Gary Sparks
 
NJCAA Hall of Fame

Contact coach Sparks at 812-888-4428 or e-mail: gsparks@vinu.edu

Gary Sparks is in his 17th season as coach of the Vincennes University bowling program and has seven National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championship titles to his credit, 1993, 95, 96, 00, 03, 04 & 06. He received the Kerm Helmer Coach of the Year Award in 2003 and 2004.

The Trailblazers finished second in last year's tournament, only 123 pins behind host Erie, N.Y. Community College, the team they defeated to win the 2006 title.

Sparks was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame prior to the 2003 tournament.

He is a 1978 VU graduate who has bowled in sanctioned city leagues for more than 24 years. During his second year as a VU student, he competed for the Blazers in several tournaments. The native of Bloomington, Ind., is in his 17th year as Director of the VU Bowling Lanes Management Program. He came to VU after managing Brunswick Bowling Centers in Nashville, Tenn., and Bedford, Ind.

He spent six years on the Indiana Board of Directors for the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) and directed the state tournament before joining VU. Coaching is nothing new for Sparks. He directed and taught youth league programs sanctioned by the YABA at both Nashville and Bedford.

Sparks took over the program in 1992 upon the retirement of the husband-wife coaching team of Jim and Carol Miley who led VU to eight NJCAA championships and the 1983 men's National Intercollegiate Bowling Championship.

Vincennes University NJCAA Bowling Titles

Men - 1980, 83, 85, 86, 89, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 2001, 03, 4 & 06

Women - 1986

Men - 1983 Intercollegiate Bowling Championship