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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 12:17 AM CST
Spoo's 'best job' rates him as Ohio Valley's Coach of the Year

By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com

CHARLESTON -- Bob Spoo’s third Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year award he received Tuesday might be second to none.

“It’s very deserving probably the best job he’s done,” said Roc Bellantoni, the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator under Eastern Illinois’ head coach Spoo. “He cut a bunch of bad seeds and was open-minded in the off-season. We tried some new things like the leadership development. We did an off-season competition.

“You go back to last year and it was a divided team at the end of the year. There were some bad seeds and he had the guts to get rid of some pretty good players. He coached as hard as he ever has. Our kids hang on the edge of their seats with every word he says.”

Spoo’s efforts worked this season for an 8-3 record going into Saturday’s 1 p.m. Football Championship Subdivision first-round playoff game at Southern Illinois and an OVC championship with a 6-2 in the league one year after Eastern’s three-year run of postseason playoff berths ended when it finished 5-7 and 3-5 for sixth in the conference.

The Panthers were predicted to finish third in an OVC preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors.

Now the Panthers are headed to the playoffs and Spoo has been awarded.

“A tremendous honor for a tremendous man,” EIU offensive coordinator Roy Wittke said. “Coach Spoo has done a tremendous job in directing the team. It’s obvious he’s the reason we’re OVC champs.”

The Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year award was announced Tuesday. Only Kidd, the former Eastern Kentucky coach for whom the league award is named, and former Middle Tennessee coach Boots Donnelly have won more than Spoo’s three OVC awards.

“It’s a great honor,” Spoo said. “There are a number of coaches who could have won it. The league is getting better and better.”

Spoo also was named OVC Coach of the Year in 2001 and ‘05 and was the Gateway Football Coach of the Year in 1995 the year before Eastern switched conferences. In ‘95 he was the Football Gazette’s NCAA Division I-AA Coach of the Year.

Named one of 20 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award going to the Football Champion Subdivision’s national coach of the year, he was the runner-up for that honor in 2000.

He stands 140-112-1 in his 23rd season at Eastern not counting the 2006 playoff year that he missed because of illness.

“We are fortunate to have a man of Coach Spoo’s character and leadership guiding our football program at Eastern Illinois,” Athletic Director Barbara Burke said. “We could not be prouder of him winning this award. I think that Coach Spoo would be the first to say that the praise should be given to the hard work his staff puts in, but he deserves the credit for putting this staff together. I want to congratulate him and his staff.”

Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.

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