Chris Clunie spent a decade building basketball programs in more than 30 countries for the NBA, developing future stars like Joel Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander through Basketball Without Borders camps.
When he returned to Davidson as athletic director in 2018, he brought with him a belief that athletic success means nothing without human impact.
“Davidson’s statement of purpose talks about creating disciplined and creative minds for lives of leadership and service,” Clunie explained, sitting in his office overlooking the campus where he once walked on to the basketball team. “What we’ve tried to do with athletics is advance the mission of the college. If the college is about leadership and service, then athletics needs to be about that.”
This philosophy drives Cats Care, Davidson’s community engagement program that has transformed how the Wildcats approach athletics, academics and service. Under Clunie’s leadership, it’s become the DNA of Davidson athletics.
The unlikely path home
Clunie never planned to become a college athletic director. After graduating from Davidson in 2006 with a political science degree, he earned a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, where he chose to study how basketball impacted different cultures in Japan, Argentina, South Africa and Italy. That year-long journey became his career blueprint when the NBA hired him to run international basketball operations.
“That fellowship ended up becoming a job because then I moved to the NBA working in international basketball operations, effectively doing what I had done that entire fellowship,” Clunie recalled. “It was pretty wild, but Davidson provided me that opportunity.”
Davidson College president Douglas Hicks, left, and Director of Athletics Chris Clunie stand next to Saj Thakkar, center, as he holds up a jersey after being introduced as the new football coach for Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., on Friday, December 20, 2024. KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH Knikouyeh@charlotteobserver.com
For 10 years, Clunie managed Basketball Without Borders camps that brought elite international prospects together with NBA players and coaches. He ran All-Star Weekend operations and the NBA Draft Combine, positioning himself for what seemed like an inevitable jump to a team’s front office.
“I wanted to be a GM, and I was hopefully going to leverage all the connections I had,” he said. “I felt like I had a really good grasp domestically, internationally, and at some point, was going to join a team and work in player personnel.”
When longtime Davidson athletic director Jim Murphy announced his retirement in February 2018, Clunie’s first instinct was to recommend someone else. That friend, was a deputy AD at a Power Four school, changed everything during a 45-minute phone conversation.
“He said, hey, look, you work with NBA players and coaches and GMs, but now you’re going to be working with college coaches and scholar athletes. You work with so many different constituents, agents and government officials when you’re overseas running camps. Now you’re working with alums and donors and faculty,” Clunie said. “He connected all those points that I really wasn’t thinking about.”
The friend’s perspective revealed the transferable nature of Clunie’s skill set. Managing international camps required diplomacy, cultural sensitivity and relationship-building across vastly different constituencies — exactly what an athletic director needs.
The NBA Cares blueprint
Clunie’s transformation of Davidson athletics built on his experience with NBA Cares, the league’s social responsibility arm that embedded community service into every major basketball initiative.
“All these camps that we did overseas, they all had an NBA Cares component,” Clunie said. “If we went to South Africa for camp, there was basketball, games, competition, but then we’d have NBA players and coaches go out and do a Habitat for Humanity build, or they’d... dedicate a new basketball court in a community.”
The integration was seamless and authentic. Every All-Star Weekend featured a day of service where players worked at food pantries, built playgrounds or supported local organizations. The NBA understood something profound about “leveraging the power of their players” for community impact.
This model became Clunie’s template for Davidson, but he created something more organic and sustainable than the NBA’s top-down approach.
Building ‘Athletics done right’
When Clunie arrived at Davidson, he established “Athletics done right”—a strategic foundation built on four core pillars: scholar-athletes, coaches and administration, community and facilities. The “community” pillar became the heart of Cats Care.
“Part of it was, how do we tell our story? How do we continue to uplift and enhance our brand? A big piece of that is service,” Clunie said. “How do we engage in the community beyond the court, the pool, the field, such that we’re impacting folks and creating greater community engagement?”
The approach reflects Clunie’s understanding of Davidson’s unique position in college athletics.
“There are schools that compete at the highest level academically, but they sacrifice athletically. There are schools that compete at the highest level athletically and sacrifice academically,” Clunie said. “Davidson is not compromised. We have a high standard of academic excellence and we strive for a high standard of athletic excellence.”
This uncompromising standard extends to character development. Rather than mandating specific community service activities, Clunie empowers each team to find their path.
“Because it’s a core pillar, we’ve said, look, I’m not going to tell you what to do or how to do it,” he said. “Because every team is different, but you need to make sure that you are working with your team and engaging them outside of just your team and your sport.”
Davidson College football player Mikah Kent poses with children from Davidson College Presbyterian Church Preschool. Submitted photo
Organic growth, authentic impact
The results showcase the diversity and genuineness of Clunie’s approach. The football team has maintained a seven-year relationship with Uplifting Athletes, raising money for rare diseases while building connections with the Ada Jenkins Center. Women’s soccer uses promotional games to highlight different causes, with players taking leadership roles based on personal connections to organizations.
The swim team created a leadership and service committee that developed a free swim program for local youth. Women’s lacrosse dedicates every home game to highlighting specific organizations. Volleyball partners with The Hidden Opponent to raise mental health awareness.
Individual athletes have embraced the mission. Mikah Kent, a football defensive lineman and Bonner Scholar, volunteers at the campus preschool two to three times weekly while working summers at a free clinic in Mooresville. Basketball player Eliza Buerk worked with Dream On 3 to bring children with life-altering conditions to games, creating moments that transcend sports.
“Being able to give back is a nice reminder that we’re all human and that we are bigger than our sport,” Buerk said, capturing the program’s deeper impact.
The cross-pollination innovation
Perhaps Clunie’s most innovative creation is the Cats Care Mentorship Program, which pairs every incoming freshman athlete with an upperclassman from a different sport. The blending is intentional, fostering connections across Davidson’s 21 varsity teams while creating support systems that extend beyond individual sports.
“So it’s a women’s soccer player with a track player, or it’s a wrestler with a football player, because we want that cross-pollinization, and those upperclassmen are helping them with adjusting to Davidson and time management and mental health,” Clunie said.
Track athlete Ryan Harris experienced this firsthand when football player Bradyn Oakley reached out during his freshman year. The relationship extended far beyond academic guidance, culminating in Oakley cooking steak dinners for his mentees during finals season. “He’s just a good friend now,” Harris says, embodying the lasting relationships the program creates.
Volleyball player Jordan Hummel, who has served as a mentor for three years, appreciates how the program strengthens Davidson’s entire athletic community. The bonds create “connecting pieces” that help freshman classes bond across sports, building a web of relationships that extends throughout their college experience.
Preparing leaders for life
Clunie’s vision extends well beyond athletic and academic achievement. His philosophy centers on developing global citizens prepared for leadership in an increasingly complex world.
“We tell folks you cannot solely identify as an athlete because that could get taken away at any time. You are much more than that,” he said. “It’s four years to set you up for 40. We want people who go into the world with a global perspective.”
This perspective reflects his transformation from Davidson student to international executive to college administrator. The Watson Fellowship that changed his life exemplified Davidson’s ability to create “a small school with big school opportunities.”
“How do you put others before yourself? How are you going to go into this extremely polarized world with all this discourse and be able to talk to people and relate to people and empathize with people?” Clunie asked rhetorically. “You go out and put yourself in uncomfortable positions. You go out and give back. You go out and see how good you really have it.”
The results speak to the program’s success. Davidson’s athletic department maintains a 3.5 GPA while achieving higher graduation success rates than the general student body. But for Clunie, the real measure lies in the leaders his student-athletes become after graduation.
Model for modern athletics
As college athletics grapples with commercialization concerns and questions about educational mission, Clunie’s approach at Davidson offers a different path forward. By making community engagement a core pillar rather than an afterthought, he’s created a sustainable model that enhances rather than competes with athletic and academic success.
The program continues evolving under Clunie’s leadership. The college’s annual “aCATemy Awards” celebration now includes a Cats Care Award recognizing outstanding individual and team community contributions.
Riley Piechnick, Davidson’s women’s soccer head coach, sees the authentic impact on her players.
“They’re so fortunate, and it’s a big privilege to be a Davidson student-athlete and be part of this amazing community,” she said. “[Through Cats Care,] they can see people who might not get that opportunity, how they’re impacted and just how lucky they are.”
Chris Clunie has created a program where community service isn’t a requirement to check off but an integral part of what it means to be a Wildcat. His NBA experience provided the blueprint, but his Davidson education gave him the values to execute it authentically.
“It’s become a part of our DNA. It’s become a part of how we do things,” Clunie said. “We talk about doing athletics the right way, and I think this is a part of doing athletics the right way — giving back.”