One of the Finest football coaches in the state of Tennessee has passed away.
Lipscomb Academy head football coach Glenn McCadams passed away early Thursday morning from complications
of cancer.
He had been diagnosed with stage four Mantle Cell Lymphoma and had surgery on March 7 to remove several tumors.
McCadams, 66, was the dean of Nashville coaches as the 2012 season marked his 31st season at Lipscomb Academy and his 44th year overall coaching high school football.
"We have all lost a great friend," longtime Goodpasture and current Stewart's Creek football coach David Martin said.
"Most importantly he was a great man of faith and character and was all that was right about high school athletics."
"This is a huge loss for the Lipscomb family because of his leadership and he will truly be missed."
McCadams owned a 319-112 overall record and won three state championships at Lipscomb Academy two in Class 2A (1994 and 2002) and one in 3A in 2007 as the Mustangs made seven title game appearances.
His win total places him sixth on the all time coaching list for the Volunteer State.
In his 31 seasons at Lipscomb Academy, he posted a 288-100 record and the Mustangs made the playoffs 21 times including 18 straight years from 1993-2010.
Before McCadams, the Mustangs had never made the playoffs.
“Lipscomb Academy has lost an irreplaceable icon in its history and its soul,” Lipscomb University president L. Randolph Lowry said. Coach Mac’s time with the academy spans three decades and several generations of students. He knew his game, and taught it well. But more than that, he knew that the most important thing he was teaching was character and faith. Day after day, year after year, he taught thousands of young people that they had it within themselves to be better than they thought they could be, on the field and in life.”
McCadams started his football coaching career in 1967 as an assistant at Milan under Bill Robertson and the legendary John Tucker.
In 1978, he gained his first head coaching job taking over at Peabody high school in Trenton.
McCadams posted a 31-12 record with the Golden Tide before heading to Nashville in the Fall of 1982.
"Coach Glenn McCadams is the reason for the enormous success of Lipscomb Academy Mustang football,” Lipscomb Academy vice president and headmaster
Mike Hammond said. “He is highly respected by present and former players, his staff of assistants, coaches and administrators across the state, parents and colleagues at Lipscomb. His wisdom, integrity, forthright manner in expressing his position on important matters, love for others and the game of football, and his ability to demonstrate profound issues about faith and life were uniquely influential as the head coach. He will be greatly missed.”
McCadams graduated from Huntingdon high school and got his college degree at Bethel and his masters degree at UT Martin.
McCadams is survived by his wife of 43 years, Alacia, and their two children, Chip (who is currently serving in Afghanistan) and Jill; he also has seven grandchildren, Sam, Nate, Eli, Grace, Mary Frances, Abby and Michael.
Contact Donovan at donovans1222@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at Examine_Stew
Comments