Administration

Since becoming Furman University’s Director of Athletics in the summer of 2019, Jason Donnelly has delivered a new energy, excitement, and vision to Paladin Athletics, with an emphasis on a first-class student-athlete experience and enhanced alumni and external engagement. Under Donnelly’s leadership, Furman Athletics strives to inspire, educate, and develop outstanding student-athletes through a culture of excellence, prestigious liberal arts and sciences education, and nationally competitive athletics programs.

Amajor tenet of Donnelly’s directorship is a commitment to academic excellence in support of the Furman Advantage, and the results over the last three years reveal major success. For the 202122 school year, 68 percent of student-athletes were named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll, and in the spring of 2022, Furman student-athletes posted a combined grade point average of 3.23 — a mark that followed a stellar 3.20 GPA in the fall — thereby extending to six consecutive semesters a program-wide cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better. The department’s 93 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and 993 Academic Progress Rate (APR), highlighted by Furman’s Southern Conference leading six perfect (1,000) NCAA Public Recognition APR Awards, announced in June of 2022, are all indicative of the commitment to academic achievement.

Mirroring the impressive academic results has been remarkable athletic accomplishment, underscoring Furman’s commitment to SoCon success and fielding nationally competitive programs. Despite Donnelly’s still young tenure as athletic director, which encompassed the COVID-shortened 2020-21 competition year, Paladin teams have already won 16 SoCon championships and made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances during his time in Greenville, with 15 student-athletes earning SoCon Player of the Year honors, including women’s golfer Anna Morgan and cross country/track standout Cameron Ponder, who combined to sweep of the 2021-22 SoCon Athlete of the Year awards for the first time in school history.

Twenty Paladins have garnered All-America accolades during Donnelly’s tenure, including women’s golfer Natalie Srinivasan who was named 2021 PING WGCA National Player of the Year and received the prestigious ANNIKA Award. In addition, eight Furman coaches have collected SoCon Coach of the Year honors.

In a testament to the strength of Paladin Athletics, during the 2020-21 school year Furman’s men’s sports program won the Commissioner Cup, given annually to the SoCon’s top men’s athletics program, a year after both the Paladin men and women paced the Commissioner and (women’s equivalent) Germann Cup competitions, respectively, by wide margins before athletic competition was suspended in mid-March due to the pandemic. In addition, Furman Athletics also extended its run of league-best annual finishes in Learfield IMG Directors’ Cup Competition to six in 2021.

Less than six months into his tenure, Donnelly faced the challenge of leading a department heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic, which included the cancellation of the 2020 spring and fall competition seasons, significant financial challenges, and a realignment of sports sponsorships. Through it all, he worked closely with campus leaders, the SoCon, and the NCAA regarding changes in scheduling and legislation that impacted the welfare of student-athletes, coaches, and staff. That effective guidance helped pave the way for Furman’s impressive return to full competition.

While managing a department through a unique period in its history, Donnelly kept a keen eye on ensuring the future viability of Paladin Athletics through the development and launch earlier this year of “Inspiring Greatness: Furman Athletics Strategic Plan 2022-26” — a roadmap of priorities for student-athlete well-being and performance; academic success and leadership development; financial sustainability and accountability with an emphasis on philanthropy and revenue generation; competitive excellence; and goals for bestin-class facilities. In addition, it outlined the Paladins’ firm commitment to the ideals of diversity, equity, and

inclusion, as well as expansion of the department’s marketing, fan engagement, and branding efforts — all underscored by a culture of excellence and collaboration with Furman’s administration and Board of Trustees.

A vital element in Donnelly’s overall vision for Furman Athletics is a drive to heighten connection and engagement with alumni, parents, and fans — an effort that led to the introduction of the Furman Athletics Fund. Under its new, modern organization, the Furman Athletics Fund, in its first year of existence, generated a significant increase in fundraising focused on facilities, scholarships, and operations for all 18 Furman athletic teams. In September of 2020, the department launched its “Charge Forward” campaign, netting $5 million in commitments that served as a springboard to a record breaking $10 million raised for Paladins Athletics during the 2020-21 school year, highlighted by $3 million for men’s and women’s basketball, $1 million for football, and $1 million for men’s soccer. The 2021-22 school year netted even more impressive growth as Furman Athletics raised $12.7 million, representing a 251 percent increase from 2019. Other keystones to the signal year included highly successful “Dins ay” and “Giving Tuesday” events that attracted gifts from over 2,500 donors and generated over $600,000 in contributions.

In the fall of 2021 Furman Athletics announced the largest gift in its history with a $5 million gift from Chris ‘78 and Andrea Borch to fully endow athletics scholarships for the Paladins’ nationally acclaimed men’s and women’s cross country programs. The Borch Family gift is part of a larger university wide initiative to raise $100 million in funds to fully endow scholarships to provide perpetuity for both programs.

Donnelly’s commitment to executing an ongoing facilities master plan in alignment with the university’s strategic priorities gained significant momentum over the last year with the construction of the 100 percent, golf donor-funded Davis & Faxon Training Facility and complete refurbishment of the adjoining REK Center for Intercollegiate Golf, dedicated in February of 2022. In the fall of 2021 Furman, as part of an initial phase of a comprehensive plan to improve Timmons Arena, completed a significant $3 million renovation and expansion of men’s and women’s basketball office suites, film rooms, and locker rooms.

Other recent notable facility improvements that have been accomplished under Donnelly’s guidance include a $500,00 refurbishment of the department’s weight room and installation of new Field Turf in Paladin Stadium, a move that followed projects targeted to improve the game day experience — chief among them a new, more spacious seating arrangement in the west stands. The new seating configuration, along with the introduction of the “Furman Fan Zone” featuring pregame concerts sponsored by Ingles, and new student tailgating section in Paladin Stadium combined to help Furman lead the SoCon in football attendance over the first four games of the 2021 season and notch a 60 percent increase in attendance, contributing to a 17 percent increase in overall athletic revenue for the 2022 fiscal year.

Donnelly’s strong leadership and initiative have been manifested across the spectrum, including his effort to make Furman Greenville’s college athletics program. He conceptualized and engineered the return of Paladin men’s and women’s basketball to downtown Greenville with games at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, part of the “Weekends At The Well” initiative that has generated a record-breaking growth in attendance.

A significant part in the overall strategy of collaboration and engagement he has implemented for Paladin Athletics is an emphasis on Furman Family culture and connection to the community. Engagements with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and fans have increased dramatically, with events such as Purple Fridays and popular “Lunch & Learn” virtual Zoom series that brought together Furman athletic staff, coaches, heralded alumni and Paladin fans amid the pandemic.

The effectiveness of Furman Athletics’ engagement efforts with its wide array of constituencies is evidenced in the impressive social media metrics posted by the department in 2020. Specifically, among the 127 FCS Athletics Departments, Furman ranked 13th nationally in total interactions generated by its main three social media accounts (Instagram + Twitter + Facebook), with its 23 percent increase placing it among just 35 programs that added engagement in 2020 and representing the eighth highest increase among 127 schools.

Under Donnelly’s leadership, Furman Athletics has also worked to develop and add a number of strategic partnerships, including one with Van Wagner Collegiate Services, the department’s multimedia rights partner, as well as with The Fan, the top-rated sports talk station in the Upstate and flagship station for Paladin football and men’s basketball, NOCAP SPORTS to provide Furman student-athletes the opportunity to maximize name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities, and Greenville Triumph (USL League One) & Liberty (USL W League) soccer clubs. The partnership with Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the home of Furman’s “Weekends At The Well” basketball game series, allowed Furman to co-host 2022 NCAA Basketball Tournament first and second round games with a net $11 million economic impact to Greenville. Furman will play host to the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Regionals and 2026 men’s

tournament first and second round action.

Donnelly, who in 2021 joined the NCAA FCS Football Regional Advisory Committee, has also positioned Furman at the forefront of social justice initiatives by making Paladin Athletics one of the original co-signers of the Collegiate Coaching Diversity Pledge reflecting a commitment to ensure equal opportunities for underrepresented minority coaches.

Prior to arriving at Furman, Donnelly spent 15 years at Villanova University, most recently as senior associate athletics director and executive director of athletics development. Prior to that role, he served as director of athletics development and oversaw the Villanova Athletics Fund, managing fundraising and external support for all 24 varsity sports. Over his final four years at Villanova, he helped raise more than $120 million for Wildcat Athletics, including three consecutive recordbreaking fundraising years representing a 330 percent increase in dollars raised, and led the fundraising effort for the $65 million Finneran Pavilion renovation, the university’s largest 100 percent donor funded capital program, and the creation of the “Nova Points’ donor support system.

Before moving to administration, Donnelly served the Villanova Men’s Basketball program in a number of capacities, including as an assistant men’s basketball coach, director of basketball operations, and special assistant to Naismith Memorial Baskeball Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright, the AP men’s college basketball coach of the decade, contributing to Villanova’s basketball success, including the Wildcats’ NCAA Division I national championship wins in 2016 and 2018. During his decade on the Wildcats’ bench, Villanova Basketball made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including runs to the 2006 Elite Eight and 2009 Final Four.

Before going to Villanova, Donnelly was a teacher and basketball coach at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, as well as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at Muhlenberg College, his alma mater. He also served as a long time camp commissioner and coach for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Morgan Wootten from DeMatha High School and was the director of basketball operations for USA Basketball at the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil.

A native of Colonia, New Jersey, Donnelly graduated from Muhlenberg in 1999, where he played varsity basketball, was a student leader, and was the Class of 1999 student commencement speaker. He also earned a master’s of public administration degree from Villanova in 2019.

Donnelly and his wife, Rachel, a native of Bakersville, N.C., and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Villanova, have three children—Aidan, Raeyln, and Allister.

Elizabeth Davis became Furman University’s 12th President on July 1, 2014. Under her leadership, the university has instituted The Furman Advantage, a distinctive vision for higher education that combines learning with immersive experiences outside the classroom, creating a person alized pathway that prepares students for lives of purpose, successful careers and community benefit. The groundbreaking effort was launched in October 2016 with a $47 million grant from The Duke Endowment.

President Davis is a member of the Council of Presidents, an advisory group of college and university chief executives who provide guidance to the Associa tion of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges on issues of governance in higher education. She is also a member of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Board of Directors.

Dr. Davis serves on the Board of Directors of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and is an honorary member of the Board of Governors of the Commerce Club. She is a member of the Greenville Rotary Club, American Council on Education’s Women’s Network Executive Committee, and the South Carolina Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission. She has been recognized by Greenville Business Magazine as one of Greenville’s “50 Most Influential People.”

Dr. Davis has addressed numerous organizations in the Up state since arriving at Furman, and she has also spoken throughout the U.S. on issues involving higher edu cation, university leadership and fi nancial management. She has been quoted in national media, written op-eds for The Greenville News, University Business and other publications, and done many interviews on radio and television on the subject of higher education.

Before coming to Furman, Dr. Davis spent 22 years at Baylor University in Texas, where she most recently held the position of Executive Vice President and Pro vost. In addition to being a member of the accounting faculty at Baylor, she also served as Vice Provost for Financial and Academic Administration, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs, and Acting Chair of the Department of Accounting and Business Law. Before beginning her higher education career, she spent three years at Arthur Andersen & Co. in New Orleans.

Dr. Davis received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor in 1984 and earned her Ph.D. from Duke University in 1992. She and her husband, Charles, have two children, Chad and Claire.