Artis, a 6'1 guard from Froebel High School in Gary, Indiana, played for coach Don Haskins at Texas Western University (now the University of Texas at El Paso).

With teammates Bobby Joe Hill, David Lattin, Nevil Shed and Harry Flournoy, Artis was a part of the first team with an all-black starting lineup to win an NCAA championship after upsetting the Kentucky Wildcats in the 1966 NCAA championship.

Artis averaged 12.6 points per game that season and was the team's third leading scorer.

[3] The team was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and were the subject of the book and movie Glory Road, he was portrayed by Alphonso McAuley in the film.

[5] Artis was one of thirteen inductees in the Indiana Hall of Fame 2014 induction class.