Mike Ayers (born May 26, 1948)[1] is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at East Tennessee State University from 1985 to 1987 and Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina from 1988 to 2017, compiling career college football coaching record of 218–160–2. Ayers' Wofford Terriers won five Southern Conference title, in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2017.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 26, 1948 Georgetown, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| ? | Georgetown (KY) |
| Position(s) | Linebacker, offensive tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1974 | Georgetown (KY) (assistant) |
| 1975 | Georgetown (KY) (DC) |
| 1976–1978 | Newberry (assistant) |
| 1979 | Richmond (assistant) |
| 1980–1982 | Wofford (assistant) |
| 1983–1984 | East Tennessee State (DC) |
| 1985–1987 | East Tennessee State |
| 1988–2017 | Wofford |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 218–160–2 |
| Tournaments | 8–8 (NCAA I-AA/FCS playoffs) 0–2 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 5 SoCon (2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2017) | |
| Awards | |
| Eddie Robinson Award (2003) 5× SoCon Coach of the Year (2000, 2002–2003, 2007, 2010) | |
Playing career edit
Ayers played linebacker and offensive tackle for the Tigers of Georgetown College. He also played for the baseball team and competed in gymnastics and wrestling.[1]
Coaching career edit
Ayers began his coaching career as a graduate assistant and defensive coordinator at Georgetown College in 1974 and 1975. He again performed the role of assistant during stops at Newberry College and the University of Richmond. In 1980, Ayers arrived at Wofford as defensive coordinator for the Terriers under head coach Buddy Sasser. Ayers followed Sasser to East Tennessee State University, where he resumed his role as defensive coordinator before taking over the head coaching position in 1985. Ayers was hired as the head coach of the Terriers in 1988 by athletic director Danny Morrison over a milkshake at Asheville's Biltmore Dairy Bar. Wofford moved up to NCAA Division I-AA in 1995 and joined the Southern Conference in 1997. Under Ayers, the Terriers claimed five Southern Conference football championships, in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2017.[1] Ayers won the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the most outstanding FCS head coach, in 2003 after guiding the Terriers to a 12–2 record.[2] He holds the black belt in karate, and is an accomplished artist and fly fisherman.
Ayers announced his retirement from coaching on December 13, 2017, after his 30th season at Wofford. He is the longest-serving coach in Wofford history and has the most wins (207) in program history. As a Wofford coach he was passionate about his players being strong men and students and doing it “the right way”, and his players have succeeded as students and in life to an exceptional degree. He was, and is, the ultimate Short-haired Dog!
Head coaching record edit
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | TSN[3]# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State Buccaneers (Southern Conference) (1985–1987) | |||||||||
| 1985 | East Tennessee State | 0–10–1 | 0–7 | 9th | |||||
| 1986 | East Tennessee State | 6–5 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1987 | East Tennessee State | 5–6 | 2–5 | 7th | |||||
| East Tennessee State: | 11–21–1 | 6–15 | |||||||
| Wofford Terriers (NCAA Division II independent) (1988–1994) | |||||||||
| 1988 | Wofford | 5–5 | |||||||
| 1989 | Wofford | 6–5 | |||||||
| 1990 | Wofford | 9–3 | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||||
| 1991 | Wofford | 9–3 | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||||
| 1992 | Wofford | 6–5 | |||||||
| 1993 | Wofford | 7–3–1 | |||||||
| 1994 | Wofford | 5–6 | |||||||
| Wofford Terriers (NCAA Division I-AA independent) (1995–1996) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Wofford | 4–7 | |||||||
| 1996 | Wofford | 6–5 | |||||||
| Wofford Terriers (Southern Conference) (1997–2017) | |||||||||
| 1997 | Wofford | 3–7 | 2–6 | 6th | |||||
| 1998 | Wofford | 4–7 | 3–5 | T–5th | |||||
| 1999 | Wofford | 6–5 | 5–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 2000 | Wofford | 7–4 | 5–3 | 3rd | 23 | ||||
| 2001 | Wofford | 4–7 | 3–5 | 5th | |||||
| 2002 | Wofford | 9–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd | 14 | ||||
| 2003 | Wofford | 12–2 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal | 3 | |||
| 2004 | Wofford | 8–3 | 4–3 | T–2nd | 18 | ||||
| 2005 | Wofford | 6–5 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2006 | Wofford | 7–4 | 5–2 | 3rd | 23 | ||||
| 2007 | Wofford | 9–4 | 5–2 | T–1st | L NCAA FCS Quarterfinal | 10 | |||
| 2008 | Wofford | 9–3 | 7–1 | 2nd | L NCAA FCS First Round | 9 | |||
| 2009 | Wofford | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 2010 | Wofford | 10–3 | 7–1 | T–1st | L NCAA FCS Quarterfinal | 6 | |||
| 2011 | Wofford | 8–4 | 6–2 | T–2nd | L NCAA FCS Second Round | 12 | |||
| 2012 | Wofford | 9–4 | 6–2 | T–1st | L NCAA FCS Quarterfinal | 9 | |||
| 2013 | Wofford | 5–6 | 4–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2014 | Wofford | 6–5 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 2015 | Wofford | 5–6 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2016 | Wofford | 10–4 | 6–2 | T–2nd | L NCAA FCS Quarterfinal | 9 | |||
| 2017 | Wofford | 10–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L NCAA FCS Quarterfinal | 6 | |||
| Wofford: | 207–139–1 | 99–61 | |||||||
| Total: | 218–160–2 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c "Mike Ayers: Head Coach". Wofford Athletics. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
- ^ "Mike Ayers wins 2003 Eddie Robinson Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
- ^ Final poll standings are from The Sports Network Archived May 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.