First Baptist athletic director, football coach Billy Sparacio out after nearly two decades

Posted by author February 25, 2025 Football

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Editor’s Note: This story will be updated.

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

For Billy Sparacio and First Baptist Academy, their relationship, after a lot of winning over the program’s 15-plus years, has ended.

Sparacio is out as the program’s founding athletic director and football coach he confirmed to the Naples Daily News Tuesday afternoon. Sparacio was not available to comment further when reached.

In 2007, Sparacio was hired to build an athletic program for FBA, which has since flourished as one of Collier County’s premier all-around programs.

As the program’s football coach, Sparacio was 127-49 (.722) with eight district and six regional titles. The Lions won the Class 1S football championship in 2022, the first team from Naples to do so since 2007.

As athletic director, the Lions had state runner-up finishes in volleyball (2017), boys track and field (2021), girls track and field (2021), and boys wrestling (2022) with Final Four appearances in boys’ basketball (2019, 2022, 2025), volleyball (2018, 2020, 2024), and girls’ basketball (2021).

Scott Stewart was Sparacio’s first hire at First Baptist as the boys basketball coach, leading the Lions’ JV program before making its varsity debut in 2009. Stewart’s won over 300 games in 16 years, averaging 20 wins per season.

“He’s an unbelievable brother,” Stewart said before declining further comment, citing his team’s focus on their Class 2A state semifinal game against Riviera Prep Thursday in Lakeland.

Before taking over at FBA, Sparacio coached the Barron Collier football team from 2002-06, going 28-23 with the Cougars.

Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.