Published on September 2, 2020 by Joey Mullins  
Joe Davidson Collage

Samford University has appointed Joe Davidson as interim head women’s golf coach. Davidson, previously senior associate athletic director, has worked in college athletics for more than 40 years.

Davidson joined Samford in 2012 and has worked in the Athletics Department since 2016. He was approached by athletics director Martin Newton for the interim coaching position after assisting then head coach Haley Wilson's last season.

 “I had traveled with the girls last year to a tournament and had seen what kind of people they were,” Davidson said. “I got to know the five returners really well. With the five returners, plus the two freshmen we have coming in, we’re going to have a very good program. That takes hard work, but I think they already see what kind of person I am and what I will require them to do, and they know what it takes to get better, or they wouldn’t be playing Division I golf.” 

Davidson’s career in college athletics began in 1978. Before joining Samford, he served in multiple leadership roles at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Jacksonville State University. With this new role, his professional coaching journey comes full circle after coaching men’s golf early on. 

During his time in Samford Athletics, Davidson has led and overseen many improvements within both the Facilities and Operations Department as well as the Athletics Department overall. Davidson moved into his new role as Interim Head Women’s Golf Coach on Aug. 10, and he says it is a challenge he is looking forward to.

Read the full feature of Davidson’s career.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.