C-N legend Ken Sparks tabbed for induction to NFF College Football Hall of Fame
IRVING, Texas – Legendary former Carson-Newman head football coach Ken Sparks has been tabbed for induction into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the organization’s 2026 class.
VIDEO: A tribute to Ken Sparks
VIDEO: Ken Sparks tells his players he's retiring
IRVING, Texas – Legendary former Carson-Newman head football coach Ken Sparks has been tabbed for induction into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the organization's 2026 class.
The announcement came on ESPN2 Wednesday afternoon during College Football Live.
The 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 8, 2026, at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Tickets are available at https://NFF2026.givesmart.com.
Sparks is the first person affiliated with Carson-Newman and the South Atlantic Conference to be included in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Sparks announced his retirement on Nov. 14, 2016 before passing away after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer on March 29, 2017.
He finished his Carson-Newman career after 37 seasons, 338 wins, 99 losses and two ties. His career winning percentage of .7699 is the fourth highest in college football history while the 338 victories amount to the fifth best total nationally at the time of his retirement.
More important than the wins though are the thousands of lives Sparks impacted for Christ.
"Of course we're honored and thankful," Sparks son and former player Chad Sparks said. "And he would have been too. Although his first desire was for God to be glorified, and he lived out Colossians 3:23-24, 'Whatever you do, work with all your heart, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.'
"My dad was definitely a poster child for Carson-Newman's mission—an East Tennessee native from a rough family who had only been to church once in his life before becoming a believer in Jesus at age 18. Christ changed him and used his college experience at Carson-Newman and especially the influence of godly coaches and teachers to grow his love for and commitment to Christ's mission to make disciples. And that's what he lived for—and coached for—most."
Sparks developed one of the winningest football programs in the history of the sport. The Eagles won five NAIA National Titles and played for it six times. A move to NCAA Division II didn't slow Sparks' Carson-Newman squad down. The Eagles played for the D-II National Title three times and were a semifinalist in 2009.
The rest of the numbers speak for themselves as Sparks has recorded 21 South Atlantic Conference Championships, 25 NCAA or NAIA playoff appearances, 104 All-Americans, and a street renamed after him that runs through the middle of Carson-Newman's campus.
Sparks was inducted into the inaugural NCAA Division II Hall of Fame Coaches Class in 2010 along with Northwest Missouri State's Mel Tjeerdsma and West Alabama's Bobby Wallace.
Sparks is also a member of the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame, the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, the Carson-Newman Athletic Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame.
Sparks was honored with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Lifetime Achievement Award and National Coach of the Year. In 2002, Sparks received the All-American Football Foundation's Johnny Vaught Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also a recipient of the FCA Grant Teaff Coach of the Year Award as well as the inaugural "Uncommon Award" presented by Tony Dungy.
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Sparks began his coaching career at Gibbs High School in Knoxville, restarting the football program with a winning season. A year later Sparks coached quarterbacks and wide receivers at Tennessee Tech while earning his Master's Degree. He coached Morristown East High School for one season before returning to his alma mater, Carson-Newman, to serve as offensive coordinator for then-Carson-Newman head coach Dal Shealy and oversee the track program. Sparks served both teams with distinction, receiving Southern Collegiate Track Coach of the Year honors in 1977. With Sparks running the offense, the 1972 Eagles advanced to their first-ever NAIA Champion Bowl, falling to East Texas State.
Sparks took over the Farragut High School football program in 1977, guiding the Admirals to a 29-5 record. Sparks was twice-voted KIL and KFA Coach of the Year. After three seasons, Sparks was asked to take command of the Carson-Newman football program where he would finish his career in legendary fashion.
The inductees will also be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the fall. Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Each inductee will receive a custom ring created by Jostens, the official and exclusive supplier of NFF rings.
