I used to joke that I was just doing the WKU gig to feed my racing habit.
Davis, who retired in November 2024 as Director of WKU’s Student Accessibility Resource Center, spent years advocating for students with disabilities and ensuring they received the accommodations they needed to do well in school. Now, as he adjusts to life without work, he’s leaning even more into a lifelong passion that has shaped his life: wheelchair racing.
Born with Spina Bifida, a condition that causes paralysis due to improper development of the spine and spinal cord, Davis didn’t discover athletics until his late 20s. What started as curiosity quickly became a calling. Wheelchair racing gave him something more than exercise; it gave him a community.
“I’ve raced in other countries, in a lot of states and met so many people from around the world,” Davis said.
Davis also participates in a group called Achilles International as part of their Nashville chapter. Achilles provides support for runners with disabilities such as blindness or mobility issues. He was also on the organization's board for a while before taking a step back. Davis enjoys going to weekly group runs where he can connect with people who share the same goal as him: getting out and moving.
He has immersed himself in the running communities of Bowling Green and Nashville. Over the years, he has completed up to 15 races a year, competing in elite events like the Boston Marathon and the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon in Japan which he has raced in more than 20 times.
But Davis’s passion extends far beyond the finish line. For him, the road is also a place of advocacy. Too often, Davis says, wheelchair racers are treated as an afterthought or grouped separately from able-bodied runners, offered fewer resources, or left out of races entirely. Through his presence and persistence, Davis advocates for change, working to ensure that adaptive athletes receive the recognition and respect they deserve.
“Wheelchair athletes train just as hard as any other athlete,” Davis said.
Davis continues to live by a motto that captures his personality perfectly: "Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way."
Davis normally has a cyclist to ride along with him during races to show him the way, but for the Hot Chocolate race he did not. Since the wheelchair division is always the first to set off, it is not always clear where to go on the courses. Due to the lack of guide he got lost and ended up on an open, active road and struggled to find his way back.
Davis discusses his struggles on the course with Amy Harris, Achilles Nashville organizer, after the race. At the finish line Davis gave a race organizer a "piece of his mind."
Davis's dedication to staying active goes beyond his wheelchair and into the pool. He regularly swims at the Bill Powell Natatorium in the WKU Preston Center.
Being in a wheel chair has never stopped Davis from getting around. He drives a specially modified Honda Pilot that requires any input from the legs. He is able to control the gas and brake pedal with lever next to the steering wheel.