Eureka College announces head football coaching hire

Posted on January 29, 2024

*Starks comes to Central Illinois after stops at Loughborough College, Bakersfield College, Fresno State, and LaGrange College. (Eureka College)*

By Jake Fogal

EUREKA – Eureka College is bringing in a two time NFL Pro Bowler to take over as the head coach of the Red Devils football program.

The college announced Monday, that Randy Starks will takeover as the 20th all-time coach of the program.

“There are a lot of people that coach their entire lives and never get this opportunity. I am proud to say that I am the Head Football Coach of Eureka College. This is a dream come true,” said Starks.

Starks takes the job following the departure of longtime Red Devil coach Kurt Barth, who coached at Eureka for 15 seasons and is the all-time winningest coach of in the programs history.

Starks comes to Central Illinois after stops at Loughborough College, Bakersfield College, Fresno State, and LaGrange College.

During his time in the NFL, Starks took the field for three different franchises, including the Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, and the Cleveland Browns.

“He has played football at the highest level, has a wide variety of experiences as a football coach,
and is pursuing his Ph.D. Our athletes are incredibly fortunate to have Coach Starks lead them and we
can’t wait to see where he takes our program,” said Athletic Director Sara Shaw.

Stark will begin in his role as head coach immediately.

Jake Fogal can be reached at [email protected].

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