Abby Davis has been appointed director of athletics at Arkansas Tech University on a permanent and full-time basis.
The announcement was made by Dr. Robin E. Bowen, ATU president, on Tuesday, June 7.
A meet-and-greet reception to celebrate Davis’ appointment is planned for 11:30 a.m. on Friday, June 17, at Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center room 300. Refreshments will be served. The public is invited.
“Coach Davis has demonstrated her commitment to excellence as an administrator while leading our intercollegiate athletics program on an interim basis since August 2019,” said Bowen. “She has become a valued member of the ATU Executive Council and will facilitate continued success for our intercollegiate athletics program. Coach Davis’ passion for Arkansas Tech is evident, and it is matched by her commitment to student-athlete welfare and achievement.”
Davis was a four-year letter winner and an All-Gulf South Conference performer in tennis at Arkansas Tech. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology in 2002 and a Master of Education degree in health and physical education in 2004, both from ATU.
Davis has served as interim director of athletics, associate director of athletics, head tennis coach, senior woman administrator, instructor in the ATU Department of Health and Physical Education and advisor for the ATU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee over the span of her employment at Arkansas Tech. She has also been chair of the committee that oversees NCAA Division II tennis.
In accordance with her new responsibilities as director of athletics, Davis will step down as ATU head women’s tennis coach after 18 seasons in that role.
The Paris, Ark., native served as the Golden Suns’ head tennis coach from 2005-22. Her 206 wins are most by a head coach in ATU women’s tennis history. A four-time GAC coach of the year, Davis guided the Golden Suns tennis program to three regular season conference titles and one Great American Conference Tournament championship.
During Davis’ tenure in athletic administration, Arkansas Tech has won three NCAA Team Works Service Challenge Awards for most community service hours among all NCAA Division II members.
Since she became interim director of athletics, Arkansas Tech has captured Great American Conference regular season and/or postseason championships in volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, baseball and softball as well as an NCAA Division II Central Region title in women’s golf and an NCAA Division II national championship in men’s golf.
Spring 2022 marked the 10th consecutive semester in which ATU student-athletes achieved a cumulative grade point average above 3.0.
Davis is the first female to serve as director of athletics in ATU history.
“It is important that we win, and it is important that we do it in a way that makes our alumni, our students, our faculty, our staff and our community proud,” said Davis. “We will build upon our tradition of success in competition, in the classroom and in the community and strive to be worthy representatives of Arkansas Tech University. As we have seen at Arkansas Tech for more than 110 years, athletics has the potential to bring us together and unify us. We will seek to maximize that potential by providing our university and our community with an athletics program that makes them proud to be associated with Arkansas Tech.”
Learn more about ATU athletics at www.arkansastechsports.com.
