Adrian has announced the hiring of Chad Davis as the head coach of the women’s hockey team.
Davis will return to Adrian for his second stint as head coach. Overall, Davis has compiled a career coaching record of 193-80-21.
“We are excited to have Coach Davis return to Adrian College as he brings in a ton of national experience and success,” Adrian athletic director Craig Rainey said in a news release. “As someone who has coached at Adrian College before, Coach Davis understands the expectations and the direction we want to take our program.”
Davis’ most recently served as head coach of the Saint Mary’s women’s team. He coached for one season where he led the team to their first appearance in the conference finals and cracked the national rankings for the first time in program history.
“While we have enjoyed having Chad as a Cardinal and are grateful for his expertise during this year of transitions, we also understand his pull to return to his family and Michigan roots,” Saint Mary’s athletic director Brian Sisson said. “We remain extremely excited about our student-athletes and the successful season they accomplished last season and look forward to finding our next leader of Cardinal women’s hockey. After last season, I cannot wait to see what our new coach can accomplish with the returners and incoming freshmen.”
Prior to Saint Mary’s, Davis started the process for the MSOE women’s hockey team by recruiting to lead up to their inaugural season.
After his first stint at Adrian, Davis took a head coaching job at Rochester Institute of Technology. In 2019, Davis was named the CHA coach of the year.
During his time at Adrian from 2011 to 2018, Davis accumulated a record of 150-37-10, still the most wins in by an Adrian women’s hockey head coach. Davis was named the NCHA coach of the year four times and was the NCAA Division III national coach of the year in 2017. The team won four NCHA regular-season championships and three NCHA Slaats Cup championships under the direction of Davis and led the Bulldogs to a national runner-up finish in 2017.
“I would like to thank President Docking, athletic director Craig Rainey, vice president Frank Hribar, and associate athletic director Meg Sharp along with the entire search committee for the opportunity to lead the women’s ice hockey program,” Davis said. “I feel very blessed for an opportunity to return home and lead the Adrian Bulldogs women’s ice hockey program. Former head coach Shawn Skelly did a remarkable job, and the future staff looks to continue working hard to push the program forward.
“We strive for the Bulldogs program to excel in the classroom and community and compete for championships.”
