Henderson State University Athletics

HENDERSON STATE HEAD COACH SCOTT MAXFIELD
RECORD AT HSU: 134-65 (18 years)

ACCOLADES AND AWARDS:
- 2013 AFCA Super Region 3 Coach of the Year
- 2012 & 2013 Great American Conference Coach of the Year
- 2012 & 2013 Liberty Mutual AFCA/National Coach of the Year Finalist
- 2010 Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year
 
Already considered one of the greatest coaches in Henderson State history, head football coach Scott Maxfield has built a program that has garnered national attention.
 
In his 18 seasons and 19 years at Henderson, Maxfield has compiled a 134-65 record and has coached 171 all-conference honorees, 71 all-region selections, 30 All-Americans and four Harlon Hill Trophy finalists.
 
In addition to being the winningest coach in Great American Conference history, Maxfield surpassed Sporty Carpenter for most wins at Henderson, claiming his record-setting 120th victory after defeating Arkansas-Monticello on Sept. 17, 2022. Carpenter won five Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference titles and posted a record of 119-76-7 from 1971 to 1989. Maxfield and Carpenter are the only football coaches in program history to win 100 or more games at HSU.
 
Since 2010, Maxfield’s teams have claimed four conference titles and have made five postseason appearances, claiming the school’s first NCAA playoff win in 2015 by posting a 23-16 victory over Sioux Falls. In those 13 seasons, Henderson has a 108-39 record. Maxfield has also led the Reddies to a 94-27 Great American Conference record which included a streak of 27 straight victories.
 
Maxfield has also compiled eight wins against Ouachita Baptist in the Battle of the Ravine, including four-straight victories against the Tigers from 2010 to 2013, joining Carpenter (8-9-2) and Jimmy Haygood (8-8-2) for the most wins over OBU.
 
The Reddies claimed GAC championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015, earned a share of the Gulf South Conference title in 2010, have hosted the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2012, 2013 and 2015 while having appeared in the 2023 playoffs, and have played in the 2019 Texarkana Live United Bowl with Maxfield at the helm.
 
Along the way, Maxfield earned AFCA Super Region 3 Coach of the Year honors in 2013 after leading the Reddies to a school-record 11 wins and their second straight undefeated regular-season. Maxfield also garnered GAC Coach of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013, was also one of five finalists for the 2012 and 2013 Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year, and was GSC co-Coach of the Year in 2010.
 
In 2023, Maxfield led HSU to the NCAA Division II Playoffs after its seven-year hiatus, capturing the Reddies' third nine-win season in the last four campaigns. That season, Henderson produced 10 All-Conference selections, including six First Team honorees - the most since 2015's playoff team.

That same year, the Reddies landed offensive lineman Robert Dunham on the AFCA All-America First Team list while seeing defensive end Gary Lewis on the Second Team. It was the third year in a row Maxfield's team has had a First Team All-American by any publication.

The 2015 Reddies claimed the conference title with a 10-1 league mark and then hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Playoffs.
 
A total of 15 players earned All-GAC honors, with JaQuan Cole earning GAC Offensive Player of the Year. Henderson finished the season ranked No. 12 in the AFCA Top 25.
 
In 2013, the Reddies earned their highest-ever national ranking since becoming a member of the NCAA in 1993. Henderson State was ranked in the AFCA Top 25 Poll for the entire season and ranked No. 4 the final four weeks of the regular-season.
 
That season saw the Reddies go 11-1 including a 10-0 mark in GAC play. Henderson State was tops in the nation in scoring offense (53.5 points per game), total offense (576.6 ypg) and passing offense (428.4 ypg).
 
Throughout the course of the season, 13 Reddies earned national player of the week honors, while 12 earned GAC Player of the Week accolades.
 
One product of Maxfield was Kevin Rodgers who earned GAC Offensive Player of the Year honors three straight years as well as being named the GAC Male Athlete of the Year twice.
 
Henderson also had the 2013 GAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season as linebacker Keaton Stigger grabbed the honor. Maxie Graham was touted as the league’s best defensive player in 2012.
 
In 2012, Henderson State finished the regular-season undefeated/untied for the first time in school history as the Reddies were 10-0 overall including an 8-0 record in the GAC. That season also saw the Reddies advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school history.
 
A record 19 players earned All-GAC honors and 10 Reddies were named First-Team All-GAC.
 
The Reddies led the nation in scoring (50.36 points per game), were third in total offense (516.82 ypg), third in passing offense (377.64 ypg), and third in passing efficiency (172.79). Henderson State also outscored its opponents by an average of 29 points per game.
 
Aside from the success on the field, Maxfield, his staff and the Reddies work extensively off the field, in the classroom as well as within the community.
 
Since Maxfield’s arrival, the academic standards within the Reddie football program have made a significant improvement. The team cumulative grade point average in past three years is 2.8 with 85 players earning academic all-conference honors.
 
Rodgers earned the Capitol One Academic All-American Scholar Athlete of the Year.  A year earlier, Kelton Hays became the first Reddie since Lee Daily in 1998 to earn Capitol One Academic All-American First-Team honors.
 
Prior to Maxfield’s arrival, Henderson State struggled to make the transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II level.
 
From 1993 to 2004, Henderson State had just one winning season and a combined record of 35-90-1 in those 12 seasons. 
 
After a rebuilding year in 2005, Maxfield led the Reddies to an 8-3 record in 2006, and a 7-3 mark in 2007. The Reddies finished with a 6-2 record in the Gulf South Conference both seasons finishing tied for second.
 
The 8-3 finish in 2006 ranked as one of the best turnarounds in the nation, as the Reddies were just 3-8 in Maxfield’s first season. Henderson State ranked in the Top-25 in several polls throughout the season.
 
In 2007, the Reddies finished with a 7-3 record and finished the season ranked 23rd in College Sports Report Top 25. Henderson State recorded its third straight winning season at home, completing back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1989 and 1990, and turned in an 18-0 shutout against in-town rival Ouachita Baptist.
 
The 2008 season showed a versatile Reddie team with one of the most prolific offenses in HSU history averaging 32.8 points per game while totaling 448.1 yards of offense including 330.1 yards passing. The Reddies finished 5-5 losing three games late in the fourth quarter which left Maxfield and the rest of Reddies wondering what could have been.
 
Despite the 5-5 season, it was the third straight non-losing year for the Reddies, the most since Henderson recorded seven straight non-losing seasons from 1973 to 1979 under legendary coach Sporty Carpenter.
 
In 2010, Maxfield led the Reddies to their first conference championship in 25 years as Henderson State claimed a share of the Gulf South Conference title.
 
Despite being limited to just five conference games, the 2011 Reddies finished second in their first year in the Great American Conference recording a 4-1 conference record including a 41-36 victory over Ouachita Baptist. Henderson State was the only Division II team in the nation to play two games against NCAA Division I opponents.
 
A proven winner, Maxfield led Blinn College to back-to-back playoff appearances prior to his arrival at Henderson State.
 
During his three years at the Brenham, Texas school, Maxfield compiled a 21-10 record and a pair of playoff appearances.
 
Blinn finished with a 9-2 record in 2004, finishing ranked No. 7 nationally, and advancing to the Southwest Junior College Conference semifinals before losing to Tyler Junior College.
 
The Buccaneers ranked second nationally in total offense averaging 469.9 yards per game, including 269 yards passing per game which ranked fifth in the nation.
 
Maxfield’s offense also lit up the scoreboard at Blinn averaging 46.1 points per game.
 
After posting a 5-5 mark in his first year at Blinn, Maxfield kick-started the Bucs’ offense in 2003 and carried the Buccaneers to the playoffs for the first time in three years. Blinn finished the 2003 season with an overall record of 7-3, but it was the Bucs’ offense that caught the nation’s attention.
 
Blinn fielded one of the most dangerous offensive attacks in junior college history, averaging 558 yards and 52 points a game. The Bucs had three All-Americans on offense and sent four offensive players on to the Division I level.
 
The former Offensive Coordinator of the Year spent one year as head football coach at Pearl River Community College in Mississippi, before taking the job at Blinn.
 
At Pearl River, Maxfield guided the Wildcats to a 7-2 finish, the first winning season for the school since 1995. The offense finished first in the National Junior College Athletic Association in total team offense, averaging 460.5 yards per game, and was also first in passing offense, averaging 315.8 yards per game.
 
His previous five seasons were spent with Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia where he was the offensive coordinator.
 
Maxfield, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech and his master’s from the United States Sports Academy, was named Offensive Coordinator of the Year for Community and Junior Colleges in 1999 by American Football Coach Magazine.
 
His 28 years of coaching experience includes five years as an assistant at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La.
 
Working under former HSU Athletic Director and then coach of the Demons Sam Goodwin, Maxfield was defensive line coach from 1991-94, before becoming Goodwin’s defensive coordinator from 1994 to 1996.
 
Maxfield also spent a total of 10 years (1986-1990 and 1996-2001) at Northwest Mississippi Community College.
 
A graduate of John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas, Maxfield was a four-year letterman at Louisiana Tech University where he played offensive guard and center.
 
After his eligibility was finished, Maxfield served as a student assistant for the Bulldogs before becoming a graduate assistant at Ole Miss.
 
Coach Maxfield and wife Beth Ann have assisted with several charitable organizations donating their time as well as providing financial support to such organizations as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Humane Society, United Way, Relay for Life, and the Red Cross to name a few.
 
Each January, Maxfield, his staff and the Reddies conduct an on campus blood drive with the entire staff and players donating blood which amounts to over 60 pints each year.
 
Throughout the year, Reddie players take turns in assisting at the local humane society where they clean pens, as well as wash, feed and walk the animals.
 
Maxfield and the Reddies also take part in the Reddie to Read program. This program involves the team visiting the local elementary schools in the area and reading to children.
 
The Reddie to Serve program is a program in which the Reddies assist the elderly or handicapped within the community by doing yard work, painting, conducting household chores, etc.  
 
The Reddies have also assisted with the building of playgrounds at local schools and community centers.
 
With one of Arkansas’ most visited state parks (DeGray State Park) located just outside of town, the Reddies assist with the DeGray Lake clean up. Players will pick up trash around the lake and campsites. DeGray Lake State Park consists of over 200 miles of shoreline and has nearly 2 million visitors each year.
 
Maxfield and his players also make visits to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. The children look forward to these visits, but it’s the children who have a lasting impression on the players.
 
Every year Maxfield and his staff take part in the AFCA Coach To Cure MD to raise money to help defeat Duchenne.
 
Also a supporter of the local law enforcement, Maxfield annually sponsors the Arkadelphia Police Department lift-a-thon.
 
Maxfield is also a featured speaker at several civic group luncheons and meetings as well as numerous sports banquets among other events throughout the state.

Maxfield and his wife Beth Ann, who holds a doctorate in English, have one daughter, Alexandra Hailey.
 

AT HENDERSON STATE