Longtime Eastern Illinois football coach Bob Spoo dies at 80

Posted October 15, 2018 7:00 am

The Associated Press

CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) - Former Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo, whose players included future NFL quarterbacks Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo, has died at age 80.

The university says Spoo died Monday in Rockford, Illinois. School spokesman Rich Moser says Spoo had been ill in recent weeks.

Spoo retired in 2011 after 25 years as the Eastern Illinois coach. He had a career record of 144-131-1 and nine FCS playoff appearances.

He had an 11-5 record playing quarterback for Purdue in 1957-58 before becoming a high school coach in the Chicago area. He was an assistant coach at Wisconsin and Purdue before taking over the Eastern Illinois program. It plays in the Ohio Valley Conference.

___

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.