Mike Ayers, head football coach, Wofford College
In 1987, Wofford College’s football program was in desperate need of salvation.  A program that had a proud history, with bowl game appearances and wins over Southeastern Conference teams on its resume, had fallen on hard times.  The ’87 team had gone 1-10, been shutout twice and scored just 87 points in 11 games while surrendering more than 26 points per game.

Enter Mike Ayers.  The young, energetic coach had built East Tennessee State into a Southern Conference contender and had knocked off Atlantic Coast Conference opponent North Carolina State in 1987.

Ayers’ impact on the Terriers was immediate.  He magically transformed that 1-10 Wofford team into a .500 squad in 1988 and then led the Terriers to an NCAA Division II playoff berth in 1990.

Now, 18 years later, Ayers is the head coach of a Terrier team that, over the last four years, has been the epitome of success within the Southern Conference.  Since the start of the 2002 season, Wofford has posted a 35-13 overall record, a winning percentage of .729 that is unmatched in the SoCon.

For 18 seasons, Ayers has instilled his own intensity, character and pride into his teams.  He has recruited the type of student-athletes that fit the academic profile of Wofford.  With 35 victories, the 2005 seniors graduated as the winningest class in school history.

Wofford has an all-time SoCon mark of 39-31 (.557), an impressive feat considering that its debut season in 1997 represented just its third year on the Division I-AA level.

Ayers was named the recipient of the The Sports Network’s 2003 Eddie Robinson Award as Division I-AA’s National Coach of the Year. He was the runner-up in 2002.
 
He has been named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year three times (2000, 2002, 2003) in the last five seasons. He has also received AFCA Region Coach of the Year honors in two of the last three years. The only other coach to claim that distinction is Bob Stoops of Oklahoma.
 
Ayers has received the AFCA regional honor four times in the last 16 years. He was also selected for the award in 1990 and 1991 when he guided the Terriers to the Division II playoffs in each of those campaigns.
 
Ayers was named the 2002 National Coach of the Year by the College Sporting News (www.i-aa.org).
 
Ayers led the 2003 Wofford football team to its first SoCon championship. With the Terriers picked to finish fifth in a preseason poll by the league coaches and having no players being named first-team preseason All-SoCon, Wofford went 8-0 for the SoCon’s first perfect mark since 1998.

Born May 26, 1948 in Georgetown, KY, Ayers played prep football at Glen Este High School in Cincinnati, later earning a football scholarship to Georgetown College (Ky.), where he was a three-time All-District 24 selection at linebacker while also starting at offensive tackle. He earned all-district honors as a catcher on the baseball team in addition to competing in gymnastics and wrestling.
 
Ayers completed his B.A. degree in 1974 and received his M.A. degree from Georgetown as well in 1976. He has been inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at both Glen Este and Georgetown.

Ayers and his wife, Julie, were married on June 26, 1976. They have two daughters: Katie, age 25, and Courtney, age 23; and a son, Travis, age 20.