Davis makes Lipscomb his home for life

Lipscomb's 2025 Alumnus of the Year, Drew Davis, vaults the next generation into a bright future through gymnastics company in the Atlanta area.

When Drew Davis (BA ’81) came to Lipscomb University in 1977, he found more than the skills he needed to run his own business for more than 40 years. He found more than a spiritual transformation even. According to him, Davis found a home for life.

“It's the center of the universe,” chuckles Davis. “I always felt like Lipscomb attracted great people, and it has kept up its influence that way. Even today, when I drive down Granny White Pike, I feel like I'm coming back home.”

While he resides in Atlanta, the former gymnastics team member and theology major is a frequent fixture on campus as he serves on the Lipscomb College of Bible & Ministry alumni board and the Lanier Theological Library Foundation as well as carrying out various passion projects on his favorite college campus.
 

His two daughters, Audrey Davis Green (BSN ’18) and Grace (BA ’22), and a son-in-law, Ben Green (BA ’17), are all also Lipscomb alumni.

“Lipscomb has always meant so much to me. It still feels like home here,” said the 2025 winner of the Alumnus of the Year Award. “It still feels like this is the place.”

Raised in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, Davis came to Lipscomb on a gymnastics scholarship. He was recruited by Lipscomb Coach Tom Hanvey (A ’42) after developing as a standout athlete under the legendary John Bird during high school.

“When I came to visit, I was so impressed by the team and thought the people were wonderful,” Davis said. “That’s when I knew Lipscomb was the place for me.”

During his time at Lipscomb, Davis was part of a historically successful men’s gymnastics program that regularly defeated larger NCAA competitors. Yet it was his spiritual journey at Lipscomb that had the deepest impact on his life.
 

“I became a Christian at Lipscomb, influenced by so many great people around me — teammates, classmates and professors — but especially by Harvey Floyd (BA ’53) through his Bible classes,” Davis said.

Floyd’s class on Romans and Galatians “changed my life,” said Davis, and he left Lipscomb intending to attend seminary and become a minister. In fact, he spent his summer after graduation in Switzerland at the L'Abri community, a forum to discuss philosophical and religious beliefs founded by evangelist Francis Schaeffer and his wife Edith. Floyd used Schaeffer’s books as textbooks in his classes.
 

But upon his return home, Davis found that his grant to attend seminary had fallen through, and he fell back on another of his specialties, becoming a gymnastics coach. He coached for about a year in New Jersey and then Atlanta and then got a bright idea from a pair of fellow Lipscomb alumni.

Tim Richards (BS ’80) and Kit Bunger (BS ’80), fellow Lipscomb gymnastics team members, established the Let It Shine gym in Franklin, which today is still going strong.

Davis followed suit and established Rockdale Gymnastics in Conyers, Georgia, along with fellow Lipscomb gymnastics teammate Joe Ashley (A). Over a four-decade career as a coach and meet director, he has served more than 100,000 athletes and raised more than $200,000 for charitable causes such as the Wounded Warrior Project and Susan G. Komen.

Recently, Davis sold a portion of the business but continues to hold 30 to 40 gymnastics competitions annually held throughout the Southeast and to offer various services needed to hold a gymnastics event. While he serves as the meet director, Davis’ wife Cynthia regularly judges competitions.

“It's so good for kids overall,” Davis said of gymnastics. “Just part of being a kid is that you want to jump and bounce and run and climb and flip, so you get to do it in a safe, organized environment. In gymnastics you’re learning large motor coordination skills, flexibility, air awareness, confidence and you're building up strength. It's definitely the type of skills you want to learn as a child.”

Davis sees gymnastics as a “healthy, wholesome sport” that can serve as a social counter to all the digital distractions in children’s lives today.

“In a Christian-run gym, you definitely have an influence,” said Davis. “You're praying with the kids before class or practice. You're just developing a relationship with them that's more than just a business relationship.

“That’s a great aspect of coaching young people. You're around them so much that you get to know them personally. You get to hear about their life, their family and what's going on. So much of it is encouragement athletically, but also encouragement in life in general.”

Davis has continued to stay engaged with his alma mater. In honor of his mentor Floyd, Davis founded Gospel Jam, an annual on-campus event honoring his legacy, and helped establish the Harvey Floyd Biblical Languages Scholarship. He also organized a 2023 reunion of the gymnastics team that drew about 40 alumni to campus.

As a personal project, Davis has produced several videos of interviews (available on YouTube) with Lipscomb Legends, such as Carl McKelvey (BA ’53), Floyd, Jim Thomas (BA ’69, MA ’10), Neika Stephens (LA ’52), Dennis Lloyd (LA ’54, BA ’58), Harold Hazelip (BA ’50) and Robert Hooper (BA ’54), among others.

“These are the guys who were the rocks, the pillars here at Lipscomb for decades,” said Davis. “They loved the community. They loved the university. Their heart was here. You know Tom Hanvey could have gone to a bigger university and gotten more money… but he wanted to be here. So that's what those interviews are for.”

“The impact Lipscomb has had on thousands of lives has been truly incredible,” said Davis.

Winning Lipscomb’s Alumnus of the Year Award, “truly the honor of a lifetime,” said Davis. The award honors “one singularly successful individual who, through exemplary accomplishments and recognition, and through his or her strong faith and servant-like heart, epitomizes the potential of a Lipscomb education and thereby brings credit and honor to the university.”