Tennessee State

Official Name: 
Tennessee State University
Nickname: 
Tigers
Mailing Address: 

Post Office Box 9603
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, TN 37209-1561

Telephone: 
(615) 963-5851
Fax: 
(615) 963-5895
Enrollment: 
9,025
Arena: 

Howard C. Gentry Complex
Capacity: 10,150
Year Opened: 1977

School Colors: 
Blue and White
Conference: 

Ohio Valley (since 1988)

Final NCAA Division II Top 10 Rankings: 

(8) 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1971, 1972, 1974, and 1976

NCAA Division I Tournament Appearances: 

(2) 1993 and 1994
0-2 record (.000)

NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 

(8) 1963, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975
19-9 record (.679)
Reached national semifinals in 1970 (2nd), 1972 (3rd), 1973 (2nd) and 1975 (4th)

NIT Appearances: 

None

NAIA Tournament Appearances: 

(7) 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960
23-4 record (.852)
Finished 1st three times (1957, 1958 and 1959) and 3rd in 1960

All-Time Winningest Coach: 

Ed Martin (17 years from 1969-85, 284-154 record, .648)

All-Time Scoring Leader: 

Dick Barnett (3,209 points from 1956-59 when school was classified as a small college)

All-Time Rebounding Leader: 

Lloyd Neal (1,667 from 1969-71 when school was classified as a small college)

Single-Game Individual Scoring Record: 

Anthony Mason (44 points as senior at Eastern Kentucky on 1/23/88)

All-American Selections: 

Individual Single-Game Scoring Record Box Score:

Anthony Mason* (44 at Eastern Kentucky)
January 23, 1988 (senior/28 ppg)
*School Division I record. All-time Tennessee State mark set by Dick Barnett (48 vs. Lincoln in 1958-59 season).

1

2

Total

Tennessee State

42

55

97

Eastern Kentucky

62

52

114

Name

FG

3PT

FT

PTS

Mason

16-29

1-4

11-15

44

Childs

1-1

0-0

0-0

2

Lester

2-3

0-0

3-4

7

Smith

3-7

0-0

9-11

16

Brooks

4-7

0-0

3-3

11

Davis

0-2

0-0

0-0

0

Scott

1-4

0-0

0-0

3

Acoff

0-1

0-0

0-0

0

Neely

0-2

0-0

2-2

2

Proctor

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

Roper

3-6

0-0

2-2

8

Tillmon

2-5

0-0

0-0

4

Totals

32-68

3-14

30-37

97

Percentages

.471

.214

.811

Name

FG

3PT

FT

PTS

Collins

8-12

1-2

5-9

22

Phillips

3-4

0-0

0-0

6

Howard

4-6

0-0

5-10

13

O'Bryant

3-7

0-0

0-0

6

McGill

10-14

5-8

5-6

30

Spence

4-4

0-0

1-4

9

Davie

0-1

0-0

0-0

0

Taylor

4-5

0-0

4-4

12

Curtis

6-12

2-2

2-6

16

Baker

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

Goodin

0-0

0-0

0-1

0

Evans

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

Totals

42-66

8-12

22-40

114

Percentages

.636

.667

.550

Coach

Seasons

Years

Record

W-L %

Best Season(s)

Record

Henry A. Kean

6

1945-49, 1951

108-26

.806

1949

24-0

Shelton A. Matthews

1

1950

18-3

.857

1950

18-3

Clarence Cash

3

1952-54

59-13

.819

1953

22-4

John McLendon

5

1955-59

149-20

.882

1959

32-1

Harold Hunter

9

1960-68

172-67

.720

1960

28-5

Ed Martin

17

1969-85

284-154

.648

1972

26-2

Ed Meyers

1

1985

6-13

.316

1985

6-13

Larry Reid

4

1986-89

44-69

.389

1987

15-12

Ron Abernathy

2

1990-91

12-44

.214

1990

7-21

Frankie Allen

9

1992-2000

115-140

.451

1993

19-10

Nolan Richardson III

3

2001-03

23-40

.365

2002

11-16

Hosea Lewis

1

2003

0-15

.000

2003

0-15

Teresa Phillips

1

2003

0-5

.000

2003

0-5

Cyrus "Cy" Alexander

6

2004-09

67-106

.387

2008

15-17

Mark Pittman

1

2009

6-2

.750

2009

6-2

John A. Cooper

2

2010, 1911

23-39

.371

2011

14-16

  • All-Time W-L Record: 1,084-754 (.590) from 1945 through 2011.
  • NOTES: Tennessee State moved up to major-college status in 1978
  • Martin compiled a 3-6 record in the 1984-85 season when he was succeeded on an interim basis by Meyers
  • Richardson compiled a 2-5 record in 2002-03 prior to a suspension after a gun incident and Lewis loss all 15 games as interim coach before he was suspended following a bench-clearing brawl against Eastern Kentucky
  • Phillips made history on February 13, 2003, by becoming the first woman to coach a men's Division I team (at Austin Peay)
  • Alexander was 6-16 in 2008-09 when he was replaced on an interim basis by Pittman.