Former baseball coach and athletics director John Stanford, 77, died Monday morning as the Blue Raiders officially entered Conference USA. He was preceded in death by former basketball standout Tim Sisneros, 59, who died Friday.
Stanford played baseball for the Blue Raiders from 1960-63, returned as head coach from 1974-87 and then served as athletic director until 1994.
He posted a 402-272-4 record while winning four OVC championships and five Southern Division titles. Stanford, who holds the school’s all-time best career winning percentage (.593), also led MTSU to the NCAA tournament four times.
While he transitioned from head baseball coach to athletic director, Stanford hand-picked Peterson, who later guided MTSU to eight OVC championships.
A winner of multiple coach of the year honors, Stanford made just as big of an impact while serving as athletics director for seven years, especially in regards to the golf, women’s softball and baseball programs.
Sisneros, the 1976 OVC Player of the Year and first-team all-conference selection, was inducted into the Blue Raider Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
His 1975-76 season ranks second all-time in scoring for MTSU with 618 points.
With a career total of 1,426 points and 846 rebounds, Sisneros is tied for seventh among Blue Raiders in all-time scoring and rebounding.