Hall of Fame
Michael R. Springston is a 1982 graduate of West Virginia University Institute of Technology. He majored in Physical Education and Safety. During his time at Tech, Springston played football and baseball. He began his coaching career under the guidance of head football coach Roy Lucas after an injury ended his football career. That career spanned 34 years of on-field coaching and another ten years of consulting and analytics.
In 1990, Springston became an assistant to Jim Marsh at Tech. During that time, the modern-day spread offense was devised and designed on the turf at Martin Field. He went on to coach at Glenville State University and Concord University over the next few seasons.
In 1992, Springston met and married his wife Sharon and moved to Illinois, where he became a high school head football coach. Enjoying the talent-rich Chicagoland area, he had the opportunity to coach tremendous athletes who went on to great careers collegiately and professionally.
In 1999, WVU Tech tapped coach Springston to become their head football coach. Shortly thereafter, he was recruited to serve as Director of Athletics. He held those positions until December of 2003 when he left to start the football program at University of Charleston. This era produced many tremendous players and accomplishments and some of those talented players have been inducted into the Tech Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 2007, Springston became the offensive coordinator at Eastern Kentucky University. There, he invented the Run Pass Option, “RPO” offense that was originally known as “Read Pass.” Both offensive models are currently the standard for football at all levels.
Springston finished his coaching career at Walkertown High School in Walkertown, North Carolina, where he began the program in 2011. He retired from teaching in 2020 from the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School system. He is currently pastoring Salt and Light Church in Mount Airy, North Carolina. He also is the author of the book, “I Surrender,” published in 2020.
He and Sharon have three children, Paul (46), Christopher (46) and Lisa (43). They currently reside in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
