18 Jun 2025 St. Joseph High School coach receives Raymond Bright Award

St. Joseph High School’s Athletic Director was recognized on June 16 as the 2024-25 recipient of the Raymond Bright Award for High School Coach of the Year in the City of Conway. 

Luke Davis is the school’s head volleyball and baseball coach. The ceremony was held at Centennial Bank, the award’s chief sponsor, and was presented to Coach Davis by Doretta Bright, who is the widow of the award’s namesake. 

Raymond Bright was one of the most beloved and successful coaches in Conway’s history. His career began at Conway Junior High in 1949 and continued at Conway High School where he coached football and track from 1951 to 1958. He moved across town to the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) to coach track from 1959 to 1965 and later coached football from 1965 to 1971. He’s a member of the Wampus Cat Hall of Fame, the UCA Sports Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Coach Davis graduated from St. Joseph High School in 2001 and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from UCA in 2006. He began his coaching career at St. Joseph High School in 2007. His coaching accomplishments in volleyball and baseball are exceptional. When asked about how it felt to win The Bright Award, he said, “Coaches can’t win awards like that without the players.”