FROM CMU: Beginning her 12th year at the helm of Central Michigan University women's basketball team is Donita Davenport. Davenport has become a figure of stability and success for the Chippewa program and a respected name
throughout the Mid-American Conference.
Her career mark of 166-144 ranks first on Central's all-time victory list and is second among active league coaches. The 107 MAC wins for Davenport are tops among current MAC mentors and a .535 overall winning percentage puts Davenport third on CMU's career list.
The native of Keats, KS, notched her 100th career win with a 64-48 triumph at Michigan during the 1990-91 season. In doing so, she became the first women's cage coach at CMU to reach the milestone. Davenport recorded her 100th MAC win in the 1993-94 with a 74-63 win over Eastern Michigan.
"When I came here, I didn't look to attain any records or certain marks," Davenport said. "I just wanted to be successful. I think I've done that on the whole."
Central enjoyed immediate success upon
Davenport's arrival, reaching the MAC tournament finals in each of her first three seasons.
Davenport was named MAC "Coach of the Year" in 1984-85 after guiding her initial crew to the league title. Seven of her ten teams have reached the MAC tournament semifinals, and she has coached eight first team all-MAC players. More impressively, Davenport has guided six academic all-Americans, and every senior basketball player during her reign has graduated.
"Attending school and playing basketball at Central Michigan is a wonderful experi-ence. Ourplayers have had the opportunity to be on a team where everyone gets along and shares the same goals and interests," said
Davenport. "At the same time, they are treated as individuals. We striveto make sure they get their degrees and are successful after basket-ball. There is a tradition of athletic and academic excellence here."
"In the MAC, everybody has recruited bettertalent in recent years, " Davenport notes,
"In my first few years there were a couple
teams, including Central, who simply had better talent than others. That's no longer the case, and there are no more automatic wins.
"There are excellent coaches in the league, and you've got to be prepared every time you step on the floor. In the past, there were times when you didn't worry about the other team; you just concerned yourself with the strategies of your own team."
Davenport came to Central from the University of Missouri, where she served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the 1983-84 season. Prior to her post at UM, she was an assistant coach at the University of Illinois from August 1979 through May of 1983.
That exposure to big time women's basketball led to her first head coaching appointment at CMU. Davenport made the decision to come to CMU because of its foundation for a quality program and the opportunity to enhance its image in NCAA women's basket-ball.
Davenport earned her bachelor of science degree in physical education from Kansas State in 1972. She played four seasons for the Wildcats as KSU captured three state championships and competed in a pair of National Invitational Tournaments.
She coached and taught at Rose Hill High School (Rose Hill, KS) during the 1972-73 school year, then moved on to Valley Center High (Valley Center, KS) as head girl's basketball and track coach.
In 1979, Davenport received her master's degree in educational administration from Wichita State, then joined the Fighting Illini coaching staff at Illinois. While in Champaign, she gained on-court coaching experience with additional recruiting and administrative responsibilities.
in the 1983-84 season with Missouri, Davenport's primary duties were recruiting and coaching. Missouri compiled a 25-8 record that year en route to a beth in the NCAA tournament.
Davenport recently completed her second year on the Mideast Regional Advisory Committee for the NCAA. The past two years Davenport has worked with the NCAA YES clinics. She also was a Division I representative to the Francis Pomeroy Naismith Selection Committee, which selected the nation's outstanding collegiate women's player under 5-foot-6 each year.