Beloved college coach Shawn Clark passes away

Former Appalachian State star player and ex-head coach Shawn Clark has passed away at the age of 50 after suffering a medical emergency earlier this month.

UCF, where Clark was hired earlier this year by Scott Frost in his return to the helm the program he previously guided to record-setting heights, announced Clark's passing Monday morning.

"Shawn was so much more than a coach," Frost said. "He was a remarkable man, husband, and father who cared deeply about his players and staff. The reaction of our players and coaches to the news this morning is a testament to Shawn’s character, and the impact he had on every life that he touched. He was loved. 

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Jonelle, and children, Giana and Braxton. We are here to support them and will continue to keep them in our hearts and prayers.”

For most of his career, Clark was Appalachian State football. A West Virginia native, Clark starred on the offensive line for the Mountaineers in the mid-1990s. He was three times an all-conference selection and twice earned FCS All-America honors in 1996 and 1998.

Just few years after the conclusion of his playing career, Clark navigated his way back into college football to initiate his coaching career. He opened as a graduate assistant at Louisville under John L. Smith, and he landed his first full-time assistant coaching position in the same state, at the FCS level, when he became the offensive line coach for Eastern Kentucky.

Following FBS assistant coaching stints at Big Ten program Purdue from 2009-12 and then Kent State, both mentoring the offensive lines, he returned to his alma mater in Boone, North Carolina, in 2016 for then-head coach Scott Satterfield, who now leads the University of Cincinnati program.

Serving as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Clark was a top assistant to Satterfield from 2016-18 and by 2019 had been elevated to assistant head coach. Clark remained a steady fixture of Mountaineers football even after Satterfield departed for the head job at ACC resident Louisville. 

When Eliah Drinkwitz departed after one season as head coach for the head coaching post at SEC program Missouri after the 2019 season, Clark was named head coach at App State on Dec. 13, 2019. 

Clark had immediate success in his first-ever time as a head coach, guiding App State to a bowl win after Drinkwitz's departure and posting a 20-7 mark across his first 27 games.

He added a nine-win campaign in 2023 and closed his head coaching career with a 40-24 overall mark.

Clark had suffered the medical emergency earlier this month during UCF's bye week and had been hospitalized, though Frost had recently said there were encouraging signs for Clark's health as his medical team elevated his condition to stable. Frost at the time called Clark one of the greatest men he had ever been associated with in football. 

"I can't say enough good about him. You enjoy this sport and you want to do it with people you like and care about," Frost said. "There's not very many guys I've been around that I've really enjoyed being around as much as Coach Clark. Not just a great coach but a really good man."

FootballScoop sends its condolences and offers prayers for Jonelle, Giana, Braxton, his Appalachian State family and UCF, as well as all the lives Clark touched throughout his 50 years.