Tom Davis has served as Chief Marketing Officer at The Big West since 2020.
Davis directs the conference’s marketing & branding, licensing, corporate sponsorship, broadcast management of live and on-demand programming, digital and social media and content creation.
In his tenure at The Big West, Davis led a major branding initiative for the conference to define and activate a new vision for the conference. Over 2,200 individuals with a vested interested in The Big West participated in the process which yielded a unified vision of the league, complete with a statement of purpose, brand pillars, a new logo, website and an expanded presence on social media. Davis will also oversee the evolution of the brand with the additions of California Baptist, Sacramento State and Utah Valley on July 1, 2026.
In collaboration with the Commissioner and the membership, Davis was instrumental in the move of the Big West Basketball Championships to Henderson, Nev., expanding coverage on television and radio and spearheading a strategic marketing push that increaed overall attendance by 32 percent in 2025.
In collaboration with Commissioner Butterly and the membership, The Big West forged a new broadcast agreement with ESPN that increased revenues six-fold while expanding coverage to approximately 1,200 events per year inclding more than 40 Big West Championship telecasts. In 2024-25, viewership of Big West Championships increased by 30%.
In addition to expanding coverage on ESPN+, Davis worked with the Commissioner to package men’s and women’s basketball games on Spectrum SportsNet. This package expands The Big West’s linear broadcast presence in California, Hawai’i and southern Nevada. Overall, approximately five million fans per year watch Big West programming on ESPN networks and Spectrum.
In concert with The Big West’s multimedia rightsholder, Van Wagner, The Big West Radio Network was created to carry all 14 games of The 2025 Hercules Tires Big West Basketball Championship presented by Credit Union 1 on SiriusXM.
Drawing on a results-driven background in sponsorship marketing, Davis worked to increase the quantity and quality of The Big West’s sponsorship inventory. He was instrumental in forging a partnership with the Hawaii Tourism Authority in support of championship events hosted on the island as well as deals with Molten, Kap 7, Wilson and Rawlings and an official concessionaire for licensed Big West merchandise. As a result of these efforts, Big West sponsorship revenues reached an all-time high in 2024-25.
A native of Carbondale, Ill., Davis has written, produced and directed creative projects for both traditional and emerging media platforms. He wrote and produced the documentary ’51 Dons and the BattleFrog College & League Championships series’ for ESPN. He has also developed creative campaigns and syndicated content for top brands including DIRECTV, EA Sports and Qualcomm.
As the President and Creative Director of Caught Looking, Inc., a marketing, branding and content production agency in Los Angeles, he led a comprehensive re-brand strategy for the Mountain West Conference including market research, logo design and creative execution, and later wrote, produced and directed national TV PSA’s, radio and print advertising initiatives, social media and in-venue marketing assets as the league’s creative agency.
Davis also held leadership roles in marketing and sponsorship at DIRECTV where he negotiated deals with American Airlines Center, Cleveland Browns Stadium, Giants Stadium and Staples Center and marketing partnerships with Hall of Famers Peyton Manning, Albert Pujols and Brett Hull. He also produced a 24/7 sports show which remains the second longest-running show in the history of the platform.
Previous experience in intercollegiate athletics includes stops as Southern Illinois University, Marquette University and as General Manager at UCLA for multimedia rightsholder ISP, where his team tripled UCLA’s sponsorship revenue in just three years.
Davis has served an Adjunct Professor in the University of San Francisco’s Sport Management program teaching courses ranging from marketing and sponsorship to sales, sports media and career management in sports.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Administration from Southern Illinois University and a Master of Science degree in Sports Management from Purdue University.