A.L. Kayo Willis was an accomplished basketball coach at both the high school and college levels. During his high school coaching career in Illinois, Kayos teams compiled a record of 268-80 and were consistently ranked in the top eight in the state. Kayo was the freshman basketball coach at Murray State where his record was 82-21. During the 1970-71 season at Murray State, Coach Willis team compiled a record of 21-0 and garnered a 6th place national ranking among freshman teams. Coach Willis became the head basketball coach at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1972. During his eleven year tenure, U.A.H. compiled a record of 205-136. Kayos Chargers won five regular season Southern States Conference titles and five S.S. C. tournament titles during that time. His 1980-81 U.A.H. team won a school record thirty games and finished second in the N.A.I.A. National Tournament.