Mike Ayers

Mike Ayers
Biographical details
Born	May 26, 1948 (age 76); 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)

Mike Ayers (born May 26, 1948)^[1] is an American former college 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 head coaching record of 218–160–2. Ayers' Wofford Terriers won five Southern Conference title, in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2017.

Playing career

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

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]

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.

Personal life

He holds a black belt in karate, and is an accomplished sketch artist and fly fisherman. After retiring from coaching, he enrolled in art classes at Wofford in 2018.^[3]

Head coaching record


Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	TSN^[4]^#
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

References

^ ^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.
^ Hembree, Mike (January 1, 2019). "From football to artwork". Wofford College. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
^ Final poll standings are from The Sports Network Archived May 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

Wofford profile

[AyersBio-1] "Mike Ayers: Head Coach". Wofford Athletics. Retrieved July 17, 2008.

[2] "Mike Ayers wins 2003 Eddie Robinson Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 17, 2008.

[3] Hembree, Mike (January 1, 2019). "From football to artwork". Wofford College. Retrieved September 23, 2024.

[tsnpoll-4] Final poll standings are from The Sports Network Archived May 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.

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