | Assistant coach | |
| 1977 | Kansas | Assistant coach | |
| 1978 | North Alabama | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1979–82 | Iowa State | Wide receivers coach | |
| 1983 | Appalachian State | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and running backs coach | |
| 1984–88 | Appalachian State | Head coach | |
| 1989–93 | South Carolina | Head coach | |
| 1994 | New York Jets NFL | Offensive assistant | |
| 1995–96 | Memphis | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1997–98 | Virginia | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1999–2002 | Mississippi State | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2003–06 | Alabama | Running backs coach | |
| 2008–14 | VMI | Head coach | |
| 2015–16 | Richmond | Running backs coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| 2017–18 | Richmond | Running backs coach and co-STC | |
| 2019–23 | North Carolina | Adviser | |
| 2026–present | Missouri State | Assistant coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bill BattleTennessee
- Bud MooreKansas
- Donnie DuncanIowa State
- Mack BrownApp State, North Carolina
- Pete CarrollNew York Jets
- Rip SchererMemphis
- George WelshVirginia
- Jackie SherrillMississippi State
- Mike ShulaAlabama
- Joe KinesAlabama
- Russ HuesmanRichmond
- Casey WoodsMissouri State
Assistants who became head coaches
- Donnie KirkpatrickChattanooga
- Ellis JohnsonSouthern Miss, Gardner-Webb, The Citadel
- Art WilkinsAmerican International
- Tommy WestClemson, Memphis, Chattanooga
- John GutekunstMinnesota
- Jeff FarringtonNorth Greenville
Worked under (12)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Battle | Tennessee | 1976 | Assistant coach | |
| Bud Moore | Kansas | 1977 | Assistant coach | |
| Donnie Duncan | Iowa State | 1979–82 | Wide receivers coach | |
| Mack Brown | App State | 1983 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and running backs coach | |
| Pete Carroll | New York Jets NFL | 1994 | Offensive assistant | |
| Rip Scherer | Memphis | 1995–96 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| George Welsh | Virginia | 1997–98 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Jackie Sherrill | Mississippi State | 1999–2002 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Mike Shula | Alabama | 2003–06 | Running backs coach | |
| Joe Kines | Alabama | 2006 | Running backs coach | |
| Russ Huesman | Richmond | 2017–18 | Running backs coach and co-STC | |
| Mack Brown | North Carolina | 2019–23 | Adviser | |
| Casey Woods | Missouri State | 2026 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (6)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donnie Kirkpatrick | App State, 1984–88: graduate assistant; South Carolina, 1989–92: quarterbacks coach | Chattanooga | |
| Ellis Johnson | App State, 1984: defensive coordinator | Southern Miss, Gardner-Webb, The Citadel | |
| Art Wilkins | App State, 1985–88: linebackers coach; South Carolina, 1989–93: offensive coordinator | American International | |
| Tommy West | South Carolina, 1991–92: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Clemson, Memphis, Chattanooga | |
| John Gutekunst | South Carolina, 1993: outside linebackers coach | Minnesota | |
| Jeff Farrington | VMI, 2012: defensive coordinator | North Greenville |
Other assistants under him (7)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Rick Whitt | South Carolina, 1989–90: defensive coordinator | |
| Clyde Christensen | South Carolina, 1991: running backs coach | |
| Miles Aldridge | South Carolina, 1993: defensive coordinator | |
| A. J. Christoff | VMI, 2008–11: defensive coordinator | |
| Winston October | VMI, 2008: cornerbacks coach; 2009–13: wide receivers coach | |
| Danny Verpaele | VMI, 2009: graduate assistant | |
| Justin Hamilton | VMI, 2014: outside linebackers coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.