Hall of Fame Choose a Hall Of Fame Member: Adams, Edward H. Agee, Tommy Alexander, Willie J. Alexander, Jr., Matthew Allen, James Allen, Lamar "Buddy" Ambrose, Ashley Barkham, Jerome Barlow, Reggie Barnes, Emanuel F. Barnes, Leonard C. Barney, Lem Barron, Charles King Beaty, Zelmo Bell, Marshall L. Blake, Jerome Blevins, Harold Blount, Mel Bossier, Hillary Matthew Boston III, Peter Boyd, Dennis "Oil Can" Boyette, Garland D. Brackins, Charlie "Choo-Choo" Braddy, Robert Braden, Warren Bradley, Alonzo Brazile, Robert Brock, Lou Brooks, Dr. James Brown, William Brown, Willie Brown, Vincent Buchanan, Junious "Buck" Buckley, Horace Burrough, Kenneth Cador, Roger Cage-Bibbs, Patricia Carmichael, Harold Casem, Marino H. Caster, Richard Causey-Nelson, Alesha Clark, Dave Clemmons, Hubert O. Collins, Lawrence Conerly, Jessie L. Cooley, Archie Lee Cooper-Dyke, Cynthia Covington, Paul Crump, Samuel Crump, Horace Cummings, Carol V. Currie, Mary Curry, Sr., Roy Daniels, Clem Davenport, Willie Davenport, Adell Davis, Willie Davis, Dr. Lawrence A. Davis, Eddie Davis, Sr., Lawerence A. Dennis III , Albert Dickerson, Parnell Driver, Donald Duncan, Clyde E. Dungee, II, Grant Alan Dunn, C.J. Durley, Alexander Dyer, Judy M. Edney, Norris A. Ellis, Tellis B. Ellis, Kenneth A. Ellis, Wilbert Ellison, Willie Evans, George Patrick Evans, Edward Bertran Feacher, Ricky Fisher, Dr. Dwalah Fisher, Dwight Ford, Audrey Ford, Alphonso "AL" Foster, William "Bill" Francis, Wallace Frank, James Frazier, Severne Frazier, Leslie Freeman-Jackson, Freda Funchess, Tommie Gaddis, Robert “Hitman” Gamble, James Garr, Sr., Ralph A. Gary, William "Bill" Gayles, Felton Gibbs, Sr., Tommy Anthony Giles, Jimmie Gillard, Clifton Glossom, William "Rock" Goldman , Earl Gorden, W.C. Granger, Charlie Granger, Sr., Kevin Green, Tommy L. Greenwood, L.C. Gregory, Shawn Gross, Sr. , Nathaniel Hardy, James Garrick Hardy, Jr., Lonza Hardy-Smith, Bertha Harrington, Perry Harris, Jessie L. Harris, James "Shack" Harvey, Eugene "Doc" Harvey, John Haynes, Marques Henry, Marion Henry, C.D. Hines, Jim Hobdy, Fred Holmes, Ernest “Arrowhead” Holt, Issiac Hooker, Teresa Hopkins, Robert "Bob" Hoskins, Patricia Houston, Kenny Howell, Autrey Lane Hughes, Robert L. Hunter, Lindsey Hunter, James Hurst, Maurice Roy Huston, Regina Wells Ivory, George Jacket, Barbara J. Jackson, Alice Jackson, Harold Jackson, Rich S. Jackson, Lewis Jackson , Shameka Jackson , Patricia James, Sidney James, Aaron Jefferson, Sam Jeuitt, Robert “Rob Jay” Johnson, Avery Johnson, Clifton Johnson, Vannette Johnson, Gary "Big Hands" Johnson, Joseph Johnson, Byron Joiner, Charlie Jones, Ralph W.E. Jones, John H. Jones, Ulysses S. Jones, James "Jimmy" Jones, David "Deacon" Jones, Marion Jones, Rickey Kelley-Washington, Essie Kelly, Harry Knight, Billy E. Ladd, Ernie "The Big Cat" Lee, Robert "Bob" Lee, Melvin P. Leflore, LyVonne Lewis, Frank Lewis, Frank Lockhart, G.H. Long, Fred Love, Robert "Bob" Lovell, Bertram Maddox, Curtis Mann, Marcus L. Mason, Jesse McClelland Sr., Charles McGhee, Ben McGowan, Willie "Rat" McNair, Steve "Air" McNair, Fred McPherson, U.S. Merritt, John Milburn, Rodney Miller, Jr., Cleophus Moody, Sr., Horace “Big M” Moore, Leroy Moore, Jeffery Moreland, Robert Mumford, Arnett W. "Ace" Murray, Edward "Bo" Myles, Richard "M-16" Nance, Roscoe Neal, Charlie Netter, Mildrette Newhouse, Frederick V. Nichols, Walter Nicholson, Collie Nicks, William J. "Billy" Norwood, Willie Oliver, James Onyali, Mary Osborne, James "Jim" Osborne, Dr. John Grandville Paige, Rod Payton, Eddie Payton, Walter Peoples, Jr., John A. Pete, Alicia Lynn Phillips, Willie Pitts, Frank Ponton, Dr. David Porter, Doug Prophet, Charles "Chuck" Provost, Herbert J. Purnell, Franklin Ray, Willie Reed, Willis Reed, Alvin Reed, Walter Rice, Jerry Richardson, Willie Richardson, Pete Riggins, Sr., Earnest E. Robertson, Jr., Isiah Robinson, Eddie G. Robinson, Ashley Robinson, Jr., Eddie Rogers, Steve Maurice Ruth, Charles Sanders, Eugene Sanders, Herman Sapenter-Speight, Debra Seals , Ray Short, Purvis Simmons, Eugene E. Slater, Jackie Smith, Hampton Smith, Larry Smith, Robert Edgar Spears, Charles "Buddy" Spinks, Johnny R. "Jack" Stallworth, John Stebbins, Richard V. Stockard, Sr., Russell L. Stribling, Lafayette Strothers, Eric Swain, Bennie Tatum-Adams, Jocelyn Taylor, Robert Taylor, Jr., Otis Taylor, Jr., Milton Thomas, Dennis Thomas, Johnny L. Tillman, Lewis Totten, Willie “Satellite” Van Richardson, Gloster Walker, Lonnie Walker, Shirley Walls, Everson Walton II, Norman W. Ware, William Washington, Walter Washington, Theodore B. Washington, Levi I. Washington, Jr., Dave Watkins, Lawrence “Larry” Watkins, Jr., Larry Watson, Reuben Weathersby, Davis Weeks, Rickie Wesley, Dante White, Sammie White, Jesse Whitney, Sr., Davey L. Williams, James Williams, Aeneas Williams, Sidney Williams, Carl Williams, Doug Williams, Robert J. Williams , Ella Wilson, Harrison Woods, Michael Wright, Stanley Wright, Larry Wright, Hoover J. Young, Roynell Young, Willie Younger, Paul " Tank" Paul Covington Class Induction 2003 Sport(s) Men's Basketball Jackson State Early Life & Playing Career Paul Edward Covington was born July 26, 1934, in Richmond, Kentucky. He attended Jackson State University (then Jackson State College) and played multiple sports: he lettered in basketball (4 years), tennis (1 year) and baseball (2 years) for the Tigers. He served as team captain in basketball for 1954-56 and earned First Team All Mid-Western Conference honors in ’55 & ’56. His college basketball playing stats show him as a guard, 5-10 height, with 86 games and 3.3 points per game. Coaching & Administrative Career After college, Covington’s early coaching career included: Head coach of Higgins High School in Clarksdale, Mississippi from 1958-1962, where he led the team to conference championships (1959, 1961–62) and was conference Coach of the Year in 1961. Head coach at Coahoma Community College (junior college) in Mississippi, where he won the Mississippi JUCO Championship in 1964 and was named Coach of the Year He returned to Jackson State as an assistant coach in 1964, then became head coach of the men’s basketball program in 1967. As head coach at Jackson State from 1967 to 1986: He accumulated a career record of 338 wins to 195 losses. Under his leadership the program transitioned from NAIA to NCAA Division I. His teams won multiple Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) regular-season championships (1968, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1982) and at least one SWAC tournament title (1978). He was named SWAC Coach of the Year five times during his tenure. Following his coaching career, he moved into athletic administration at Jackson State: Assistant Athletic Director from 1986-1995. Athletic Director of Jackson State from 1995-1999. Legacy & Honors Covington is the winningest men’s basketball coach in Jackson State history. He was inducted into multiple halls of fame: Jackson State Athletic Hall of Fame (1988) Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (inducted 2008) Known for emphasizing education: one source notes about 67% of his players graduated. His 1975 team was ranked No. 1 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll during the era.