“It’s Indescribable”: Templeton Joins Heroes in Hall
July 30, 2021 | Athletics, Joel Coleman
Former Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton to take rightful place in Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame this weekend.
When Larry Templeton has to think about the honor that is about to be bestowed upon him, he pauses and thinks for a second to come up with the right words.
Templeton, the longtime Mississippi State athletic director, is set to be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame this weekend, one year later than originally scheduled after last year's inductions were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given time to ponder what it means, Templeton finally can explain it, primarily by laying out how unexplainable it all really is.
"It's unbelievable," Templeton said. "You know, I've been to so many of these banquets and I've always been honored to be there because of the outstanding athletes and coaches that are put [into the Hall of Fame]. Then the two people that probably had as much influence on me getting into intercollegiate athletics as anyone – [former MSU sports information director] Bob Hartley and [former radio play-by-play announcer] Jack Cristil – have been enshrined in this Hall already. To join those two heroes of mine is just indescribable."
It may all seem surreal to Templeton, but the fact is that his life is every bit as legendary as those he has looked up to.
In many ways, Templeton's story has played out like a fairy tale. He grew up in Starkville. His father, Buck, served as the supervisor of athletic facilities at MSU. The family home was located where Barnes and Noble now sits on campus, only feet from what is now known as Davis Wade Stadium.
Templeton loved sports and he loved Mississippi State. Templeton grew up, graduated from MSU, went to work under Hartley in the sports information department, then in 1987, Templeton was picked as the school's new athletic director. It was the start of a 21-year run that laid a foundation for much of what Mississippi State still is today.
The Bulldogs reached great heights under Templeton's watch. There were seven SEC regular season championships. There were seven SEC Tournament titles. Football played in the SEC Championship game. The Diamond Dawgs went to the College World Series on four occasions. Men's basketball reached the Final Four.
None of that is to even mention how MSU promoted equality in women's sports, improved and renovated facilities, and Templeton did it all while keeping the budget in the black over his entire tenure.
You better believe others took notice of Templeton's work as well. He was voted as chairman of SEC athletic directors. He's been a part of numerous NCAA postseason committees. The Templeton resume is about as impressive as it gets. He's quick to not take full credit for the success though. Or really, even partial credit.
"We did it all [at Mississippi State] with a staff that basically stayed in place for 20 years," Templeton said. "The administrative staff was just an incredible group of people and I'll stay away from trying to name them all because I'll leave someone out, but they just made it work. I just happened to be the captain of the ship."
So out of all the championships and accolades and the rest, what stands as Templeton's proudest career achievement of them all? Well for that, he doesn't have to think long at all.
"There have been humongous moments," Templeton said. "Out of everything I'm most proud of though, there's more than 4,000 student-athletes that got a degree from Mississippi State that I had the opportunity to sign their scholarship papers. To me, that's as significant as any of those other accomplishments we had on fields and courts."
Those thousands of students are now linked to Templeton himself as all are now Mississippi State alums. And Templeton, well he can now stand with his name once again connected to Hartley and Cristil, all as Mississippi Sports Hall of Famers.
Templeton, the longtime Mississippi State athletic director, is set to be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame this weekend, one year later than originally scheduled after last year's inductions were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given time to ponder what it means, Templeton finally can explain it, primarily by laying out how unexplainable it all really is.
"It's unbelievable," Templeton said. "You know, I've been to so many of these banquets and I've always been honored to be there because of the outstanding athletes and coaches that are put [into the Hall of Fame]. Then the two people that probably had as much influence on me getting into intercollegiate athletics as anyone – [former MSU sports information director] Bob Hartley and [former radio play-by-play announcer] Jack Cristil – have been enshrined in this Hall already. To join those two heroes of mine is just indescribable."
It may all seem surreal to Templeton, but the fact is that his life is every bit as legendary as those he has looked up to.
In many ways, Templeton's story has played out like a fairy tale. He grew up in Starkville. His father, Buck, served as the supervisor of athletic facilities at MSU. The family home was located where Barnes and Noble now sits on campus, only feet from what is now known as Davis Wade Stadium.
Templeton loved sports and he loved Mississippi State. Templeton grew up, graduated from MSU, went to work under Hartley in the sports information department, then in 1987, Templeton was picked as the school's new athletic director. It was the start of a 21-year run that laid a foundation for much of what Mississippi State still is today.
The Bulldogs reached great heights under Templeton's watch. There were seven SEC regular season championships. There were seven SEC Tournament titles. Football played in the SEC Championship game. The Diamond Dawgs went to the College World Series on four occasions. Men's basketball reached the Final Four.
None of that is to even mention how MSU promoted equality in women's sports, improved and renovated facilities, and Templeton did it all while keeping the budget in the black over his entire tenure.
You better believe others took notice of Templeton's work as well. He was voted as chairman of SEC athletic directors. He's been a part of numerous NCAA postseason committees. The Templeton resume is about as impressive as it gets. He's quick to not take full credit for the success though. Or really, even partial credit.
"We did it all [at Mississippi State] with a staff that basically stayed in place for 20 years," Templeton said. "The administrative staff was just an incredible group of people and I'll stay away from trying to name them all because I'll leave someone out, but they just made it work. I just happened to be the captain of the ship."
So out of all the championships and accolades and the rest, what stands as Templeton's proudest career achievement of them all? Well for that, he doesn't have to think long at all.
"There have been humongous moments," Templeton said. "Out of everything I'm most proud of though, there's more than 4,000 student-athletes that got a degree from Mississippi State that I had the opportunity to sign their scholarship papers. To me, that's as significant as any of those other accomplishments we had on fields and courts."
Those thousands of students are now linked to Templeton himself as all are now Mississippi State alums. And Templeton, well he can now stand with his name once again connected to Hartley and Cristil, all as Mississippi Sports Hall of Famers.
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