Murphy Bulldogs legend adds national honor
Legendary football coach David Gentry was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame on June 29.
Gentry was among a dozen inductee who were immortalized at the National Federation of State High School Associations’ 43rd Hall of Fame Banquet in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The hall of fame inductions wrapped up the NFHS’ 107th Annual Summer Meeting which was held June 26-29.
Gentry is the winningest coach in N.C. football history and ended his coaching career with 426 overall wins and nine state championships at Murphy High School.
In 47 years of coaching, Gentry had a record of 426-195-3. At Murphy High School, Gentry had a record of 361-117-1, which is the most wins at a single high school in NCHSAA football history.
He also won 18 Smoky Mountain Conference championships and won SMC Coach of the Year 18 times.
He is also a member of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame and the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2023 and 2025 respectively. In 2017, he was also inducted into the WNC Sports Hall of Fame.
Gentry got his coaching start at his alma mater of Elon University where he served as an undergraduate assistant.