Bio

A 25-year fixture on East Mississippi Community College’s Scooba campus as a baseball player, baseball coach and college administrator, Tony Montgomery assumed his most recent administrative position this past January by being named the Dean of the Scooba Campus/College Advancement.

Having served in an administrative capacity at EMCC since 2011, Montgomery has taken on an expanded role under the direction of EMCC President Dr. Scott Alsobrooks. Along with working with EMCC Executive Director of Alumni Affairs and Foundation Operations Gina Cotton in leading the college’s fundraising efforts, Montgomery also oversees the Lions’ successful athletics program headed by Director of Athletics and Dean of Students/Scooba Campus Sharon Thompson.

Montgomery’s athletics career at East Mississippi began as an all-state baseball selection when the Class of 2020 EMCC Sports Hall of Fame inductee posted a career batting average of .340 with nine home runs and 62 runs batted in during the 1992 and 1993 seasons for head coach Bill Baldner’s Lions. Montgomery then moved on to Delta State University, where he became an All-Gulf South Conference performer for Hall of Fame head coach Bill Marchant. Montgomery helped lead the Statesmen to a two-year composite record of 85-28 overall and 38-9 in conference play. In his first season with DSU, the all-league first baseman garnered NCAA South Central Regional Tournament MVP honors en route to leading the 45-13 Statesmen to a third-place tie at the 1994 NCAA Division II World Series.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in social science, Montgomery stayed on at Delta State as a graduate assistant under the guidance of Hall of Fame baseball coach and current DSU Director of Athletics Mike Kinnison. Upon completing his master’s degree in physical education from Delta State in 1998, Montgomery returned to the Scooba campus as Baldner’s assistant coach for eight seasons before being elevated to the top spot in 2006.

Montgomery spent four seasons as the Lions’ head baseball coach. In just his second season at the EMCC baseball helm, he directed the 2008 team to a 29-18 record to mark the most wins for the Lions since 1994. EMCC also earned NJCAA All-Academic Team honors during his four-year stint as head coach.

A native of Columbus, Miss., Montgomery began his competitive baseball career as a standout player at New Hope High School. As a member of the Trojans’ 1991 state championship team, Montgomery previously owned New Hope’s single-season home run record (13) until broken by his younger brother and fellow recent EMCC Sports Hall of Fame inductee (Brad) seven years later.

Montgomery is married to the former Christine Perkins, of Vernon, Ala., who serves as EMCC’s Assistant Director of Human Resources on the Scooba campus.