Stephanie Davis started her career in college athletics  and began breaking down barriers for women - and especially black women - during her time as a student at the University of Florida. After a number of successful stops along the way, Davis landed the University of Minnesota in 2017, and has been building opportunities for women ever since.

An Atlanta native, Davis graduated from the University of Florida in 2008 where she spent four years as a student equipment manager for the Gators’ football team and one season as an equipment manager with the track and field team. After graduation, she worked as an equipment manager at the University of Houston, then went on to Georgia Tech where she pursued a master’s in sports administration.

It was during her time with the Yellowjackets where Davis started to come into her own. After starting as an intern and graduate assistant with the equipment and operations staff, in September 2012 Davis transitioned into the operations and facilities coordinator role. She helped with strategic planning on capital projects such as opening both the Byers Tennis Complex and McCamish Pavilion, and in January 2013, she became the attendant at the Byers Tennis Complex. Davis also helped Georgia Tech, within a span of only months, successfully execute the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four and the 2013 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship. 

After graduating with her masters, Davis spent one year at Rice University and three at Miami University before making her way to the Twin Cities. She started with the Gophers as the director of event management in November of 2017, and has since been elevated to Associate Athletic Director for Event Management and a member of Senior Staff.

Davis’ work with the Gophers has helped lay the groundwork for the University of Minnesota to become a mecca of collegiate athletics. She is the co-lead for the 2025 Special Olympics Minnesota Games and the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games on the U of M campus, and she has been directly responsible for being awarded bids and hosting conference and national championships in swimming and diving, wrestling, gymnastics, men’s and women’s Final Fours, and Frozen Fours. Davis, who is working towards her doctorate in kinesiology from Minnesota, also helped create an event management graduate course that provides students insider access and volunteer opportunities at NCAA championships hosted by Minnesota.

Along with overseeing the athletics department’s event operations, Davis is also responsible for securing and executing concerts at Huntington Bank Stadium, like the Beyonce Renaissance World Tour in July 2023.

While her work with the Gopher athletic teams is impressive, Davis’ work with women and BIPOC athletes and staff at Minnesota is where she continues to break barriers for those around her. In her current role, Davis serves as the sport administrator for women’s tennis. She also helped establish space for the athletic department’s Black Women of Gopher Athletics Group, the Black Student-Athlete Association, and the BIPOC Affinity Group. The affinity group was started prior to George Floyd’s murder in 2020, and has since become larger and more formalized. The group continues to educate all employees during staff meetings and ensures that voices of BIPOC athletes and staff in the department are heard.

As an avid champion for diversity, inclusion, and belonging, Davis represented Minnesota as a member of the Big Ten Equity Coalition, served as a facilitator on the U’s Gopher Equity Project leading discussions with students to create a positive campus climate, and completed the YWCA Racial Justice and Circle Dialogue Training to become a facilitator of conversations within the athletic department. 

Whether she is working with the Gopher athletic teams or working with BIPOC athletes and staff, Davis continues to make space and break barriers for those around her, and her efforts to create an inclusive environment help make Minnesota a welcoming host for events of all types and sizes for years to come.