Davis Named Full-Time Head Coach Of MSU Lady Bears

HEAD COACH EDWARD DAVIS JR.
MORGAN STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Morgan State University has officially removed the interim tag off of Edward Davis Jr., who effective immediately, will assume the full-time position as Morgan State's head women's basketball coach, as announced by Director of Athletics Edward Scott on Friday.

"We are excited to have Coach Davis lead our women's basketball program into the future," said Scott. "I've had the opportunity to watch Coach Davis in action last season and was thoroughly impressed by his ability to teach and motivate our student-athletes. Ed is a proven winner at every level of college basketball and brings a wealth of experience to the sideline. We very much look forward to watching our women's basketball program grow on and off the court under his leadership."

"It's an honor and a privilege to be able to coach on the Division I college atmosphere," said Davis, who is 48 wins shy of reaching 400 career coaching victories. "Thank you to President David Wilson and our Director of Athletics, Edward Scott for affording me this opportunity. I thoroughly appreciate the opportunity to lead the Morgan State Lady Bears to the highest plateau that they can achieve, and that's winning a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship!"

Since taking over as interim coach last June, Davis guided the 2016-17 Lady Bears to a 9-21 overall record and a 7-9 league mark. After dropping its first eight MEAC contests, Morgan State went 7-1 under Davis during the second half of the league slate, including a season-long five-game winning streak to finish ninth in the league standings.

"I feel that a lot of pieces are in place to have a great season this year, especially with the hard work of the staff to bring in more impact players," said Davis. "My job as head coach will be to academically and athletically uphold the high standards of the Morgan State University tradition."

Davis, who is entering his sixth overall season at Morgan State, originally joined the Lady Bears' staff in 2012 as an assistant coach after spending 12 seasons at the helm at Delaware State University.

While at Delaware State, Davis compiled a 178-182 career mark, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach. Davis recorded four 20-plus win seasons (the only ones in school history) and in 2007 he guided the Lady Hornets to their first MEAC title with a victory over Morgan State. During his time at Delaware State, Davis guided the Lady Hornets to a NCAA Tournament berth, five MEAC Championship appearances and a MEAC regular season co-championship.

Davis guided the program to new heights in his fourth season, recording a school-record 21 wins and capturing a share of the 2003-04 MEAC regular season title for the first time ever. The Lady Hornets would go a perfect 11-0 at home that season, including a win over then Big East member, West Virginia. DSU would advance to the MEAC title game and Davis would be named MEAC Coach of the Year.

One that always stressed defense, Davis saw his 2004-05 DSU team 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, allowing 49.6 per contest.

Prior to taking over at Delaware State, Davis began his successful coaching career on the collegiate level at Bowie State University. In his eight years at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs, Davis had only one losing season, while building a dynasty at BSU and turning it into one of the top Division II programs in the country.

Davis recorded a 165-61 record, five 20-win seasons, captured three straight Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) titles and reached the NCAA Tournament three times. He would earn CIAA Coach of the Year honors in 1995 and CIAA Tournament Outstanding Coach accolades in 1997, '98 and '99.

His 1995-96 and 1998-99 teams each advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament and the 1995-96 squad ranked first among all Division II teams in scoring defense. A year later BSU put together a 28-game winning streak en route to a 29-2 overall mark and the 1997-98 squad was ranked as high as six in the Division II polls.

A native of Washington, D.C., Davis was a four-year letter winner on the West Virginia State College men's basketball team that set NCAA and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics scoring records in the late 1960s and early 70s.

Davis holds a master's in education from Howard University and a bachelor's in education from West Virginia State. He was inducted into the West Virginia State Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2008 and the Bowie State Hall of Fame in 2014.

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