COLUMBUS - Columbus State University named Jay Sparks the Interim Director of Athletics after previous director, Todd Reeser, announced plans to leave Columbus State for a leadership role at Southern Illinois University in June. Sparks returns to CSU after nearly 10 years, following a successful athletic career in Columbus.
"I am excited to rejoin the CSU athletics family," commented Sparks. "Most all of the coaches and staff were at CSU when I left in 2014, and it's nice to see all their smiling faces as I have stepped onto campus. I look forward to being a part of a very successful 2023-24 season."
A 2014 CSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Sparks served as CSU's athletic director from 2009-2014 after coaching the women's basketball program for 20 years and serving as assistant athletic director for 10. Sparks started the women's basketball program in 1989 and led the Lady Cougars to national notoriety, posting an overall career record of 367-231, including an even more impressive mark of 333-159 over his final 16 years. In those last 16 years, he tallied 10 20-win seasons.
Under his direction, CSU won the Peach Belt Conference title four times, tying for it once and being crowned PBC Tournament Champions twice. Sparks and the Lady Cougars also had great post-season runs, winning the South Atlantic Regional Championship twice, making six appearances in the NCAA Division II tournament and going to the NCAA Elite 8 on two separate occasions. One of Sparks' most victorious teams was the 2000-01 squad when the Lady Cougars went 31-1 and were ranked number one in the country for eight straight weeks. This team won the conference and made it all the way to the NCAA Final Four.
Sparks coached 21 All-Peach Belt Conference Players, three CSU Hall of Famers and two All-Americans. He was named the PBC Coach of the Year three times. Sparks left coaching to take on the role as athletic director and under his leadership the athletic department added five new NCAA sports including women's golf, rifle, men's and women's track and field and women's volleyball.
His athletics career also includes Brookstone School in Columbus, where he was the head coach for girls' basketball, assistant coach for boys' soccer, and athletics director. Most recently, he was the program director for boys' basketball and head coach of the varsity boys' basketball team at Calvary Christian School in Columbus. Sparks was also inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
