In 1972, Madison signed with the Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball Club, playing in Tampa and Trois-Rivières (Quebec) before being released in 1974.
The following year, he was offered the graduate assistant position at Mississippi State University under the tutelage of legendary coach, Ron Polk.
Upon completing his master's degree at Mississippi State, Madison was hired as the head baseball coach at the University of Kentucky at age 26 in July 1978.
At the time, he was the youngest head baseball coach in NCAA Division l. In his first season at Kentucky, the Wildcats broke the school record for wins.
Madison coached 17 players who eventually played Major League Baseball, including 2006 Cy Young Award winner, Brandon Webb.