Lady Cougar Basketball Head Coach
Mike Davis
In just five seasons, Lady Cougars head coach Mike Davis has brought the Columbia College women's basketball program to a level that competes at the national level each and every year.
This was no easy task considering Columbia College had just reinstated women's basketball as an intercollegiate sport in 2000 when Davis first arrived. In five seasons, Davis has amassed a record of 132 wins and just 41 losses (.763). Davis has guided the team to NAIA Division I National Tournament appearances in four out of the past five seasons, moving into the second round in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Davis has also guided the Lady Cougars to three American Midwest Conference (AMC) championships. In addition, Davis has been named the AMC Coach of the Year during four of his five years at the helm of the Lady Cougars.
Davis likes to use an up-tempo style of play and builds his team around versatile players. He argues that there is no substitute for a winner and expects nothing less from his teams than a burning desire to win.
Davis, who is a native of New Franklin, Mo., spent his first year at Columbia College penning some of the top student-athletes from around the country and the world preparing for the inaugural season. Davis has coached eight NAIA All-America Scholar-Athletes and eight NAIA All-Americans.
During the 2004-05 season Davis led the Lady Cougars to the second round of the NAIA Division I National Tournament, an AMC championship and a final NAIA ranking of No. 11 while finishing the season with an overall record of 31-6.
The Lady Cougars advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" of the NAIA Division I National Tournament for the first time in program's history during the 2003-04 season finishing the with a 28-8 overall record and a No. 17 final ranking.
In 2002-03, the Lady Cougars ended the season ranked No. 25, boasting a mark of 25-9 while falling in the first round of the NAIA Division I National Tournament.
Davis led the 2001-02 squad to a 30-5 mark in the program's first year, losing in the first round of the NAIA Division I National Tournament finishing the season ranked No. 20 in the final NAIA Top 25 Poll.
Davis joined Columbia College following a successful stint at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo. In 12 years as head coach of the CMU program, Davis recorded six seasons of 20 or more victories. In his last four seasons at CMU, the Lady Eagles made trips to the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament, including a trip to the Final Four in 1999.
Davis graduated from Central Methodist College in 1983 with a bachelor of science in business administration. He took over the CMC program in 1987 where posted an overall coaching record was 260-157 (.624).
Davis has a strong core group of players returning for the 2005-06 season that he hopes will provide fans with electrifying games as the Lady Cougars make their way back to the NAIA Division I National Tournament.
Mike’s wife, Susan, is the Director of Alumni Services at Columbia College. They reside in Boonville, Mo., with their daughter Whitney, 18, who begins playing for the Lady Cougar this season, and their son, Wesley, 12.