Brad Sparling Named Ohio State Men’s Golf Associate Head Coach – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sparling joins the OSU coaching staff after working with Duke golf teams
COLUMBUS, Ohio Brad Sparling has been named the associate head coach of the Ohio State men’s golf team, Jim Brown, head coach of the Buckeyes, announced Wednesday. Sparling joins Ohio State after three years with the Duke golf teams.
“We are fortunate to have Brad join our staff,” Brown, in his 35th year at the helm of the Buckeyes, said. “He brings a lot of experience with a solid program at Duke. He has a wealth of teaching and coaching experience to share with our program.”
“I am excited about the opportunity to work with the men’s golf team here at Ohio State and to be part of this great university,” Sparling said.
A member of the Golf Coaches Association of America, Sparling most recently served as the interim head coach of the Duke men’s golf team in spring of 2007 when the team finished 13th at the NCAA championships. For his accomplishments, he was a finalist for the 2007 GCAA National Assistant Coach of the Year. He was the associate head coach of the Blue Devils the season before that. Prior to his promotion to associate head coach in 2006, he served as the assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s golf teams.
During Sparling’s time with the Blue Devils, the women’s team won two NCAA championships as well as two Atlantic Coast Conference championships and the men’s team won its first ACC championship since 1966. The men’s team also concluded two of its seasons ranked in the Top 10 nationally and finished tied for eighth at the NCAA championships in 2005 and 12th in 2006. In Sparling’s three seasons at Duke, the men’s team was one of only three teams in the nation to make the final cut at the national championships those three years. Four men’s golfers earned All-America honors and Ryan Blaum was a two-time ACC Player of the Year.
While in charge of all recruiting for the Duke men’s team, Sparling inked two of the top classes in the country. In 2006, the class was ranked No. 4 nationally and the incoming 2007 class was No. 2. He also was deeply involved in the fundraising for Duke’s new golf team building (Karcher-Ingram Golf Center), practice facilities and indoor video training center (Rod Myers Training Center). Sparling helped design the buildings and supervised construction for the team building and indoor training center.
Sparling was a golf professional at the Duke University Golf Club from 2001-04, where he was an accomplished teaching professional. He also had success in numerous professional events. Before working at the club, Sparling worked in private business as an owner, financial consultant and director of finance.
Sparling played golf at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., where he graduated with a degree in economics in 1993. He and his wife, Susie, have three children, Jack, Nicholas and Emma. Susie is a native of Sandusky, Ohio.
Sparling replaces Josh Hellman, who took a position as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Louisville.
