ESPN Anchor and Alabama Alum Rece Davis Regales an Overflow Crowd Thursday

Nothing was off-limits with Sportscenter and College Gameday anchor Rece Davis during his question and answer session with University of Alabama students on Thursday.  Well, unless you asked him about the prospects of Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney eventually replacing Nick Saban at Alabama, but he tip-toed around that like the professional he is.

Davis spoke to students at the Ferguson Student Center in an event sponsored by The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communications, which began this year.

“It’s always nice to come back to a place you consider home and have people show that type of appreciation and interest in what you’ve done,” he said. “I really admire the effort and enthusiasm that people have shown to come out to this.”

The conversation flowed from topical and instructional to casual and comedic and back again as requested. But Davis received the loudest reactions from the overflow crowd at the Ferguson Theater when he went out of character to perform impressions of South Carolina Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier, fellow college football personality Lou Holtz (whom he admitted to intentionally ruling against on College Football Final just to watch him get worked up), and even Coach Saban.

For all of the anecdotes and humor he provided, he matched that with valuable information for students with ambitions to follow him in the industry. He encouraged women to go after their goals while not allowing anyone to pigeonhole them into a role they didn’t enjoy. He instructed students in the intricacies and secrets to being successful as a television producer. And he even explained the importance of having versatility as a broadcaster because your next opportunity could come from any direction.

“There are so many more avenues now than there were when I was in school here,” he explained. “When I was in school, (sports broadcasting) was still viewed as a closed society – an almost unattainable place. There were very few outlets it seemed.

“It’s changed a lot now because there are a lot of different ways that people can pursue their goals and pursue opportunities to be in sports broadcasting.”

Davis credits those newly-created options for building an interest in sports broadcasting at a collegiate level now that dwarfs the attention his classmates gave the profession back when he graduated from the Capstone in 1988.

But he also acknowledges the surge in campus expansion at The University of Alabama as another factor in the increased interest.

“I can’t find my way around anymore,” he admitted. “(The campus) is completely different. It was really embarrassing this morning because I lived in that building right there for three years,” he said as he pointed a short distance across the street from the Ferguson Center in the direction behind the parking deck, “and I couldn’t find my way here.

“It’s impressive what they’ve done from a facilities standpoint. Everything fits in with the integrity of the architecture that’s always made this campus an attractive place, but it has a modern feel to it as well.  They’ve done a great job in expanding the campus and making this a great place to go to school.”

Davis spent an hour addressing the crowd before making himself available for an additional 30 minutes to students wanting pictures or a brief interaction with one of Alabama’s most accomplished broadcasting professionals.

His willingness and generosity satisfied a number of students, likely making Rece Davis a brief trending topic on social media in the process, but it also led to a headache for those trying to escort him around campus. He even commented briefly that Mike Anderson, head basketball coach at Arkansas, wouldn’t be too happy with him, leaving those still lingering in the theater to assume he was late to a scheduled meeting with the coach as part of preparation for tonight’s ESPN2 broadcast from Coleman Coliseum.

Despite being one of the most prominent voices in college athletics, Davis opened up on what he really enjoys about visiting schools around the country.

“One of the great things about being on any college campus is you see a lot of people with lofty dreams and aspirations, and they’re working to accomplish them. It’s that much better when you go to a place that means something to you, like this place does to me.”