Howard University Athletics

Kery Davis was appointed Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Howard University by former president Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick in September of 2015. Since arriving at the Mecca, the Bison have enjoyed a renaissance under Davis’ leadership, chartering a course that has established Howard as an innovative leader in the college sports landscape. When Davis was appointed, he stated that his vision was to ‘have Howard’s athletic brand reflect the academic excellence, mission and values of Howard University on the field of play, in the classroom and in the community. 

Davis oversees Howard University’s 500 student-athletes and 21 collegiate sports programs, the most of any HBCU. During his tenure, the athletic programs have achieved remarkable success in the classroom, winning awards for its graduation rates and culminating with the highest department GPA in recent history. 

Howard swept the 2022-23 MEAC All-Sports honors, including the Talmadge Layman Hill Men's All-Sports Award and the Mary McLeod Bethune Women's All-Sports Award. HU earned its second consecutive Mary McLeod Bethune award (sixth overall) while earning its first Layman Hill honor since 1988 (fourth overall). Howard swept both trophies for the first time since 1988. 

Additionally, the athletic programs have enjoyed significant enhancements to facilities featuring the addition of a state-of-the art media press box which includes two luxury suites, a renovated men’s football locker room, two digital scoreboards in the basketball arena and enhanced practice facilities for the volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball programs. 

Capitalizing on Howard’s iconic brand, Davis has negotiated numerous sponsorship deals with national brands AT&T, Rocket Mortgage, Nissan, Mielle Organics and Nuna Baby, Inc. 

In 2021, Davis engineered an historic partnership with Jordan Brand. Howard is one of six athletic programs to be sponsored by the iconic Jordan Brand representing both Basketball and Football. In addition to assisting with facility enhancements, Jordan and Howard will collaborate on an exclusive Howard line of Jordan Brand merchandise and apparel. 

In recent years the Bison have also experienced a resurgence on the field of play. Since 2015 the Bison have won 31 conference or national championships. 

In 2022, both Women’s Softball and Women’s Basketball won the MEAC Championship and competed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007 and 2001 respectively. Men’s Basketball won the MEAC regular season and conference tournament and competed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years. 

In 2023, Men’s Swimming and Diving captured its first 2023 Northeast Conference championship and the swim team appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. 

The women’s indoor and outdoor track & field programs won consecutive MEAC championships in 2022 and 2023 while the cross-country program won the MEAC championship in 2022. 

Women’s volleyball won six conference championships including five in a row from 2015-2019. 

The Bison continue to make a positive contribution to its community through its partnerships with Athletes for Hope, the Grassroots Project and Be the Match. Davis joined Howard University with an impressive track record of accomplishments. Prior to Howard, Davis served as the Senior Vice President of Programming for HBO’s award-winning Sports Division. During his tenure at HBO, Davis negotiated multi-year agreements for HBO with major league sports franchises such as the NFL and NHL. Davis was also responsible for the strategic direction of HBO’s boxing franchise and as such negotiated numerous multi-year contracts with stars such as Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones, Jr., Lennox Lewis, Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Additionally known for creating super events, Davis spearheaded many of the biggest events in Sports history, including mega-fights between Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis and Floyd Mayweather vs Oscar De la Hoya. During his tenure the department created groundbreaking original programming such as Hard Knocks and the 24/7 series and produced critically acclaimed and award-winning documentaries such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. 

For his accomplishments at HBO, Davis was recognized by Sports Illustrated and Black Enterprise as one of the most influential minorities in Sports. 

Prior to joining HBO, Davis served as executive producer and general counsel for Reach Entertainment which produced the Tony Award winning Broadway play Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and the musical Mama I Want to Sing, the longest running black off Broadway Musical in theatre history. 

Davis’ vision of creating ‘buzz worthy’ events has continued at Howard. The football program defeated UNLV in the biggest upset in college football history. The Bison football team won back to back MEAC championships in 2022 and 2023. Howard football participated in the 2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl for the first time in program history. 

In 2017, the Department launched what has become known as the Martin Luther King game with a basketball contest vs Harvard at the Mecca. Howard hosted Notre Dame in a special MLK Day game that was broadcast nationally on FOX. In 2021, Davis also spearheaded a partnership with DC United and Events DC to create the annual Truth and Service Classic at Audi Field. In 2019 Howard relaunched the men’s and women’s golf program with a gift from NBA superstar Steph Curry, one of the largest in HBCU sports history. Since then, Howard men’s golf won the MEAC championship in 2022 and the PGA Works Collegiate Championship in 2022 and 2023. Davis currently sits on the NCAA Men's Basketball Oversight Committee, NCAA Legends and Legacy Selection Committee and NCAA Basketball Rules Committee. Davis, a Bronx, New York native, played point guard at Cardinal Hayes High School. He continued his play at Dartmouth College, earning a bachelor's degree in political science and 

holds a law degree from Cornell University. Davis is married to his wife Samantha and has four children.