HR0883 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In 2005, Coach Bob Spoo led the Eastern Illinois University Panthers football team to their third Ohio Valley Conference championship in the last five years with a perfect conference record of eight wins and no losses; and

WHEREAS, With an overall record of nine wins and three losses, the Panthers were ranked fifteenth by USA Today/ESPN and earned the school's tenth NCAA I-AA playoff berth; and

WHEREAS, Following the Panthers' ninth winning season in the last 12 years, Coach Spoo was honored as the Ohio Valley Conference's Coach of the Year, his third time being named conference coach of the year; junior linebacker Clint Sellers was named Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year as well as being named All-American; safety Tristan Burge and linebacker Lucius Seymour, both juniors, also were named All-Americans; and

WHEREAS, Coach Spoo is the winningest football coach in EIU history, with a record 119 wins; he has twice been the American Football Coaches Association's Region Coach of the Year; in 1995, he was named Co-Coach of the Year for Division I-AA by the Football Gazette; and in 2000, he was the runner-up for the Eddie Robinson I-AA National Coach of the Year award; and

WHEREAS, Coach Spoo and his staff also place a great emphasis on academics, a stance that has been publicly commended by the EIU faculty Senate; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Coach Bob Spoo and the Eastern Illinois University Panthers football team on an outstanding season and on winning their third Ohio Valley Conference championship in the last five years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Coach Spoo and the EIU Panthers football team as an expression of our esteem.