Kermit Davis Sr.

Kermit Davis was born on Friday 2 August 1935 in Walnut, Mississippi, to John and Pauline Davis. He was one of a large family, with four sisters and three brothers.

He played basketball at Walnut High School from 1951 to 1955. He helped lead the 1954 team to the Grand Slam Championship and the state championship, was named first team All-State in 1954 and 1955, and played in the first Mississippi High School All-Star game in 1955. That year Babe McCarthy signed him as the first player he recruited to Mississippi State.

Davis played for the Bulldogs from 1955 to 1959. His teams went a combined 61-14 with three AP Top 15 finishes, and he was captain of the 1958-59 side that went 24-1, won the program's first SEC regular season championship and finished third in the AP poll. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Mississippi State and was commissioned as an ROTC officer.

In 1959 Davis became head boys' and girls' basketball coach at Leakesville High School. From 1960 to 1962 he was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, as an infantry platoon leader, and coached successful Army teams.

He returned to Mississippi in 1962 as head coach at Tupelo High School, where his teams went 131-23 in four seasons and won Grand Slam championships in 1965 and 1966. In 1966 he returned to Mississippi State as an assistant coach.

Davis was promoted to head coach for the 1970-71 season and was named SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press that year. Over seven seasons he went 91-91, finishing third in program history in wins at the time, and coached four future NBA draft picks, including first round selections Rickey Brown and Wiley Peck. He resigned in 1977.

Alongside Shira he played a major role in raising funds for Humphrey Coliseum, which opened on 1 December 1975. He later served as associate director of the Bulldog Club from 1980 to 1990, working on projects including the Scott Field expansion, the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre and improvements to Dudy Noble Field. From 1990 to 2002 he was vice president of marketing and buyer relations for the Mississippi National Furniture Market in Tupelo.

Davis married Nancy Jo Hogan, and they were together for 67 years. They had three children: Kermit Davis Jr., who played at Mississippi State and later coached Idaho, Middle Tennessee and Ole Miss; Bill Davis; and Jennifer Davis. They had four grandchildren and a great-grandson, and lived in Tupelo for many years.

Kermit Davis Jr. once told an interviewer that what he learned from watching his father was how he handled and treated people, "not just his players and assistant coaches," but everyone, "including the people who swept the floors."

Kermit Davis Sr. died in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Monday 10 August 2026, aged 91. No cause of death was made public. Mississippi State University announced his death the same day, saying it mourned "the loss of former Bulldog basketball player and head coach Kermit Davis Sr." The death was reported by the Clarion Ledger, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and WLBT.

A memorial service was held at 1 p.m. on Thursday 13 August 2026 at the Jefferson Street Chapel of Pegues Funeral Directors in Tupelo. Honorary pallbearers included the former Mississippi State star Bailey Howell and the former players of Tupelo High School from 1962 to 1966 and Mississippi State from 1970 to 1977. The family asked for memorial donations to Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo.

Davis was inducted into Mississippi State's M-Club Hall of Fame in 2006, was chosen as the university's basketball legend for the 2010 SEC Tournament, and entered the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.

As captain of the 1959 SEC champions, as Babe McCarthy's first recruit and as one of the people who helped build Humphrey Coliseum, he was part of the foundations of modern Mississippi State basketball. His son Kermit Davis Jr. carried the family name into a long college coaching career of his own.