Spears enters into his first year leading the Jets in 2025-26.
Spears brings over two decades of experience in college athletics and brings a championship mindset, a strong record in revenue generation, and a passion for student-athlete development. At the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), Spears most recently served as Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Relations and the Diversity & Inclusion Designee. During his tenure, Spears negotiated and managed major partnership contracts with Adidas and Pepsi, securing essential resources to support departmental operations. He also developed strategic hotel partnerships to accommodate the needs of 25 athletic teams, department staff, visiting teams, official visits, game day officials, and coaching candidates.
Spears oversaw sport administration for men’s and women’s swimming and diving, golf, fencing, cross country, track and field, softball, baseball, and women’s basketball, while also assisting administration for men’s basketball and football in his role at Incarnate Word.
Under his leadership, the department achieved conference championships in football, men’s swimming, and men’s indoor track, as well as conference individual champions in Men’s and Women’s Golf and the fencing Coach of the Year.
Spears led the day-to-day operations of the athletic department, where he fostered a positive and collaborative environment across campus. He championed a culture of inclusion through an approach that prioritized mental health and overall well-being for both student-athletes and staff. As the NCAA Diversity and Inclusion Designee, he played a key role in advancing equity initiatives and also established “As One We Will” which is a coordinated campus and community-based program focused on promoting diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
He helped lead UIW’s successful bid to host its first-ever FCS Playoff game and managed major championship events, including the 2022 NCAA West Regional Fencing Championship and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship. He also oversaw the Athletics External Relations team, overseeing social media, graphic design, sports information, marketing, and game-day production. Additionally, he served as UIW’s external lead for the 2025 NCAA Men’s Final Four Championship, coordinating host school responsibilities at the national level.
Before transitioning into administration, Spears coached Division I basketball for nearly 20 years. From 2017 to 2020, he served as an Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at UIW, leading a significant program turnaround. Under his guidance, the Cardinals recorded six conference wins in 2019–20 which was a five-win improvement from the previous two seasons and their best true road win performance since the 15–16 season. The Cardinals won more games overall for the first time since the Cardinals joined Division I.
His coaching resume includes roles at:
- Long Island University- Brooklyn (2015–2017): Helped lead the team to a 20–12 record and 13–5 in NEC play in the 16-17 season.
- University of New Orleans (2012–2015): He served as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator.
- Brown University (2011–2012).
- Wagner College (2005–2010) : He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2009. He also helped lead the team to a record setting 23 win season (07-08).
- Lamar University (2002–2005) – He began his coaching career at his alma mater after leading his team to a Southland Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance his senior year.
