Tattnall Square Academy names stadium after legendary coach Barney Hester

Tattnall Square Academy’s Board of Trustees announced Tuesday the school’s stadium will be named Barney Hester Stadium in honor of the former coach’s 31 years of accomplishments and positive influence.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Tattnall Square Academy’s Board of Trustees announced Tuesday the school’s stadium will be named Barney Hester Stadium in honor of the former coach’s 31 years of accomplishments and positive influence.

The decision recognizes Coach Hester’s impact on students, athletes, coworkers and families during his tenure at Tattnall from 1982 to 2012. A committee has been formed to plan a special recognition event, set to be held at Jack Baynes Field at Barney Hester Stadium in the fall of 2025.

Coach Hester led the Trojans to 306 wins, 11 state football championships and six state track championships during his career. He also served as athletic director (1982-1998) and head of school (1998-2009). He was named Macon Touchdown Club Coach of the Year five times and earned GISA Coach of the Year honors 12 times. He was inducted into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Tattnall Hall of Fame in 2014. With 340 career wins (306 at Tattnall, 18 at Bibb County’s Howard High School, 9 at Gordon-Ivey and 7 at Josey Academy), he ranks sixth in total victories among Georgia high school football coaches, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association.

Following a three-year stop at Josey and four years at Gordon-Ivey, Hester was Tattnall’s head football coach from 1982 to 2012 before taking over the head football coaching position at Howard from 2013-2017. He retired from coaching in 2018 and became the athletic director for Bibb County Schools, serving in that role until 2021. In February of this year, he announced his candidacy for the Bibb County School Board District 4 seat, for which he ran unopposed.

According to Tattnall, there will be an opportunity to show appreciation with a gift to the Tattnall Athletics Department, in honor of Coach Hester, to be designated for stadium upgrades and improvements. More details will be announced later.

“Please join our excitement in this well-deserved recognition of Coach Hester’s positive influence and impact on the countless number of students, athletes, coworkers, and the many lifelong friends and families of our Tattnall community,” the academy said in a Facebook post.