Ed Davis enters his second season as assistant women’s basketball coach at Morgan State. Davis brings more than 20 years of coaching experience and joins the Lady Bears’ program after spending the past 12 seasons as the head coach at Delaware State.
Davis, who accepted the post at Delaware State prior to the 2000-01 season, led DSU to the most successful run in the history of the program. He concluded his career at DSU as the program’s winningest coach with an overall record of 178-182 (.494), including a 121-85 (.587) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) record.
The Davis years at Delaware State were highlighted by a MEAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth (2007), a MEAC regular season co-championship (2003-04), five MEAC championship game appearances and the only 20-win seasons (four) in team history.
Davis further enhanced his credentials after a hard fought loss to No. 2 seed Vanderbilt in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. His 15th seeded Lady Hornets trailed by just four points at the half and by six with eight minutes left to the heavily favored Commodores.
Davis surpassed the 300-win mark for his career and became Delaware State's all-time leader in women's basketball victories during the 2007-08 season. He owns a career record of 349-234 (.598), highlighted by nine seasons with 20-plus wins.
Delaware State was particularly tough at home under Davis, posting a 94-48 (.662) mark at home during his time there. He led the team to a school-record 23 straight home wins from 2003-05 and the Lady Hornets led the MEAC in scoring defense for seven straight years before that string was snapped during the 2010-11 season.
During the 2006-07 season, Davis led the Lady Hornets on a 13-2 late-season spurt, including a three-game MEAC Tournament sweep en route to the first league championship in team history, following a win over Morgan State in the title game.
In 2005-06, Davis led the Lady Hornets to a 21-9 overall record and an appearance in the MEAC Tournament title game. The 21 wins matched the most in team history, tying the mark set by his 2003-04 squad. On February 27, 2006 Davis reached the 100th win plateau at Delaware State. One year after setting a national record for scoring defense, DSU led the MEAC and was sixth among all Division I teams in scoring defense at 53.4 points-per-game during the 2005-06 season.
During the 2004-05 campaign the Lady Hornets set a national record for scoring defense by becoming the first Division I women's team to hold opponents to less than 50 points per game in a season, allowing 49.6 per contest. Davis also served as the university's interim Director of Athletics during the 2004-05 academic year.
The previous season (2003-04), Davis led the Lady Hornets to new heights, recording a school-record 21 wins (21-9) and capturing a share of the MEAC regular season title for the first time in team history. His squad was defeated by regular season co-champ Hampton in the MEAC Tournament championship game. Delaware State went 11-0 at home that season, including a 59-56 win over West Virginia, DSU's first against a Big East opponent. Davis was rewarded by being named 2003-04 MEAC Coach-of-the-Year.
In 2002-03, Davis led the Hornets to the first 20-win season (20-10) in team history. Along the way, the Lady Hornets set team records for consecutive wins (10) and conference victories (16-2). In addition, the team's second-place finish in the final MEAC regular standings was the best in the program's history at the time.
During the 2000-01 season, his first at DSU, Davis guided a Lady Hornet team that was picked to finish 10th in the MEAC to within minutes of a conference championship.
Prior to taking over the Delaware State job, Davis was head coach at Bowie State University (Md.).
In eight seasons at Bowie, he posted an overall record of 171-54 and turned the Bulldogs into one of the top Division II programs in the country. His tenure was highlighted by three Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and numerous "coach of the year" awards.
Although Bowie State posted a record of 6-19 in 1992-93 in Davis' first season, it marked the most wins by the team in four years. The following season (1993-94), BSU improved to 14-11, its first winning season in 10 years.
Davis' 1994-95 team went 19-9 and advanced to the championship game of the CIAA Tournament. He captured his first CIAA Coach of the Year award following the season.
The next four years Davis led BSU to an unprecedented run of success in the CIAA. From 1995 to 1999, the Bulldogs posted a remarkable 110-10 record and a CIAA championship "three-peat." Davis' teams won 40 consecutive games on their home court from 1995 to 2000.
His 1995-96 team was 28-2 and advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA. The squad also ranked first among all Division II teams in scoring defense.
The 1996-97 team had a 28-game winning streak en route to a 29-2 overall mark and the CIAA Tournament championship. The team also qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
The following year the Bulldogs posted a 28-2 record and captured their second straight CIAA Tournament. The team was ranked as high as number six in the national polls.
Davis' 1998-99 squad went 25-4 and captured a third consecutive CIAA championship before advancing to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament. A year later BSU was 22-5 and reached the championship game of the CIAA Tournament.
Davis has earned a number of awards for his coaching success, including CIAA Coach of the Year in 1995 and Women's Basketball Coaches Association District II Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999. He was CIAA Tournament Outstanding Coach in 1997, '98 and '99.
Prior to his years at Bowie State, Davis was a teacher and successful high school coach in the Washington, D.C. area.
Davis was a four-year letterwinner on the West Virginia State men's basketball team that set NCAA and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) scoring records in the late 1960s and early 70s.
A native of Washington, D.C., Davis holds a master's in education from Howard University and a bachelor's in education from West Virginia State College. Davis was inducted into the West Virginia State Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2008.
