Marion Military Institute

Marion Military Institute traces its origins back to 1842 with the creation of Howard College in Marion, Alabama by the Alabama Baptist Convention. and a handful of faculty and students decided to remain in Marion, Alabama and immediately reorganized and founded Marion Military Institute, a military preparatory high school and college. Under his leadership, MMI achieved national recognition. President William Howard Taft served as President of the board of trustees. Then president of Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson was the guest speaker at the convocation for the class of 1905. However, the plan to pattern the school after Eton College was interrupted by World War I. The military nature of MMI was again emphasized due to the outbreak of the war. The U.S. Army Early Commissioning Program was established at MMI in 1968, and in 1971, MMI became coeducational. The United States District Court Southern District of Alabama ruled in the school's favor. In 2014, the plaintiff lost again on appeal, the court noting that racial animus was not a sufficient reason for ruling in the plaintiff's favor. ==Cadet structure==

, built 1912 in 2013. The Corps of Cadets is organized into a battalion consisting of the Headquarters staff and six companies including Band, A, B, C, D, and E. A cadet lieutenant colonel exercises command and control of headquarters and five companies of cadets as the battalion commander. Each company has a cadet captain commanding, a cadet first lieutenant executive officer, two cadet second lieutenant platoon leaders, a cadet first sergeant, and two cadet sergeant first class platoon sergeants. Each platoon normally has three to four squads and each squad is led by a cadet staff sergeant. ==Athletics==

Marion Military Institute athletics is nicknamed "Tigers". It is a member of Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC/Region XXII), which is a part of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I. They also represented Region XXII at the NJCAA Men's National Basketball Championships, but lost to McLennan Community College (70-78) in the first round. Marion Military Institute men's tennis team showed its dominance in the state of Alabama by holding the NJCAA Region XXII Championship five years in a row from 2011 to 2016. In 2013, the school hired former MLB player Matt Downs as the head coach of the baseball team. In 2016, Christopher Lawrence, former personal trainer of Javier Arenas and Kirani James, became the Marion's cross country coach. Marion Military Institute also had a football team, which captured the state championship in 1912. On November 28, 1918, MMI earned a 101–0 victory over Howard College Football Team at home. This is MMI Football's largest margin of victory and the second largest margins of defeat in the history of Samford University Football Team. In the 1922 season, MMI cadets were defeated 0-110 by the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Alabama in what still stands as the school record for largest margin of victory and as the Crimson Tide's only 100 point game. ==List of presidents==

16 individuals have been president of Marion Military Institute: ==Notable alumni==

Early Commissioning Program • Robert W. Bennett, U.S. Army brigadier general, 61st Adjutant General of the Army • Jeff Brandes, Republican member of the Florida Senate • Emerson Brooks, actor, NAACP Image Award winner • Scott L. Efflandt, U.S. Army major general, former Fort Hood Commander • Clark W. LeMasters, Jr., U.S. Army major general, 36th Chief of Ordnance and 35th TACOM LCMC Commanding General • Terry F. Moorer, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama • Shawn Morelli, Paralympic gold medalist in cycling • Raymond F. Shields Jr., U.S. Army major general, commander of New York Army National Guard Service Academy Program • Paul D. Adams, U.S. Army general • John Bahnsen, U.S. Army brigadier general and decorated veteran of the Vietnam War • José M. Cabanillas, U.S. Navy rear admiral • Robert E. Hogaboom, Chief of Staff of United States Marine Corps • Bruce K. Holloway, USAF general, Vice Chief of Staff US Air Force, CinC Strategic Air Command • Harold Houser, U.S. Navy rear admiral and the 35th governor of American Samoa • Clayton C. Jerome, USMC naval aviator • Alexander Kreiser, USMC brigadier general, China Marine, and naval aviator • Halley G. Maddox, U.S. Army major general • Merlin O'Neill, 10th commandant of the Coast Guard • William W. Outerbridge, U.S. Navy rear admiral who fired the first shots in defense of the United States during World War II • Jacob E. Smart, USAF general • Thomas Walker, U.S. Navy vice admiral, first commanding officer of the USS Constellation (CV-64) Others • Mike Carey, member of the United States House of Representatives • Bernard Ford, former NFL player • Miller Reese Hutchison, electrical engineer. Inventor of Klaxton Horn and hearing aids. Associate of Thomas Alva Edison • Maston E. O'Neal, Jr., member of the United States House of Representatives • Jimmy Rane, founder and CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving • Eugene Sledge, United States Marine, professor, and author • Tom Stagg, judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana • Dwight Stone, former NFL player • Robert H. York, U.S. Army lieutenant general == See also ==