John Warner Alford, Jr.

Mr. John Warner Alford, Jr., 87, died Thursday, March 26, 2026, at Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo, MS. The funeral service will be Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 2:00 P.M. at Oxford-University United Methodist Church with Reverend Chris McAlilly and Revered Jody Schmelzer officiating. Visitation will be Monday, March, 30, 2026, from 4:00 P.M. until 6:00 P.M. in West Hall at Waller Funeral Home and again on Tuesday prior to the service beginning at 1:00 P.M. at the church. A graveside service will be held prior to the visitation on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 12:15 P.M. at Oxford Memorial Cemetery with Reverend Warren Black officiating.

Warner was born April 26, 1938, to John Warner Alford Sr. and Inez Chandler Alford in McComb, MS. Warner was a three sport athlete at McComb High School but it was football that drew the attention of college recruiters. Warner ultimately accepted a scholarship offer from Ole Miss and his future father-in-law, Tom Swayze. It was not long after arriving on campus that Warner met his future bride, Kay Swayze. Kay was the ultimate wife of a man with a career in athletics, supporting him in every way and being his biggest fan. Warner could not have achieved any of his accomplishments without Kay by his side.

While playing at Ole Miss, Warner was Co-captain of Ole Miss’s 1960 football team, the FWAA national and SEC champions. The 1960 football team was later voted the Team of the Decade. Warner had many talented teammates and they maintained relationships for many years after their playing days.

Graduating with the BBA degree in June 1961, Warner was a young business executive in McComb for four years before he decided in 1965 that he wanted to return to football.

He returned to Ole Miss for a year, 1965-66, to complete his master’s degree in economics, then went to Laurel, Miss., and an assistant’s job at R.H. Watkins High School. Seven months later he went to Davidson College, where he served 14 months as defensive coordinator before spending the next three years as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech. Warner returned to Ole Miss after six years, when he served as the Rebels’ defensive line coach from 1971 through 1973. Warner left the coaching field in 1974 when he was named Assistant Director of Athletics and Director of Rebel Recruiting. In 1977, he relinquished his recruiting duties in order to devote full attention to administrative duties of the total athletics program.

When Warner took over the reins of the Ole Miss’s athletics program on February 1, 1978, he became one of the nation’s youngest athletic directors as well as one of the most dedicated.

During his 16 years as athletic director of the multi-million-dollar department, Warner helped produce one of the nation’s finest athletic programs. Warner’s tenure as athletics director saw Ole Miss enjoy progress in all areas, including on the fields of competition, in the classroom, and in facilities improvement.

With the culmination of the Drive for Athletics, a $10 million effort, Vaught­Hemingway Stadium received a major facelift and new press box, which included 29 sky boxes. Also included in the stadium project was the addition of a $500,000 lighting system, installed in the summer of 1990, bringing night football to campus. Prior to the Drive for Athletics, 7,000 end zone seats were added, and natural grass replaced the artificial turf.

Other major additions under Warner’s direction included construction of a new baseball stadium and tennis center. The baseball facility (Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field) was named as the nation’s top collegiate field in the spring of 1993. Renovations also took place at the golf course, while the track facility expanded seating capacity and was resurfaced. Also constructed during his tenure was the capstone of the Drive for Athletics, a $3.5 million Training Center addition to the “Doc” Knight Field House.

Warner’s efforts didn’t stop with physical improvements. When he took over as athletics director, Ole Miss sponsored only five men’s sports and three sports for women. When Warner left Ole Miss in 1994, the University sponsored eight sports for men and seven sports for women. Warner served on the committee to formulate plans to bring women’s athletics into the Southeastern Conference.

A strong leader in the fields of athletics, Warner served on the NCAA Council, as president-elect of the Division 1-A Athletics Director Association, as 1st vice president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), as chair of the CFA Athletic Directors Committee and was a member of the CFA Board of directors. He was also a member of the NCAA Professional Sports Liaison Committee, a member of the NCAA Honors Committee and a member of the NCAA Certification Committee. Warner served on the Southeastern Conference Executive Committee, was on the SEC Basketball Tournament Site Selection Committee and on the CFA Television Committee.

Warner retired as Director of Athletics in 1994 and entered the business world with Mississippi Diversified Corporation serving as vice-president until 1999 when he accepted an offer to be athletics director at University of Louisiana-Monroe. After two years at ULM, Warner was named vice president and national sales manager of the Assurant Group’s Indirect Auto.

Although Warner spent a brief period of time away, he returned to where his heart was – Ole Miss. On his return, Warner held positions as executive assistant for development for the UM Foundation, coordinator of external programs for the Trent Lott Leadership Institute and worked with the Ole Miss First scholars’ program. He served as executive director for the Ole Miss Alumni Association from 2004 to 2008, overseeing significant growth in the club program and the addition of the tower to The Inn at Ole Miss.

In 2013, to honor Warner and Kay’s longtime service and lasting contributions, the University of Mississippi Foundation created the Warner and Kay Alford Ole Miss Opportunity Endowment with a $50,000 gift and invited alumni and friends to help build the fund. Annual income from the endowment provides Ole Miss Opportunity scholarships to academically deserving students from lower income families in Mississippi.

Warner was inducted into the M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame in 1999, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, and the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2018, he received the University of Mississippi Alumni Service Award and was also inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors (NACDA) Hall of Fame. In 2024, Warner was honored with a Service Award by the University of Mississippi School of Business Administration.

To his family, Warner was the ultimate leader. He set the standard for us as a model of leadership, commitment, honesty, integrity, hard work, and generosity. Warner valued relationships above all else calling it America’s most precious resource. If you were fortunate enough to be Warner’s friend, you knew that he would be with you no matter what. He had the gift of making everyone feel at home and feel special. He modeled for us what it looked like to live out his faith in Jesus Christ every day. He loved God and he loved people. His legacy will live on through all of the lives that he touched.

Warner was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Kay Swayze Alford, his parents, John Warner Alford Sr. and Inez Chandler Alford; his sister, Judy Alford, and his brother, Charles Chandler Alford. He is survived by his children Swayze Alford (Melinda), John Alford (Michelle), Phyllis Daniels (Darrell); and seven grandchildren, Lilli, Grace (Christian), Grant, Clayton, John Swayze, John Warner and Jude; his sister, Susan Nichols (Buddy); sisters-in-law Martha Collins and Beth Harris (Mike). He is also survived by incredibly special nieces, Amanda Ficek (Scott), Blakeney Jones, and Chandler Shelton.

Memorials may be given to The Warner and Kay Alford Ole Miss Opportunity Endowment, c/o University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Avenue, Oxford, Mississippi 38655.