Tony Hardin joined the Lees-McRae men's basketball coaching staff, under head coach Steve Hardin, for the 2021-22 season.

In a coaching career that spanned more than three decades and touched numerous lives, Hardin amassed more than 500 victories as a head coach at the middle school and high school levels. After a successful run as middle school coach at Hunter Elementary, where he led the 1983 Tiger squad to the Tennessee State Championship, Hardin became the only coach in Elizabethton history to guide both the girls and boys basketball programs to the sub-state.  He guided the Elizabethton Cyclones to one of the school’s only state tournament appearances in decades and then took on the task of rebuilding Heritage where he coached until his retirement in 2012.

Lauded as a keen basketball mind, who always was a great teacher of the game, Hardin has a dozen former players serving as coaches at various levels of basketball, including his oldest son, Lees-McRae Head Coach Steve, and Michael Morrell, the head coach a UNC Asheville.

Further, Hardin also coached a pair of players who went on to play professional football, most notably Jason Witten and Vince Redd.  Upon Hardin’s retirement from high school coaching, Witten shared his thoughts on Hardin with The Daily Times.

“Coach Hardin was a tremendous coach and will always hold a special spot in my life,” said Witten, a former Cyclones star and Pro Bowl tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. “He had a unique way of reaching young men like very few I have ever been around.  On the court, he taught me so many great qualities that I still use today, such as a strong work ethic and deep understanding of mental toughness and how to have discipline in every phase of your life.”

Among the additional highlights of Hardin's resume, he was President of the Watauga Coaches Association, a member of the All-Star Selection Committee three times and was once named the State's TACA Class 2-A Coach of the Year.

Hardin is also the author of a book entitled “Everyone Can Win” – which is A Real-World guide to competitive athletics. He stated that the book was written to give back to the world of athletics and would be a great read for young coaches and especially parents.

He joins his son’s staff as a volunteer, “Pops” as most call him is excited to get back into the game that he has always loved.  He stated, “I am very proud of Steve and the tremendous job that he is doing at LMC and it will be great to watch the process with a front row seat.  I hope to provide a positive influence within the program.”

Tony is married to the former Linda Campbell and has 3 sons - Steve, TJ, and Ben along with 5 precious grandchildren.