Stuart Burleson graduated in 1988 as one of the last scholarship athletes at Howard Payne. He was the first wide receiver to gain over 1,000 yards in pass receptions. He graduated from Midland Greenwood High School, where he played football, basketball, tennis and was on the track team. He spent one semester at the University of Kansas before transferring to HPU in the spring of 1985. At HPU, he was named all-conference and broke four HPU receiving records. He went on to amass a record 1,700 yards receiving and 12 TDs in his career. In track, Burleson was a five-time national track qualifier in the decathlon and high jump – four outdoor and one indoor – and was a two-time All-American in the high jump. He finished as high as second in the high jump. His best collegiate jump of 7-feet, 1¼ inches still stands as the Howard Payne school record. After graduating, Burleson coached high school sports, helping lead 11 football teams to postseason appearances with six bi-district championships and two quarter final appearances. His track teams also dominated,  with 18 district championships, five regional championships and two state championship teams.