The New Orleans area has been blessed with a tremendous number of Black coaches that led their teams to tremendous success in the athletic arena while also mentoring the youth of the region and serving as community leaders. The Allstate Sugar Bowl Sports Awards Committee will celebrate Black History Month this February by highlighting six legendary Black coaches from the New Orleans area as well as one Louisiana coaching titan who is recognized as one of the greatest coaches in college football history. The seven coaches, all members of the Allstate Sugar Bowl's New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, had careers which combined to span over 250 years of history.

The Sugar Bowl will spotlight the legends on its social media channels and link to their full stories on its website throughout the month of February.
 
New Orleans Coaching Legends:
Dr. Artis Davenport, Track & Field, SUNO, 1961-2003
Bernard Griffith, Basketball, St. Aug, Xavier/St. Aug, 1967-2020
Felix James, Multiple, Gaudet/Landry/Xavier, 1948-97
Alfred Priestley, Football/Baseball, Xavier Prep/Xavier U, 1915-69
Wayne Reese, Football, Carver/Booker T. Washington/McDonogh 35, 1965-2020
Eddie Robinson, Football, Grambling State, 1941-97
Otis Washington, Football, Xavier/St. Aug, 1958-86

Felix James, Multiple, Gaudet/Landry/Xavier, 1948-97
Felix "Zoo" James compiled a winning percentage of .670 in 19 years of coaching football at Gaudet and Landry High School. He directed the Landry football team to two state championships, six city championships, and five district championships in 15 years as head football coach. He was honored as New Orleans Coach of the Year eight times and Louisiana Coach of the Year once. He also won three track state titles (1951, 1954 and 1956). A 1937 graduate of McDonogh 35 High School and a 1941 graduate of Xavier University, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduation and served as a medic in Italy during World War II with the Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group. He received a master's degree from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) after the war.
 
Bernard Griffith, Basketball, St. Aug, Xavier/St. Aug, 1967-2020
In 18 years as the head basketball coach at St. Augustine High School, Bernard Griffith established himself as one of the giants of the game. The Washington D.C. native won one national championship (ESPN, 1995) and three Louisiana High School Athletic Association State titles (1992, 1995, 1999). He also directed the Purple Knights to 13 Catholic League titles, including 11 in a row, while taking his team to the state final four in nine of his 18 seasons. From 1987 to 2005, he amassed a won-loss record of 491-127, a winning percentage of 79.4. "Coach Griff," as he is usually called by his players, had some decorated players like Torrey Andrews (Rice), Pointer Williams (Tulane), Hollis Price (Oklahoma), and Kerry Kittles (Villanova). But the star system was never part of the Griffith Plan. "He always stressed the team concept.  No one was bigger than the collective," said Kittles, a 2014 inductee into the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. "He was demanding of everyone and was always big on working hard to achieve. You didn't want to suffer Coach Griff's consequences."
 
Dr. Artis Davenport, Track & Field, SUNO, 1961-2003
Doing more with so little would be the best way to describe the legacy of Dr. Artis Davenport, II. In his 42 years as a coach on the collegiate level he collected seven national titles and three national runner-up finishes, while coaching 40 individual track champions and 178 All-Americans. These accomplishments were achieved with volunteer assistant coaches, limited scholarships and virtually no budget. One of the founders of the athletic program at Southern University at New Orleans, he served as the head coach of both the men's and women's track and field teams for the school. Under Dr. Davenport's direction, the Black Knights (as they were called until the mid-1980s) captured the NCAA Division III men's outdoor national championships in 1975, 1976, and 1977 as well as the NAIA Division I women's indoor and outdoor national championships in both 1995 and 1997. Southern University at New Orleans is the only institution in the state of Louisiana to have won national championships in both the NCAA and the NAIA in any sport. He was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year four times.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 114 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 92-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which served as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, saw Ole Miss defeat SEC rival Georgia in a sold-out Superdome on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.