At present day, Hunter is an Award-Winning TEACHER, a Championship-Level COACH, and a Gifted STORYTELLER.
But most importantly, he’s a HUSBAND, a FATHER, and a FRIEND.
Hunter’s Journey
The son of a Hall of a Fame Texas High School Coach, Hunter was raised to be an achiever.
High School
Named the East Texas Region’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a national nominee for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award.
College
Earned a degree from the top-10 nationally ranked McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was also a member of the Texas Cowboys.
Post Grad
Served on Capitol Hill as a member of U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s legislative staff and completed a fellowship with Reformed Theological Seminary.
But after moving back to Texas to attend law school, he noticed that something was off. His emphasis on individual goals left him unfulfilled, and he recognized that this wasn’t the path he wanted to take.
An earlier coaching experience at an inner-city school in Jackson, MS, had left an imprint on him that there was some magic that happens when you’re part of a team.
So, he shocked his family and dropped out of law school to begin a career as a basketball coach.
Jackson Public Schools (MS)
City Champions
Bishop O’Connell High School (VA)
State Champions
Trinity University (TX)
Division Champions
Spring Hill High School (TX)
District & Area Champions
Baylor University (TX)
3 NCAA Tournaments, 1 Sweet 16
Arkansas State University (AR)
Biggest Turnaround in Division 1
But at the end of this period, he again noticed that something was off. Even though he had shifted his goals from the individual to the team, he was routinely frustrated and unfulfilled by the path he and others took to achieve their success. So, he made a change.
To the surprise of his colleagues, he left college basketball in 2017 and took a faculty position at the University of Mississippi.
After spending 10 years of his life devoted to winning and moving on to the next thing, he blew his work life up. He then started to intentionally build a career that not only produced high results but was also in align with his core values and connected to people. Read his Current Bio here (linked)
Me to We
Since then, he’s not only produced his best work, but his relationships are stronger than ever, and he’s living in line with his values—which in return fuels his passion for his life’s calling.
Don’t we all want that from the 1/3 of our life that is devoted to work?
Official Bio for Dr. Hunter Taylor
Dr. Hunter Taylor is the founder of the Excellence in Coaching Project – a non-profit devoted to elevating the work of high school and middle school coaches across the United States – and an award-winning faculty member at the University of Mississippi.
He’s a former basketball coach who began his career by leading an inner-city middle school to a City Championship and finished it by helping lead a college basketball program to the biggest turnaround in Division I.
He’s also a gifted storyteller who has authored two books, How to Build a Thick Institution and Draw the Line, and he regularly co-hosts “The Coach & Doc Podcast.” His latest creative venture, Taylor Sports Club, is a semi-regular storytelling event where Hunter and his co-host interview different SEC legends in front of a live audience on the grounds of Taylor, Mississippi’s Plein Air neighborhood.