Carson-Newman’s Ken Sparks elected to College Football Hall of Fame

Former Carson-Newman soccer coach Ken Sparks has been elected to School Soccer Corridor of Fame on his first yr on the poll.

Sparks received 338 video games on the Jefferson Metropolis faculty. Sparks retired after the 2016 season. He died in 2017 after an extended battle with prostate most cancers.

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Sparks will likely be a part of the 2026 class, which incorporates 18 gamers and 4 coaches. Boise State’s Chris Peterson, TCU’s Gary Patterson and John Hopkins College’s Jim Margraff are the opposite coaches within the class. The induction ceremony will likely be held in the course of the Nationwide Soccer Basis annual awards dinner on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas.

Sparks coached at a number of Knoxville space excessive colleges, most notably going 29-5 in three seasons at Farragut from 1977-79. He took over at his alma mater in 1980 and Carson-Newman grew to become a juggernaut, claiming 5 NAIA nationwide titles within the decade. Carson-Newman received NAIA titles in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1989.

Transferring to NCAA Division II in 1990, Carson-Newman remained a frequent playoff participant. The Eagles didn’t win one other championship however reached the title sport in 1996, 1998 and at last, 1999, a 58-52 four-overtime loss to Northwest Missouri State.

Carson-Newman made the playoffs in 25 of Sparks’ 37 seasons.

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Adam Sparks is the Tennessee soccer beat reporter. E mail adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, previously often known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Help robust native journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This text initially appeared on Knoxville Information Sentinel: Ken Sparks: Carson-Newman coach elected to School Soccer Corridor of Fame