Tennessee State University

• FOOTBALL

John Ayers Merritt was born in Falmouth, Kentucky in 1926. He played prep football under Willie Kean, brother of Tennessee State's Henry Arthur "Fox" Kean, at Louisville Central and collegiate football at Kentucky State, five years after Fox Kean left that institution and moved to Tennessee State.

Merritt helped revolutionize football in the predominately black colleges during the sixties and continued to the top of the ladder in the seventies and eighties. "Big John," as he was affectionately known to his many friends and fans came to Tennessee State in 1963.

Under Merritt's leadership and that of his staff which included Joe Gilliam, Sr. and Alvin "Cat" Coleman and others, TSU has amassed five undefeated seasons and seven National championships: a record of 165 wins, 32 losses and 5 ties for a winning percentage of 76.7%. His lifetime totals include 225 wins, 65 losses and 10 ties going into his 30th football season.

Among the honors bestowed upon the coach are the Sheridan Broadcasting Network's Paul Robeson Award, which was presently awarded annually to individuals who have.contributed significantly to black colleges in the areas of athletics and academics, being named coach of the year by the NCAA, Chevrolet, 100% Wrong Club. Sheridan Poll, Pittsburgh Courier, and the renaming of Centennial Boulevard to John Ayers Merritt Boulevard.

• TRACK AND FIELD

Coach Ed Temple came to TSU in 1950 as a student, and left in 1994 as one of the most celebrated coaches in Olympic history.

Temple coached the women's Olympic track team in 1960 and in 1964, becoming the first to repeat the feat. He also was the coach of the 1980 team that boycotted the Olympics in Russia.

Even though Temple could not offer any student-athlete a scholarship, he still found a way to bring top quality talent to TSU such as Wilma Rudolph, Wyomia Tyus and Willie White.

Those runners, along with many others that Temple coached, combined to win 23 Olympic medals and 34 National Championships.

In all, Temple was a coach for 28 years and a part of the Olympic committee for 24.

Eight of the Tigerbelles that Temple coached have been inducted in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame including Wilma Rudolph and Chandra Cheeseborough- the current director for the TSU track and field team.

Outside of track, Temple made sure that his girls performed well in the classroom. In fact, all but one of Temple's Olympic TSU student-athletes graduated, and 28 of his trainees have master's degrees.

Temple was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in Chicago.

Temple is also a member of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Helms Hall of Fame, Tennessee State University Hall of Fame, Harrisburg Central Area Chapter Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame, Black Athletes Hall of Fame and Communiplex National Sports Hall of Fame.

Tennessee State created an award for Temple called the Edward S. Temple Award that is given each year to the top female track and field student-athlete at the school.

• MEN'S BASKETBALL

Coach John McLendon received his coaching training from Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of the game, while a student at Kansas University in 1936. Coach McLendon coached on the college levels from 1937-1959, His teams were consistent winners of regional /national tournaments. 

Court-wise Coach McLendon changed the face of basketball with his invention of the fast break and the four corners full court basketball execution. He shared his knowledge with Tennessee State from 1954-59. He coached the Tiger's to a NAIA Christmas Invitational Tournament Championship in 1954. It was the first time a black school had won such a tournament. He led his TSU "Whiz Kids" teams to three consecutive NAIA National Basketball Championships 1957-58-59. His assistant coaches were Richard Mack and Harold Hunter. It was the first time any team had won the James A Naismith Trophy three straight years. 

He was named NAIA "Coach of the Year" the first time a black coach had earned that title. He integrated the hotels in Kansas City. Dick Barnett and John Barmhill were the top guard duo in the nation. The Tigers were 31-4 in 1956-57, 31-3 in 1957-58 and 25-1 in 1958-59. Barnett rose to TSU's all-time career scorer with 3209 points for a career average of 23.6 in 136 games. McLendon's record was a sparkling 142-20 in five years, and the first black coach to serve on the USA Olympic Committee in 1966 and in 1969. 

He became the first black to coach the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League.

• WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
• DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

Following the most successful run in the school's women's basketball history, Teresa Phillips took over as Director of Athletics in 2002 and left a lasting impression that went beyond her retirement in June of 2020. 

Under Phillips’ leadership, the Tigers have experienced success on and off the field and her influence extends well beyond the athletics program in her 18-year run as AD.

During Phillips’ tenure, TSU has won 12 Ohio Valley Conference Championships - five Indoor Track and Field Championships, three Outdoor Track and Field Championships, two Volleyball titles and one Women’s Basketball championship. Additionally, men’s golf has won the National Minority Golf Championship.

Some other accomplishments under the Phillips' administration include the launching of the first official website for TSU Athletics, a stellar graduation rate of student-athletes, numerous OVC Scholars, the awarding of a $900,000 NCAA Pilot Grant, the construction of the Indoor Practice Facility as well as other athletic facility and office upgrades.

Phillips also has the distinction of being the first woman ever to coach an NCAA Division I men's basketball team en route to being named one of the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports by Sports Illustrated in 2003. During the 2014 Women’s Final Four, she was named as a one of 10 Legends in Women’s Basketball in Tennessee.  

She was also recognized as the Second Most Influential Woman in Sports in Tennessee by The Tennessean newspaper. In addition, she was named USA Today National Coach of the Year in 1990 and was a three-time OVC Coach of the Year selection.

No stranger to athletic success, she was head coach of the Lady Tigers basketball program at TSU for 11 seasons from 1989-2000. Phillips guided the 1993-94 squad to the programs first-ever OVC regular season crown, the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship, and the team's first appearance ever in the NCAA tournament. The following year, Phillips led the program to its second consecutive regular season and tournament championship, totaling four titles as a head coach.

Phillips earned several honors as a three-year letter winner for the women's basketball team at Vanderbilt. She was the first recipient of the Lady Commodore Athlete of the Year honor, given to the best all-around female athlete. She also has the honor of being the first African-American female student-athlete at Vanderbilt. In 2017, she was inducted in the Vanderbilt Sports Hall of Fame.

Phillips has been appointed to several boards and committees which include: NCAA Basketball Rules, NCAA Championship Cabinet, NCAA Administrative Cabinet, the NCAA HBCU Advisory Board, the NCAA W. Basketball Selection Committee, Fellowship of Christian Athletes Board, Boys & Girls Club Board, the Vanderbilt Alumni Advisory Board, the Nashville Final Four Executive Board, the Girls Preparatory School Alumni Board, the Nashville Dinner of Champions Committee and the Executive Board of the Nashville Sports Council.

• FOOTBALL COACH
• UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

Dr. Walter Strother Davis is considered “The Father of Athletics at Tennessee State University.” Looking at his career, the title becomes obvious. From 1943 to 1968 Dr. Davis laid the foundation for a great university. What was then Tennessee A&I State College became accredited and designated a land-grant university, and following his retirement in 1968, Davis’ dream was realized as Tennessee State University. A native Mississippian, Davis embraced Tennessee as his adopted state. He earned his B.S. from Tennessee A&I in 1931, captaining the football team, and obtained his M.S. at Cornell. 

Davis was head football coach from 1933 to 1936, and his teams achieved national prominence with a 6-2 upset over national power Wilberforce in 1934. He coached many All-Americans at Tennessee A&I, including Forest Strange. Davis returned to Cornell and received his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1941 before becoming president of Tennessee A&I in 1943. During the next two decades under Davis’ leadership, the university expanded to include schools of arts and sciences, education and engineering, agriculture and economics and a graduate school. An honored member of the Tennessee State University Sports Hall of Fame, Dr. Walter Davis set a strong foundation in the mid-1900s. 

Without this foundation, built with devotion and hard work, TSU athletics would not have blossomed as they have.

• DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
• FOOTBALL COACH

Howard C. Gentry Sr spent 27 years at Tennessee State, and was an integral part in the growth and expansion of its athletic department. Gentry came to TSU in 1949 at the urging of the late Dr. Walter Davis, President and Henry A. Kean-TSU's Director of Athletics. 

He served TSU as assistant football coach, Physical Education instructor. From 1955-61 he was the Head Football Coach, and associated professor of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. He was named Director of Athletic in 1961. During his coaching era his tigers recorded a 42-10-1 5-year mark; winning a Black National Championship in 1956, and won the Mid-Western Conference in 1956,1959,1960, and 1961.

TSU rose to greatness under Gentry's guidance playing in its 1st NCAA post season game. From 1969-76 its basketball teams played in all but two NCAA Division Il Southern Regional Tournaments-finishing first place four times, second place twice, and third and fourth place once each. Tennessee became one of the top school's providing professional basketball and football players to the next level. The TSU TigerBelles continued its mastery in women's track and field on the national and inter- national level. Howard C. Gentry retired in 1976; after becoming a leader in the NCAA. 

In recognition and appreciation for his contributions, Tennessee State University named its $8 million on campus athletic/recreation complex Convocation Center after Howard C. Gentry, Sr in 1960.Howard Gentry again served TSU as interim Athletic Director during the 1986-87 school year.

• FOOTBALL
• BASKETBALL
• DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

To thousands of students, alumni, friends, and professional associates Henry Arthur Kean was affectionately known as "Coach". To competitors on the football field he was "The Fox". 

Kean was recognized by all as a powerhouse icon in Tennessee State University athletic history, producing 17 All-Americans was lured to Nashville by Dr Walter S. Davis, President of TSU at the time to be head football coach, director of the division of Health Physical Recreation and the Director of Athletics. He preferred to be known as a teacher of football rather than a coach. Sports writers rated Kean's ability so high he was never regarded as the underdog. Kean's Keansmen football team won the Black National Championships in 1946, 1947 and 1954. 

His 24-year football record stood proudly at 162-30-5. His five-year basketball record from 1944-49 stood at 102-18 with a 24-0 er 1948 unbeaten team led by Josh Grider, Nate Taylor, and others. Kean retired from active coaching in 1954 because of his health. 

He passed away on December 12, 1955

• MEN'S BASKETBALL

As a head men's basketball coach at TSU, Ed Martin’s Tigers finished the 1972-73 regular season as the top ranked Associated Press National College Division and won 290 games for the historic basketball program. Ed Martin currently holds the longest coaching career as the Tigers’ head basketball coach serving for 17 years. 

From 1968-1985, Coach Martin tallied a record of 108-118 finishing .500 or above in 15 seasons. He also coached at South Carolina State and while finishing his coaching career with 508 wins. 

A respected man throughout the entire Nashville community, Martin also contributed to Vanderbilt University as a leader in the school's Human and Organization Development program to help the community. He was named associated professor of human development at Peabody in 1989. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 75 and is still remembered as one of Nashville's greatest public citizens.

• GOLF
• SWIMMING

Catana Starks made history becoming the first African-American woman to coach an all-men’s team at the collegiate level. Starks coached the TSU men’s golf team from 1986 until 2005 when she led the Tigers to a National Minority Golf Championship. The team shot a record-setting 840 as a unit.

Starks, a Tennessee State University graduate, returned to Nashville in 1980 to become the swimming coach for the Tigers. When TSU entered the Ohio Valley Conference, the athletic department dropped the swimming program to add golf and tabbed Starks as the head coach.

During her time as a coach, Starks earned her doctorate degree, began teaching and eventually becoming the department head of Human Performance and Sports Sciences at TSU.

Under her guidance, the team also produced Sean Foley, who went on to be Tiger Woods’ swing coach; Sam Puryear, who became the first African American men’s head golf coach in any major conference (Michigan State); and Robert Dinwiddie, an All-American who went on to play on the European professional tour.

In 2011, her story inspired the movie “From the Rough” starring the late Michael Clarke Duncan and Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson.