Valedictorian of his class and captain of the Virginia high school state football champions, Star Wood went to play for Coach Steve Lacy at Milligan College. A winner on the college level as well, Wood’s squad went on to capture the Smoky Mountain Conference Championship in 1935. Upon graduating, he earned a master’s in English at the University of Tennessee. The next year, Wood began his work as both teacher and assistant football coach, first at Appalachian State in Boone, NC; then at North Carolina State under Beattie Feathers; and finally from 1946 to 1948 at Tennessee Tech under Hooper Eblen. In the fall of 1949, the apprentice finally became the master when Wood was named head football coach at Tennessee Tech. After three seasons at the helm, Wood made his final move in 1952 to become full-time athletic director and head football coach at East Tennessee State University, where he would garner Coach of the Year honors in the Ohio Valley Conference for 1958 and 1962. According to John Robert Bell, who succeeded Wood as ETSU coach, “[Wood] was truly a dedicated educator, interested in what football players could become in the classroom as much as what students could become on the football field.” Star Wood retired as coach in 1967 and as educator in 1977. The value he placed on education and character is his lasting legacy.
