ESPN “College Gameday” host Rece Davis recently opened up about his Christian faith, telling the “Sports Spectrum” podcast that he grew up in a churchgoing home and has been blessed to be surrounded by “tremendous men of God” during his career who’ve held him accountable.
Davis is one of the most popular faces in college sports as the host of the Emmy Award-winning “College Gameday,” which travels from campus to campus during the fall for college football and during the winter for college basketball. Davis grew up in Alabama, graduating from the University of Alabama, and he told “Sports Spectrum” Podcast host Jason Romano that he was “really fortunate” to have grown up in a Christian home where church attendance and Bible study were required.
He said, “I would be wanting to watch Monday Night Football, at least for a while, until I had to go to bed. And I couldn’t. We didn’t do that until we had done our devotional that night.” Davis’ father was a deacon in a local Church of Christ congregation. Davis said his parents modeled faith for him. He said, “I was blessed in that regard. But there’s always that moment when you realize that your faith doesn’t get grandfathered. I was baptized when I was 13, going on 14, and stayed active.”
Once in college, Davis said he realized people were watching him to see if he lived out his faith. He continued, “People are watching you. Regardless of your station in life, they’ll notice how you treat them. And it will reflect upon what you say you are. There might be someone listening who says, ‘Well, I can give you 15 examples of where Rece Davis wasn’t what he says he is,’ and they would probably be right about that.”
The ESPN host said his faith story isn’t one of radical transformation but one of “constantly trying to repent and get it right.” Referencing Hubert Davis, LaPhonso Ellis, David Pollack, and Kirk Herbstreit, Davis said, “I’ve been blessed to have a couple of guys that I’ve worked with that are just tremendous men of God and influences.” He and those men often text each other, checking in and challenging each other.
He said, “I think all of that kind of helps if you start to get off track.” When co-host Lee Corso once suffered a health issue, Davis said, “There were a few of us that stepped aside privately and prayed together for him. “And so having people like that around you, it helps.”