Howard University's athletics programs have never been more successful, and the turnaround is largely due to the athletic director Kery Davis. Davis took over in 2015; since his arrival, the Bison have won a combined 31 conference and national championships across their athletic programs. Most recently, the football team won the MEAC and nearly won the Celebration Bowl against Florida A&M.

Davis, who was previously a senior vice president of programming at HBO, stressed the importance of advertising in an interview with Howard's The Dig newsletter.

“One of the other things that exposure like this does is it allows young people who are not aware of the excellence of institutions like Howard and FAMU to become more familiar with them,” he said. “When you see us on the national state, it's an opportunity for young people to learn about the institution, and eventually and potentially want to be a part of it. Learning that's the school that Kamala Harris went to, or Anthony Anderson, or Taraji P. Henosn, or Dean [Phylicia] Rashad, or Debbie Allen, or Toni Morrison.”

As the athletic director, Davis emphasized hiring the right kinds of people as head and assistant coaches.

“I want coaches who understand and recognize how special this post is [and] who want to be here,” he told Andscape in an interview. “I want a coach who is going to match my passion. I want to be here… This is the only place I wanted to be an athletic director.”

Davis' position stands in stark contrast to Deion Sanders, whom many have accused of shirking responsibilities at Jackson State in search for a higher profile coaching position.

That's why in 2020, Davis hired Larry Scott to take over the football program. The Bison were 3-8 in 2021, but finished 5-6 a year later. They stormed through the MEAC with a 4-1 record, eventually sharing the conference title with North Carolina Central. This season, they beat North Carolina Central 50-20 en route to another 4-1 MEAC record and secured the sole bid to the Celebration Bowl.

The same level of success is true in other programs, such as the men's and women's basketball teams. Last season, the men's team posted a 22-13 overall record and went 11-3 in the MEAC. They eventually won the conference and faced off against #3 Kansas in the opening round of March Madness. The women's team had similar levels of success as they went 10-4 in the conference (16-14 total). They fell short in the conference championship game to Norfolk State by a mere four points. The Spartans would go on to face South Carolina during March Madness.

Though Davis didn't attend an HBCU, he's keen on sharing the experience and providing opportunities for young Black minds across the nation.

“We're hopeful that on the telecast they highlight the academic excellence of the school, the social significance of the school, the cultural impact that the University has had,” he said. “I want students from every underrepresented part of our diaspora to want to be a part of this experience, whether it's at Howard or FAMU or North Carolina A&T – knowing that they can achieve a level of excellence at these institutions and also be around people who look like them and support, nurture, and develop them.”