Eastern Illinois head coach Bob Spoo will coach the final game of his 25-year career at EIU on Saturday at Southern Illinois.
Spoo, who has been in coaching for 50 years, ranks fourth on the OVC all-time career Conference victories (68) and fifth in overall victories since joining the league in 1996 (92). He has a 25-year record of 144-130-1 and has made nine NCAA FCS Playoff appearances (fifth all-time). In 1995 he was named the Football Gazette I-AA Coach of the Year and was the runner-up for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award in 2000. In 2009 he was named OVC Coach of the Year for the third time (2001, 2005, 2009) in his career and one of five finalists for the Liberty Mutual FCS Coach of the Year.
A 1960 graduate of Purdue University, Spoo has coached the Panthers to nine NCAA FCS playoff berths and 11 Top 25 national rankings. Spoo is currently tied for fourth among longest tenured active coaches at the NCAA Division I level.