"Good luck and Go Indians!" Dennis Davidson, Catawba College's director of athletics, said as he announced his resignation, effective Dec. 31. Davidson, a 1981 alumnus of Catawba, has worked for the college for the past 29 years, serving as director of athletics for the past 17 years.
Catawba President Brien Lewis said he wished Davidson well in his future endeavors and noted that he appreciated the lead time Davidson provided. "Dennis announcing his resignation at this point allows us time to make an assessment of what is needed in Athletics and gives us an opportunity to coordinate what our next steps will be."
Davidson, in announcing his resignation by e-mail to the athletics staff, said "It is time for a fresh start for Catawba College Athletics and Dennis Davidson. I look forward to a new challenge in my life!"
In his e-mail to the athletics staff, he cited as his greatest achievement Catawba's student athletes who have become graduates of the college. "Together, we won 61 championships and the Echols Excellence Cup in 2005. However, more importantly, we turned out thousands of quality alums that are out there working and raising families. Those relationships are our most important accomplishments."
Davidson has been employed at Catawba through the administrations of six presidents. He joined the college in 1984 as director of public information and moved into sports information in 1985. In 1991, he was named assistant to the athletic director and was later promoted to assistant athletic director. In 1996, he replaced Tom Childress '64 as director of athletics.
During Davidson's 17-year tenure as director of athletics, Catawba's teams won 61 championships (SAC regular season or SAC Tournaments), including regional titles in women's soccer (1997), football (2001) and baseball (2012). "Those three are indeed special," said Davidson. "And those football and baseball teams basically finished fourth in the nation and that is quite an accomplishment by a special group of coaches and student athletes."
Representing Catawba, Davidson has been a voting delegate at the NCAA Convention (1997-2013) and was chair of the SAC Athletic Directors Council (2010-12). A voter on both the Catawba and SAC Halls of Fame since 2000, Davidson has also served two terms on the NCAA II Football Regional Advisory Committee (2002-05; 2013).
Davidson has been on SAC visiting committees at Brevard, Coker and Limestone. Brevard and Coker are now SAC members and Limestone has a scheduling alliance in football. He served on the screening committee of the new SAC commissioner search in 2007 and has been the AD liaison for SAC sports volleyball, women's basketball, athletic training and currently, baseball.
He was the host AD for the highly successful SAC Spring Sports Festival in Salisbury (1995-2000) and was director of the very popular Sam Moir Christmas High School Basketball Classic, 1996-2011.
On the facilities side, Davidson was on the construction committee for the building of Catawba's Hayes Field House (1999-02) and Shuford Stadium (2000-03). He has served as the construction leader on the current renovation of Frock Soccer Field. Also during Davidson's tenure, improvements have been made to Whitley Softball Field, Johnson Swimming Pool and Newman Park.
In the community, Davidson has been involved with numerous Salisbury Rowan Runners ClubEvents, Salisbury-Rowan Senior Games, and served as a middle school mentor, volunteer president of Westside Swim Club and a member of Milford Hills United Methodist Church.
Born in Statesville and raised in Salisbury, Davidson graduated from West Rowan High School where he was a four-year letterman in baseball, earning All-North Piedmont Conference honors as a senior.
He earned his bachelor's degree in English from Catawba and worked as a part-time writer at the Salisbury Post during his college years. After graduation, he worked for the Post full time, holding various positions, including TV section editor and copy editor.
Davidson lives in Salisbury with his wife, Toni, a registered nurse at Wake Forest Baptist-Lexington Hospital. The couple has three daughters – Bethany, Katie and Carrie.
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