The National High School Athletic Coaches Association has announced Kevin Wallace
and Mark Spader from Bowling Green as finalists for coaching awards from the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.
Bowling Green High School Football Coach Kevin Wallace is one of eight finalists
from across the country for the national football coach of the year. Mark Spader, BGHS Defensive Coordinator, is one of eight finalists for the NHSACA assistant football coach of the year. The awards banquet will take place at the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s national convention at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky on June 29, 2016, when NHSACA will name the national coach of the year in nineteen recognized sports categories.
This selections are based on longevity, service to high school athletics, honors,
championship years, and winning percentage. The nominees and finalists are evaluated by experts in the field of coaching using a sport-specific rubrics to assign points in each category.
Kevin Wallace started his coaching career in 1984 at Warren East High School. He joined the Bowling Green High School staff in 1994 and was named Head Coach of the Purples in 1996. His overall record at BGHS is 229-38. Teams under his leadership have been state semifinalists in 1998 and 2009, state runners-up in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and class 5A state champions in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015. Coaching accolades include the 1996 Courier-Journal AAA Coach of the Year; 2005 Courier-Journal Kentucky Coach of the Year, 2012 KHSADA Kentucky Coach of the Year, 2012 NFHS Mid-East Regional Coach of the Year, 2012 Courier Journal 5A Coach of the Year, 2012 Sporting Times Region 4 Male Coach of the Year, and 2013 Associated Press Kentucky Coach of the Year.
Mark Spader has worked as a high school football coach since 1991, coaching at BGHS,
Warren East, and Warren Central before returning to Bowling Green High in 2004. He has served as the BGHS Defensive Coordinator since 2013, with the Purples winning the 5A State Championship in 2013 and 2015.
The National High School Athletic Coaches Association is the oldest coaches association
in the nation formed by coaches, for coaches, and has been recognizing national coaches of the year since 1978.
