MIDWAY, Ky. -- Midway University Vice President for Admissions and Athletics Rusty Kennedy has announced the hiring of Dan Davis as the first-ever head coach of Midway's sprint football program.
"I am excited to welcome Coach Davis to Midway University," said Kennedy. "We had an impressive pool of candidates, but his vast collegiate experience at multiple levels, as well as successfully starting a sprint football program, set him apart."
Kennedy added, "I look forward to seeing the Eagles take the field under his leadership in the fall of 2022."
Davis, who brings over 25 years of coaching experience to Midway, will spend the 2021-22 year recruiting before the inaugural sprint football program makes its debut in fall 2022.
His most recent stop in the coaching ranks came at Dakota College at Bottineau – a junior college in Bottineau, North Dakota. Davis was hired by the Jacks as offensive line coach before quickly being named the Defensive Coordinator prior to the start of the 2013 season.
Davis earned his Master of Arts in Education from Chadron State College (Neb.) and his Bachelor of Arts in History from Olivet College (Mich.).
"I am so excited about being the first head sprint football coach at Midway University," stated Davis. "The next several months are going to be thrilling with much to do from setting up practice and game facilities, getting to know the faculty and staff at Midway, and recruiting quality student-athletes to our beautiful campus."
Davis added, "it is truly a great time to be an Eagle and I am so proud to be member of this university and the community of Midway."
On June 21, 2021, sprint football was announced as the 28th varsity sport at Midway. Midway will be a charter member of the new Midwest Sprint Football League (MSFL) which will begin play in the fall of 2022.
A non-NAIA sport, sprint football adheres to the same rules as regular football with the only exception being a 178-pound weight limit. The weight limit is designed to make the game both safer and faster paced.
Any prospective students interested in learning more about the sprint football program are asked to reach out to Coach Davis at danny.davis@midway.edu. Interested student-athletes can also fill out the recruiting questionnaire which can be found here.
More About Coach Davis
In March 2016, Davis was named the head coach and served in that capacity for three seasons before the program was discontinued in November 2019. During his time at Dakota College, he also served as Athletic Director and Assistant Athletic Director.
His win-loss percentage with the Jacks was the highest of any coach during the history of the football program. Overall, Davis helped lead the Jacks to a 42-26 mark overall, while they also appeared in the first two bowl games in program history.
While serving as the defensive coordinator, Davis' defenses consistently ranked near the top nationally. The Lumberjacks led the NJCAA in total defense in 2015 and were No. 1 in rushing defense in both 2014 and 2015. His 2014 team also led the NJCAA in interceptions, fumble recoveries, total turnovers forced, and defensive touchdowns scored (11).
Prior to a stop as the defensive coordinator at Logan High School (Utah), Davis started the sprint football program at Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. Mansfield discontinued their division II football program in 2006 and started sprint football for the 2008 season naming Davis as their head coach where he stayed for four seasons.
Davis' stint as head coach at Mansfield was his second head coaching stop as he got his first head coaching gig at McPherson College – an NAIA institution in McPherson, Kansas. He served as head football coach from 2000-2002. He previously served as defensive coordinator at McPherson from 1993-94.
Davis has nearly 20 years of experience as a coordinator at the collegiate level. He has served as offensive coordinator at Langston University (Okla.) and Vermillion Community College (Minn.), while he was the defensive coordinator at MacMurray College (Ill.), Mount Allison University (N.B.), SUNY Canton (N.Y.) and Huron University (S.D.).
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