Kermit Davis (born December 14, 1959)
Teams coached: Idaho Vandals, Texas A&M Aggies, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Ole Miss Rebels
Idaho record: 63-29 (.685)
Texas A&M record: 8-21 (.276)
Middle Tennessee record: 332-188 (.638)
Ole Miss record: 74-79 (.484)
Overall record^: 477-317 (.601)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6 (1989, 1990, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 3 (2012, 2018, 2021)
- CIT Appearances: 2 (2010, 2015)
- Conference USA Regular Season Champion: 3 (2014, 2017, 2018)
- Sun Belt Regular Season Champion: 3 (2010, 2012, 2013)
- Big Sky Regular Season Champion: 2 (1989, 1990)
- Conference USA Tournament Champion: 2 (2016, 2017)
- Big Sky Tournament Champion: 2 (1989, 1990)
Awards:
- SEC Coach of the Year: 1 (2019)
- Conference USA Coach of the Year: 1 (2017)
- Sun Belt Coach of the Year: 3 (2003, 2012, 2013)
- Big Sky Coach of the Year: 1 (1989)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
2018-2023 | Ole Miss |
2002-2018 | Middle Tennessee |
1997-2002 | LSU (assoc. HC) |
1996-1997 | Idaho |
1994-1996 | Utah State (asst) |
1993-1994 | Chipola JC |
1991-1993 | Chipola JC (asst) |
1990-1991 | Texas A&M |
1988-1990 | Idaho |
1986-1988 | Idaho (asst) |
1984-1986 | Southwest Mississippi CC |
1983-1984 | Mississippi State (grad. asst) |
Kermit Davis Facts
- John Kermit Davis, Jr.
- Born December 14, 1959
- Hometown: Leakesville, Mississippi
- Alma Mater: Mississippi State University (BS, 1982 & MS, 1984)
- His father is former Mississippi State player and head coach Kermit Davis, Sr.
- Began his career as a graduate assistant under Bob Boyd at Mississippi State, then was head coach at Southwest Mississippi CC for two seasons
- Was an assistant at Idaho for two years under Tim Floyd before taking over as head coach in 1988
- Davis led the Vandals to back-to-back 25-6 seasons, both ending in trips to the NCAA Tournament
- Spent one year as Texas A&M’s head coach, but resigned in the midst of NCAA rules violations
- As a result of a three-year NCAA show cause penalty, Davis spent the next three seasons at Chipola JC in Florida (one as head coach)
- Returned to the D-I ranks in 1994 as an assistant under Larry Eustachy at Utah State and then returned to Idaho for one season as head coach
- Became associate head coach for John Brady at LSU in 1997, where he stayed until 2002 when he was hired as the head coach at Middle Tennessee
- Took the Blue Raiders to the NCAA Tournament in 2013, his 11th season on the job, and returned in both 2016 and 2017
- The 2016 team pulled off a miraculous first round upset as a 15-seed over 2-seed Michigan State; the win is considered one of the greatest March Madness upsets of all time
- MTSU won the Conference USA regular season title in 2014, 2017 and 2018
- Hired as the new head coach at Ole Miss in March 2018
- Won 20 games in his first season in Oxford, earning SEC COY honors and an at-large NCAA bid
- Davis was fired in February 2023 after five seasons at the helm, going 74-79 overall in his tenure
- Along with his wife, Betty, has two daughters
Kermit Davis Coaching Tree
- Isaac Brown (Wichita State)
- Brian Burg (Georgia Southern)
- Win Case (Ole Miss)
- David Farrar (Idaho)
- Zane Gibson (Arkansas-Fort Smith, Western New Mexico)
- James Green (Jacksonville State, Mississippi Valley State, Southern Miss)
- Tony Jasick (Jacksonville, IPFW)
- Billy Kennedy (Texas A&M, Murray State, SE Louisiana, Centenary)
- Leonard Perry (Pacific, Idaho)
- Brooks Thompson (UTSA)
- Donnie Tyndall (Chipola JC, Tennessee, Southern Miss, Morehead State)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only