Bob Spoo
Head Coach
Phone: 217-581-5031
Email:
football@eiu.edu
Position: Head Football Coach
Alma Mater: Purdue University, 1960
Years at EIU: 24th season
Entering 2010 Season
Career Record: 140-113-1 (.553), 22 seasons
OVC Record: 65-31 (.677), 13 seasons
Bob Spoo, the dean of coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference returns for his 24th season on the Panthers sidelines looking to guide the Panthers to their 14th NCAA FCS playoff appearance.
Spoo currently ranks fourth among Division I coaches with the longest tenure at one school trailing Penn State’s Joe Paterno, Albany’s Bob Ford and Villanova’s Andy Talley on that list.
Last season EIU climbed back to the top of the OVC standings as the Panthers captured their fifth conference crown since 2001. Spoo was named the OVC Coach of the Year and one of five finalists for the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year as EIU finished the year at 8-4 overall. The Panthers advanced to the their seventh playoff appearance since 2000 ending the year ranked 15th in the FCS Coaches poll.
After missing the 2006 season for medical reasons, Spoo returned to the team in a full-time capacity following the Panthers 2006 first round playoff loss. In 2007 that recognized drive and “voice” returned in full force as Spoo guided EIU to its third straight FCS playoff appearance and 12th overall.
EIU would finish the 2007 season with an 8-4 record, 7-1 in the OVC. The Panthers were ranked No. 15 in the final FCS Coaches poll making their sixth playoff appearance in eight seasons.
The winningest coach in Eastern Illinois history and the active leader in wins among OVC coaches, Spoo maintains a career mark of 140-113-1. He has led the Panthers to 11 winning seasons in the last 15 years.
Under his leadership the Panthers qualified for an unprecedented three straight trips to the NCAA I-AA playoffs between 2000-02 and again from 2005-07. EIU has won (or shared) Ohio Valley Conference championship in five of the past nine seasons. In his 23 years at EIU the Panthers have made ten trips to the NCAA playoffs with 11 finishes in the Top 25 poll. EIU’s deepest run in the playoffs under Spoo came in 1989 when the Panthers knocked off Idaho in the first round before losing the quarterfinals at Montana.
During his tenure at EIU, the Panthers have produced numerous All-Conference picks including seven Offensive or Defensive OVC Players of the Year since the 2000 season. EIU has had a number of All-American players both on the field and in the classroom. Spoo coached 2002 Walter Payton Award winner Tony Romo, now a Pro Bowl quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys.
Over his 23 years on the EIU sidelines, Spoo has been named the OVC Coach of the Year three times (2001, 2005, 2009), Gateway Conference Coach of the Year once (1995) and the Region Coach of the Year two times (1995 and 2001). In 2000 he was the runner-up for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. In 1995 he was named the Football Gazette I-AA Coach of the Year.
Demanding excellence on the field and in the classroom, Spoo believes that the foundation for constructing a championship program lies with a strong defense and sound kicking game, revolving around a ball-control passing attack.
Spoo and his staff have been commended publicly by the Faculty Senate for their emphasis on academics. The Daily Eastern News, the campus daily newspaper, named Spoo as their “Person of the Year” in his second year in Charleston. EIU has twice won the Ohio Valley Conference Sportsmanship Award for football including for the 2009 season.
A three year Purdue letterman, Spoo replaced NFL Hall-of-Famer Len Dawson as the starting quarterback in 1957 and guided the Boilermakers to a two-year record of 11-5. He co-captained the 1958 Blue team in the Blue-Gray All-Star game.
Spoo later returned to his alma mater to coach quarterbacks in the 1980’s, building his resume by coaching such nationally known passers as Mark Hermann, Scott Campbell and Jim Everett. All three would go on to play in the National Football League. During his time at Purdue (1978-1986) the team made four bowl appearances. Spoo also spent several years at Wisconsin (1973-77) as the quarterbacks coach.
Prior to becoming a mainstay in the college coaching ranks, Spoo was one of the most successful prep coaches in Illinois. He was the head coach at Loyola Academy in Wilmette from 1967-72 directing the school to a 51-9-2 record and the 1969 Chicago city championship. He was the 1970 National High School Athletic Coaches Association “Football Coach of the Year”, 1969 Illinois Coach of the Year and 1972 Chicago Coach of the Year.
Spoo and his wife Susan have one daughter Kate.
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