DENNIS ALEXANDER

Daingerfield, Henderson, Harleton, Hughes Springs, & Troup High Schools

Upon graduation from Kilgore High School in 1966 (the last class recruited before Coach Jess Neely retired), Alexander attended Rice University on a football scholarship. At Rice, he lettered in football and baseball. He began his coaching career in 1970, first as a graduate assistant at Rice and then at East Texas State. From there, he went to Taylor High School as an assistant coach for one year.

In 1972, Alexander’s first head coaching job was at Hughes Springs High School, where he spent four years. From Hughes Springs, Alexander began a very memorable thirteen years at Daingerfield High School. The 1983 Tigers won the State Championship, setting both national and state records—the first team to win 16 games, to have 14 (13 consecutive) shutouts, to have only eight points scored against them, and to score 246 points in the playoffs. Again in 1984, the Tigers returned to the State Championship, falling to Medina Valley. In 1985, Daingerfield came roaring back to win the State Championship with another 16-0 season. During his thirteen years at Daingerfield, the Tigers amassed a total of 129 wins.

In 1989, Alexander headed to Henderson High School, where he coached for thirteen years. His Lion teams made it to the State Quarterfinals four times. From Henderson, Coach Alexander went to Harleton High School for ten years and finally to Troup High School for four years. In his 44 years as a head coach/athletic director at five different high schools, Alexander's teams had an overall record of 340 wins.

Alexander has received numerous coaching awards—Coach of the Year from THSCA, Texas Sportswriters, Kodak, and Harris Poll. He received the “Coach Who Makes a Difference” award from Fox Sports Southwest. He was District Coach of the Year 18 times. He served on the THSCA Board of Directors from 1996-1999. He was in the first class inducted into the East Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor in 2014, and in 2022 he was inducted into the THSCA Hall of Honor.

Dennis and his wife Missy have been married for 50 years. Together they have a very large family—2 daughters, Dayna and Deborah and their spouses, 9 grandchildren,4 great grandchildren, 2 living brothers and their spouses, a sister-in-law, 2 nieces and 4 nephews and their spouses, 7 great nieces, and 4 great nephews.