Mark Douglas Hudspeth (born November 10, 1968) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former player who was most recently the head football coach at Austin Peay State University in 2019. Hudspeth served as the head football coach at

University of North Alabama The University of North Alabama (UNA) is a public university in Florence, Alabama. It is the state's oldest public university. Occupying a campus in a residential section of Florence, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes ...

from 2002 to 2008 and at the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

from 2011 to 2017.

Early life and playing career

Hudspeth grew up in

Louisville, Mississippi Louisville (pronounced LEW-iss-vill) is a city in Winston County, Mississippi. The population was 6,631 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Winston County. History Like Winston County, Louisville is named for Louis Winston (1784–1824) ...

. Hudspeth was a schoolmate at

Winston Academy Winston Academy is a private college preparatory school in Louisville, Mississippi. It was founded in 1969 as a segregation academy. History When the Federal government enforced school integration, many white parents sought ways to keep their ch ...

of Andy Kennedy, former head coach of the

Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team represents the University of Mississippi in the sport of basketball. The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They started the 2015–16 season playing home games ...

team and Matthew Mitchell of the

Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball The Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team represents the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats have four Elite Eight appearances and seventeen appearances in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. T ...

team. He played college football at

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi, a city in the Mississippi Delta. History The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricult ...

Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. 61. Clevelan ...

, where he was a four-year letterman.

Coaching career

High school career

Hudspeth was head coach at his alma mater,

, from 1996 to 1997. He took Winston Academy from a program that had four wins in the previous two seasons to a 25–1 record in his two seasons and lead the team to the 1997 Mississippi Private School Association Class A state title.

College career

Early college career

Hudspeth began his coaching career at the

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only ...

as a graduate assistant from 1992 to 1993. In 1994, Hudspeth moved to Nicholls State University as wide receivers/

tight ends The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

coach and he became

running backs A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

coach at Nicholls State in 1995. In 1998, he returned to the University of Central Arkansas as

defensive backs In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

coach. From 1999 to 2000, Hudspeth was offensive coordinator at his alma mater,

. In the 2000 Division II championship game, his offense set title-game records in rushing yards (524), total yards (649) and first downs (36) en route to a 63–34 win. In 2001, Hudspeth moved to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

as offensive coordinator.

North Alabama

In 2002, Hudspeth was hired for his first head coaching position at the

. He was head coach through the 2008 season and compiled a record of 66 wins and 21 losses.

Mississippi State (1st tenure)

From 2009 to 2010, he was wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator at Mississippi State University.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

On December 13, 2010, Hudspeth was named the 26th head football coach at Louisiana–Lafayette. In his first season in 2011, he led a team that finished 3–9 the year before to a 9–4 record and an appearance in the

New Orleans Bowl The New Orleans Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 2001. It is normally held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans; when the Superdome and the rest of the city suffered damage due t ...

– their first bowl berth since 1970. He added three more 9–4 seasons under his belt, playing in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl defeating East Carolina in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, Tulane in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and Nevada in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. However, the NCAA forced Hudspeth to vacate 22 wins from 2011 to 2014, including the 2011 and 2013 New Orleans Bowls and 2013 Sun Belt Conference co-championship, due to NCAA violations involving academic fraud and payments to players by an assistant coach. The university relieved Hudspeth of his head coaching duties after the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Mississippi State (2nd tenure)

In 2018, Hudspeth returned to Mississippi State as assistant head coach/tight ends coach.

Austin Peay

In 2019, Hudspeth was hired by Austin Peay State University after

Will Healy William Livingston Healy (born January 16, 1985) is an American football coach. He was the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina from 2019 to 2022. At the time of hire on December 4, 2018, he wa ...

left to take the head coaching job at the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

. In his first season as head coach, Hudspeth led Austin Peay to its first 11-win season in program history, its first

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cham ...

(OVC) title in 42 years, and first appearance in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Governors defeated Furman and

Sacramento State California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

before falling in the Quarterfinals to Montana State. On July 3, 2020, Hudspeth resigned, initially saying he was doing so to spend more time with his family. A public records request, however, found that Hudspeth had been suspended by Austin Peay at the time of his resignation for his "recent unacceptable conduct" and for violating terms of his contract involving "egregious personal conduct" and "conduct that is clearly contrary to the character and responsibilities" of the position.

Return to high school

On January 8, 2021, Hudspeth was hired as the head football coach at Gulf Shores High School in Gulf Shores, AL.

Personal life

Hudspeth is married to Tyla McConnell and has four sons and one daughter.

Head coaching record

College

* Louisiana–Lafayette vacated 22 wins from 2011 to 2014, including the 2011 and 2013 New Orleans Bowls and 2013 Sun Belt Conference co-championship, due to NCAA violations involving a former assistant. Without the vacated wins, Louisiana went 9–4 in each season between 2011 and 2014.

References

External links

Louisiana profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudspeth, Mark 1968 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football safeties Austin Peay Governors football coaches Central Arkansas Bears football coaches Delta State Statesmen football coaches Delta State Statesmen football players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Navy Midshipmen football coaches Nicholls Colonels football coaches North Alabama Lions football coaches High school football coaches in Mississippi People from Louisville, Mississippi Coaches of American football from Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi