Introduction
Phillip Perry "Sparky" Woods (born December 20, 1953) is an American football coach and former player. On February 20, 2015, he was named running backs coach, recruiting coordinator, and associate head coach, at the University of Richmond. Prior, he was the head coach at the Virginia Military Institute, a position he held from 2008 to 2014. Woods served as the head coach at Appalachian State University from 1984 to 1988 and at the University of South Carolina from 1989 to 1993.
Playing career
Woods attended high school at Oneida high school, where he is still currently in the hall of fame. He holds the record for the most interceptions in a season. Woods played quarterback and defensive back at Carson–Newman College before graduating in 1976.
Coaching career
Woods was named the 30th head coach at VMI on February 13, 2008. Before arriving at VMI, Woods had over 30 years of college and professional coaching experience.
When coaching at South Carolina, a song about Sparky Woods entitled "Sparky Rock" was released on cassette tape.
On November 24, 2014, it was announced by VMI that Woods' contract would not be renewed by Athletic Director Dave Diles. The announcement came less than a day after a 45–25 loss to arch rival The Citadel, ending a 2–10 season for the Keydets. In seven seasons, Woods attained a 17–62 record at VMI, including a mark of 9–32 in conference play.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | TSN# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State Mountaineers (Southern Conference) (1984–1988) | |||||||||
| 1984 | Appalachian State | 4–7 | 2–5 | 7th | |||||
| 1985 | Appalachian State | 8–3 | 6–1 | 2nd | 12 | ||||
| 1986 | Appalachian State | 9–2–1 | 6–0–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I-AA First Round | 6 | |||
| 1987 | Appalachian State | 11–3 | 7–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal | 2 | |||
| 1988 | Appalachian State | 6–4–1 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| Appalachian State: | 38–19–2 | 25–9–1 | |||||||
| South Carolina Gamecocks (NCAA Division I-A independent) (1989–1991) | |||||||||
| 1989 | South Carolina | 6–4–1 | |||||||
| 1990 | South Carolina | 6–5 | |||||||
| 1991 | South Carolina | 3–6–2 | |||||||
| South Carolina Gamecocks (Southeastern Conference) (1992–1993) | |||||||||
| 1992 | South Carolina | 5–6 | 3–5 | 4th (Eastern) | |||||
| 1993 | South Carolina | 5–6 | 2–6 | T–4th (Eastern) | |||||
| South Carolina: | 25–27–3 | 5–11 | |||||||
| VMI Keydets (Big South Conference) (2008–2013) | |||||||||
| 2008 | VMI | 4–7 | 1–4 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2009 | VMI | 2–9 | 1–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2010 | VMI | 3–8 | 2–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2011 | VMI | 2–9 | 2–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 2012 | VMI | 2–9 | 1–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2013 | VMI | 2–10 | 1–4 | 6th | |||||
| VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | VMI | 2–10 | 1–6 | 8th | |||||
| VMI: | 17–62 | 9–32 | |||||||
| Total: | 80–108–5 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
Coaching tree
Assistant coaches under Sparky Woods who became NCAA head coaches:
- Tommy West: Chattanooga (1993), Clemson (1993–1998), Memphis (2001–2009)