Coach Tony Stanford was an acclaimed championship football coach at Louisville, Choctaw Central, Philadelphia, Kosciusko, Lumberton, Neshoba Central, Morton, Carroll Academy, and Columbus High. Coach Stanford is a native of Kosciusko who excelled on the gridiron at Winona High and received the Barry Memorial and Coaches Award before graduating from Winona in 1972. He achieved his college degrees at Holmes Junior College, Delta State, and Mississippi State. He began his 37-year career in 1976 as an assistant football coach at Carroll Academy and coached at Kosciusko, Lumberton, and Neshoba Central before arriving at Louisville in 1985. He served one season as head coach at Philadelphia before returning to Louisville in 1987. After working 2 seasons in Morton as head coach, he returned to Louisville where he would lead the Wildcats to championship success. Under his guidance, Louisville captured 4 division titles, 1 North State crown, and the 1995 Class 4A State Championship in a span from 1995 to 2000. In 2003, he moved to Choctaw Central and in 2008, he assumed his present position at Columbus High where he still serves as head football coach. Overall, his football squads have earned a record of 212 wins and 120 losses. He also served as athletic director at Louisville from 1995 to 2003 where he oversaw an athletic operation with 15 staff members for 600 students with a budget of $200,000. Coach Stanford was honored as an assistant (1997) and as head coach (2001) for the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic. He also worked as assistant (1998) and head coach (2003) for Mississippi in the MS/AL All-Star game. He was two-time division Coach of the Year and named to the Outstanding Young Men of America in 1988. He was named an Impact II teacher in 1988 and also worked as assistant principal while coaching at Morton High. He served as District Vice President and President from 2007 to 2009 and has been a stellar member of the MAC who has served the organization as a member of the Board of Directors (1990, 1995-2003), the Executive Committee (1997-2003), and as Vice President and President from 2002 to 2004. He has been a longtime member of the National Federation of High School Coaches and a speaker at MAC and Nike clinics as well as local clinics in Louisville and Philadelphia. In 2023, Coach Stanford was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.