Longtime Ole Miss AD John Warner Alford Jr. dead at 87
OXFORD – Former Ole Miss athletics director John Warner Alford Jr. – who served in the post for 16 years in addition to his time on campus as a student-athlete and football coach – died Friday, the school announced in a statement. He was 87.
Alford played offensive line at Ole Miss, was a captain on the 1960 FWAA national championship-winning team and graduated in 1961. Following stints as an assistant coach at Davidson and Georgia Tech, Alford was named the Rebels’ defensive line coach in 1971. He became athletics director in 1978 and held the title until retiring in 1994.
Alford later took high-ranking positions at the University of Mississippi Foundation and the Ole Miss Alumni Association, among others. During his time as athletics director, Swayze Field was built, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium underwent significant renovations – which included lights, 7,000 seats, grass turf and skyboxes – and Ole Miss added seven varsity sports. Alford also oversaw the construction of a new tennis facility and and athletics training center.
His Drive for Athletics campaign raised $10 million. Alford also served on the NCAA council and was president of the Division I-A Athletics Directors Association. Alford is also a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame, the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame and M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame.
The Warner and Kay Alford Ole Miss Opportunity Endowment was created in 2013 in honor of Warner and his wife, Kay. Kay died on Feb. 3, 2025.