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

1. Mike Davis – Texas Southern (2012-2018)

Compared to your average SWAC head coach, what Davis had already done in his coaching career was far beyond the mean. Davis had succeeded Bob Knight at Indiana after spending three seasons on staff and led the Hoosiers to the national championship game in 2002. In total, he had spent six seasons at Indiana and later six more with UAB before landing at Texas Southern in 2012.

Simply put, Davis and his Tigers dominated the SWAC during his entire tenure. He won four regular-season titles and made four trips to the NCAA Tournament. Texas Southern went 88-20 in conference play and was completely in control of the conference from day one. This was not normal for Texas Southern prior to Davis’s arrival and he left a clear legacy of dominance behind with the program.

Davis departed for Detroit Mercy in 2018 but has yet to figure out how to win games with the Titans, even while son Antoine does incredible things on the court for the team. Davis left Texas Southern in the capable hands of former LSU coach Johnny Jones, but he’s set to live up to Davis’s results with the school. Texas Southern had one of the most successful runs that a SWAC school has ever had and Davis is the reason.

We’ve completed our look at the ten best SWAC coaches since the turn of the century. In the years to come, it’ll be interesting to see the new batch of coaches who enter the league and make their own impact with these programs.