Glenn McCadams was born in Huntingdon, Tenn., and his love for football began early in his life. A graduate of Huntingdon High School, he played football until several injuries ended his playing career. He continued to play baseball and basketball in high school and at Bethel College through his freshman year. McCadams graduated from Bethel in 1969 and completed his Master’s Degree at the University of Tennessee-Martin in 1976.
McCadams began his career as an assistant coach at Milan High School in 1969 under the newly named head football coach, John Tucker. After nine years at Milan, he took over the football program at neighboring Trenton Peabody High School and was there for four seasons, compiling a 31-12 record. In June of 1982, McCadams moved to David Lipscomb High School as the head football coach and athletic director.
McCadams coached football a total of 44 years and had just finished his 31st season at Lipscomb when he became ill. During his tenure, McCadams won 74 percent of his games, compiling a 288-100 record at Lipscomb. His teams averaged nine wins per year, including the regular season and playoffs, and he held a career record of 319-112 as a head coach.
Under McCadams, the Lipscomb Mustangs won two state championships in Class 2A (1994 and 2002) and one state championship in Class 3A (2007). The Mustangs also had four runner-up finishes (1998, 2003, 2005, and 2006).
Lipscomb has played in four different classifications beginning in Class A and participated in Class 4A from 2009 through 2012 seasons. McCadams’ teams played in a total of seven state title games as well as five bowl games. He took the program to 22 TSSAA playoffs including 18 consecutive playoff trips from 1993-2010. The Mustangs went on to post-season play a total of 27 times with McCadams as head coach.
In 2004, McCadams was named the State of Tennessee Athletic Director of the Year and in 2008, he was named the State of Tennessee High School Football Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame in 2014 and received “The Roy Kramer Contribution to Football Award” in March 2014.
Glenn and his wife, Alacia, were married 43 years when he became ill and passed away suddenly in March 2013. They have two children, Hunter and Jill, and seven grandchildren.