Carl Madison was born in Uriah, AL in 1931. He attended Escambia County high school where he played football and was an outstanding tailback for Coach Herbert Barnes. The teams he played on won 30 consecutive games between 1947-49.

Madison accepted a scholarship to play football at Texas Tech where he stayed for one season before joining the U.S. Army. He returned to Texas Tech in the fall of 1952 where he started four games for the Red Raiders before an injury ended his season.

Madison transferred to Troy State in 1955 where he was an outstanding quarterback for the Trojans. He graduated from Troy in 1957. Madison took the head football coaching position at Ernest Ward high school in the fall of 1957 and spent four seasons at the school.

In 1961, Madison moved to Milton, Fl and took over the football program at the school near Pensacola. At Milton, Carl won his first state championship and had a 34-game winning streak. After five seasons, Madison was off to Forest Park, GA for five seasons where his 1968 team reached the state championship game before losing to Valdosta.

Coach Madison returned to Pensacola and accepted the head coaching job at Tate high school in the summer of 1971. His 1980 team at Tate won the Florida state championship. Following the 1982 season he left and served as an assist coach at Pensacola high school for a couple of years before taking the head coaching job at Pine Forest in Pensacola.

Madison stayed at Pine Forest for only three season but his teams won two state titles and the 1988 team was voted National Champions beating out a great Vigor team for the honor. He spent one year at Westover in Georgia before taking the job at Pensacola high school for two year (1990-91).

His last stint as a head coach in Florida was at Milton where he remained through the 1999 football season. In 2002 Madison moved to Jackson, AL and accepted the head coach position at Jackson Academy. He inherited an 0-10 team and in his first season turned them into a 10-3 AISA state championship unit. His 2004 squad also won a title. Following the 2004 season, Coach Madison retired from the sidelines.

Overall, Coach Madison coached 45 years and had 323 wins, 130 losses and 7 ties. He ranks in the top 30 nationally all-time in wins as a head football coach. He was the Coach of the Year five times in three states, and the National High School Coach of the Year in l988.