Spavatal Named Head Coach of Broken Arrow

Originally Published: Jan 11, 2010 8:3 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma -- Everyone knew it was coming, but the Broken Arrow Board of Education made it official Monday. Steve Spavatal is the head coach of the Broken Arrow Tigers.

“I am excited and thrilled to be the head coach of the Broken Arrow Tigers!” said Spavatal in a press release. “It’s been a pleasure to work with Ron for the past three seasons, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to push our program to the place that we all want for Broken Arrow football and that’s a state championship.”

Before the season, legendary head coach Ron Lancaster announced that it would be his final season and that Spavatal was the head coach in waiting. For the past three season he has served as the defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for the Tigers. In all three seasons Broken Arrow has been to the playoffs, including a 2009 semi-final appearance.

Before his time with the Tigers, Spavatal spent the previous 14 years as the defensive coordinator for the Union Redskins under head coach Bill Blankenship. During his tenure at Union, the Redskins won the state title in three of his last five years, including the 2005 season when Spavatal was named the National High School Assistant Coach of the Year.