Tennessee Tech Head Football Coach Bobby Wilder reached 100 career victories with the Golden Eagles’ win over Furman, a milestone he says belongs to far more people than himself.
Wilder earned 77 victories during his tenure at Old Dominion before adding 23 at Tennessee Tech. Wilder said conversations with his family and the people who shared those victories have given the milestone its meaning.
“Anytime you’re involved with anything that has to do with legacy, if the people that love you the most are proud of you, that means the most,” Wilder said. “The second most important thing is the people that you have the opportunity at your workplace to share a milestone with, because I’m a firm believer that was not my record, that was the record of people that were involved in the 77 wins at Old Dominion and then the 23 wins that got to 100 here at Tennessee Tech.”
Wilder said the accomplishment became especially meaningful during a drive home after the game when he discussed it with his two sons.
Thirty-five years in coaching have also changed how Wilder measures success. He now holds weekly 10-minute individual player development meetings with 60 athletes, focusing on areas ranging from academics to their personal lives.
“I’ve learned through my coaching journey is the player relationships matter the most,” Wilder said. “I’m doing all day today, I’ve had 60 of what I call IPD meetings, individual player developments, where I sit down with the players for 10 minutes, the same day, same time each week and go through their life, their grades, the team, and building those personal relationships is the most important thing that I’ve learned throughout my 35-year coaching career.”
Wilder’s path to 100 victories has included setbacks. He began building Old Dominion’s football program from scratch in 2007 and eventually compiled a 77-56 record before a 1-11 final season ended his tenure.
“You learn, you learn a lot when you when you get fired,” Wilder said. “I was 77 and 56 as the head coach at Old Dominion. We went 1 and 11 my last year and they asked me to leave. I had time to reflect on the things that you would do different. I think it’s very important in life, no matter what what you do in life, you have to learn from the from the challenging experiences and not blame others for for what happened, take a deep look at yourself.”
Wilder brought those experiences to Tennessee Tech, where the program had gone 12 years without a winning season before his arrival. He credited Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham and Athletic Director Casey Fox with providing the support needed to move the program forward.
The Golden Eagles have posted a 24-8 record over their last 32 games, winning 75 percent of those contests.
Wilder said his connection to Tennessee Tech has grown beyond football since coming to Cookeville.
“I love this area, this community, I call this, these are my people,” Wilder said. “It’s faith, family, football. There’s just wonderful people that live in Cookeville. I was here three months and made the decision to buy a house because I just fell in love with this community, this campus, the people. I’m a firm believer God puts you where you’re supposed to be and this is the place that I love to be right now.”