Conference USA Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jun 18, 2020

SAN ANTONIO - APRIL 07: Chris Douglas-Roberts #14, Derrick Rose #23 and Antonio Anderson #5 of the Memphis Tigers walk off the court in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2008 NCAA Men's National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 7, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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ST LOUIS, MO – MARCH 20: Head coach Kermit Davis of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

5. Conference USA Basketball head coach rankings – Kermit Davis

Middle Tennessee (2013-2018)

Though he spent sixteen years with Middle Tennessee, Davis had already had quite the adventurous coaching career before arriving in 2002. He had been the head coach at Texas A&M and twice at Idaho; been a junior college coach, and assisted at various other schools. He already had 11 years with the Blue Raiders before they left the Sun Belt in 2013, and they surely made their immediate mark in Conference USA.

His Blue Raiders immediately won the regular-season title, adding two more near the end of his tenure. The 2016 team pulled off the shock of the year, upending 2-seed Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. The following season they returned to the Dance, knocking off Minnesota for another unexpected win. In these five seasons, Davis was 68-20 in the C-USA and Middle Tennessee was clearly the premier program in the conference.

David departed for Ole Miss in 2018 and immediately led the Rebels to the NCAA Tournament. It remains to be seen if he can make them consistently viable in the SEC, but the evidence of his C-USA dominance is clear. He put this Blue Raiders program in the position to take over the conference, earning him that well-deserved return to power conference basketball.