I'm not sure why I'm called ignorant for stating the facts. This guy has not proven he can coach at a national level. I'm a fan of Notre Dame and wish they had hired a distance coach to be director or at least an xc coach with more experience at an elite level. I'm glad the guy did well in the MVC and hope he succeeds because I actually want the team to do well. I just think they need to focus on xc and that doesn't seem to be the case from what I have heard.
Here are Sparks' coaching stats from the list you linked:
Women Indoor
800m- 0 girls sub 2:11
Mile- 1 girl sub 4:57 (she was a senior in his first year)
3k- 0 girls sub 9:40
5k- 0 girls sub 16:45
Women Outdoor
800m- 1 girl sub 2:09 (same senior in his first year) and 3 girls sub 2:13
1500m- 2 girls sub 4:30 (sr girl in his first year and then another this year- an 11 year drought)
Steeple- 2 girls sub 10:40 (10:12 best is pretty good)
5k- 0 girls sub 16:45
10k- 0 girls sub 35:30, 2 girls sub 36:00 and 4 girls sub 37:00
Men Indoor
800m- 2 guys sub 1:52 (1:50 best)
Mile- 1 guy sub 4:06 (4:00 best)
3k- 1 guy sub 8:15 (8:06 best)
5k- 1 guy sub 14:25 (13:53 best)
Men Outdoor
800m- 0 sub 1:50
1500- 1 sub 3:46 (3:41 best)
Steeple- 1 sub 9:00 (8:58 best)
5k- 0 sub 14:00 and 1 sub 14:10 (14:01)
10k- 3 sub 30:00 and 1 sub 29:50 (28:42 best)
He coached an 800/1500 girl in 2003 and two female steeplers this year that could ever score at ACC.
He coached a 1500 guy and a 5k/10k guy that could ever score at ACC's. That is a total of 2 men and 2 women in 12 years!