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The run
of success began in 1982 during his third season on the job.
Sparks guided the Eagles to a 10-2 record and an NAIA playoff
berth. Carson-Newman lost in the first round that year, but
things in Jefferson City would never be the same again. The
following year, Carson-Newman grabbed its second-straight
South Atlantic Conference (SAC) title and breezed through
the playoffs to win the NAIA Champion Bowl and the first national
football title in school history.
Through
the years, the winning continued. Over his 24-year career,
Spark's Eagles have won five national championships, four
national runner-up finishes, 17 SAC championships and 19 NAIA
or NCAA playoff appearances. As would be expected for someone
with his long list of accomplishments, Sparks has become one
of the most decorated coaches in college football. He was
named NAIA Coach of the Year in 1984 and has been voted SAC
Coach of the Year by his peers eleven times. He was named
the Fellowship of Christian Athletes National Coach of the
Year, the American Football Coach Magazine Division II Coach
of the Year and the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Coach
of the Year in 1999 and 2002.
In 2000
the Eagles were named Amateur Team of the year by the Tennessee
Sports Hall of Fame.
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