Dr. Artis Davenport, II
Track and Field Coach
SUNO

Inducted: 2003
Doing more with so little would be the best way to describe the legacy of Dr. Davenport. In his 42 years as a coach on the collegiate level he won seven national titles, three national runner-up finishes, coached 40 individual track champions and 178 All-Americans. These accomplishments were done without a paid assistant, limited scholarships and virtually no budget. As head coach of both the men's and women's teams at Southern University at New Orleans, and with stints at Dillard and Alcorn State, he was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year four times and was selected the top coach nationally three times by the NVAA. Although SUNO is an NAIA institution, the track teams competed primarily against the NCAA Division I schools. The Monroe, La, native received degrees at both Tuskegee Institute and Louisiana State University, he also served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer.