The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum recently announced its Class of 2026, which includes three former Rebels: track legend Brittney Reese, football standout Louis Guy and strength coach Johnny Parker. They will be inducted in a series of ceremonies in July 2026.
“Each of these honorees has elevated Mississippi athletics on a national and even international stage,” Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Andrea Patterson said in the announcement. “Their impact extends beyond their wins and records. They represent the perseverance, leadership, and integrity that define Mississippi sports.”
The impacts that these individuals had on their respective programs are still felt today. During their careers, they garnered both national and international recognition for their accomplishments.
Brittney Reese
Reese, born in Inglewood, Calif., and raised in Gulfport, Miss., competed as a long jumper for Ole Miss for only two years — a short career, yet long enough to leave an indelible mark on the community. Reese played basketball for two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before transferring to Ole Miss in 2006, where she quickly emerged as a standout athlete.
“It means a lot. Just growing up in Mississippi and seeing all the great athletes that came through, great coaches that came through,” Reese said in a phone interview with The Daily Mississippian. “It’s just an honor for me and my family to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
This is Reese’s fourth Hall of Fame induction, but this one means more.
“This one is special because it’s actually from your state,” Reese said. “To me, it’s a really big deal to get inducted in anything that has something to do with where you grew up and you were raised.”
Reese won the 2007 NCAA indoor bronze medal in long jump, then, during the 2007 outdoor season, won silver in long jump. The next season, Reese secured the 2008 gold in indoor long jump and took bronze in indoor high jump. Later, she added the 2008 NCAA outdoor long jump gold.
Reese holds the Ole Miss records for all three of her events — high jump, long jump and triple jump — in both indoor and outdoor competitions.
After her professional debut for Nike in June 2008, Reese competed at 11 World Athletics championships from 2007-19, all in long jump. At Worlds, Reese won seven medals, including six golds.
Reese also is a four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist. She finished No. 4 in the 2008 Beijing Games, then won gold in long jump at the 2012 London Games. Later, she took silver in long jump at both the 2016 Rio Games and the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Reese also has 12 United States Track and Field National titles and holds the national indoor long jump record with a jump of 7.23 meters (23-8.75).
Today, Reese is the jumps/multis coach at Long Beach State University in California, where she helps train the next generation of successful athletes.
Louis Guy
Guy, a McComb, Miss., native, played football for the Ole Miss Rebels under coach Johnny Vaught. Guy served as the Rebels’ wingback from 1960-62.
“Congrats to my dad, Louis Guy, who will be a 2026 inductee to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame as an Ole Miss Football player from 1960-62, as well as a New York Giant and Oakland Raider,” Sean Guy said on Instagram. “We are so honored and grateful for this accomplishment and acknowledgment.
During his Ole Miss career, the Rebels won the SEC Championship and a national championship in 1960 and the SEC Championship with a perfect 10-0 record in 1962.
Guy set many records while with the Rebels. In 1962, he tied the SEC and NCAA record for the longest interception touchdown return with his 100-yard runback in a game against Tennessee. He also set the Ole Miss record (now broken) for the most receiving touchdowns in a single game with three against Houston. That same year, he led the SEC for the most touchdown catches with five.
After college, Guy played two seasons in the NFL, one for the New York Giants and another for the Oakland Raiders.
After his retirement, Guy earned his Master of Science and his Doctor of Dental Surgery in orthodontics from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He practiced orthodontics in Jackson, Miss., where he now resides.
Johnny Parker
Parker was born in Shaw, Miss., and majored in history at Ole Miss. Although he did not compete in any college sports at the university, he made his impact as a pioneer in strength and conditioning.
“It’s a great honor and I’m thrilled and I’m humbled by that. For an old cotton picker from Shaw, Miss., to be in there, it’s a great honor,” Parker said in an interview with The Enterprise-Tocsin. “This is something that Walter Payton and Jerry Rice are in.”
Parker began working as a strength and conditioning coach at the University of South Carolina in the 1970s. He then took the job at Indiana University under head coach Lee Corso, making him the first strength and conditioning coach in the history of the Big Ten. He spent one year at LSU before returning to Oxford.
Always looking to improve his knowledge in the field, he earned his master’s degree from Delta State University in 1976 and then traveled to the Soviet Union in the early 1980s to learn from experts in strength and conditioning.
All of Parker’s hard work paid off when he revolutionized the weight-lifting scene across the United States by applying what he learned in the Soviet Union to his jobs back home. His innovation and work helped the Rebels reach the Independence Bowl in 1983 to end their 12-year bowl game drought.
Parker then took his talents to the next level when he joined the New York Giants as their strength and conditioning coach. With the Giants, Parker won the Super Bowl in the 1986 and 1990 seasons.
From there, Parker moved around the professional league. His New England Patriots went to the Super Bowl in the 1996 season, and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in the 2002 season.
Other inductees in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026 include former Mississippi State defensive lineman Glen Collins, former Mississippi State running back Michael Haddix, current William Carey University baseball coach Bobby Halford and former Delta State University swim and dive coach Ronnie Mayers.
The Class of 2026 will be inducted in a series of ceremonies scheduled for July 3, 2026, through Aug. 1, 2026. Tickets to the events will go on sale in January.
