For the first time in seven years, one of Belmont basketball’s greatest contributors won’t be throwing Crunch bars at fans, hosting the halfcourt shot for tuition or throwing t-shirts at games.
Instead, David Fish will be watching the games on the sideline like any other fan.
Fish, Associate Athletic Director for Marketing and Sales, left his job at the university on Friday. He won’t be taking another job and doesn’t have another one lined up.
Instead, he felt a calling from God to leave his position, he said.
“I’m literally taking a leap of faith here, that God has something else planned for me,” said Fish. “All I know right now is that He’s got some opportunity for me to be able to serve people that are in need in a more direct way, and that’s what I know right now.”
Fish received two degrees as a student at Belmont and was the leader of the Motivational Organization of Belmont, better known to students as the MOB. Fish attended almost every sporting event on campus, trying to get more from students by enhancing the fan experience.
He was instrumental in organizing the student trip to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournaments as well as last year’s trip to the NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio.
But more than anything, Fish loves supporting Belmont sports.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be around. You’re going to see me at games, you’re going to see my family at games,” said Fish. “I’ll actually be able to cheer now like I did several years ago.”
His contributions to the athletic department were immeasurable, says Director of Athletics Scott Corley.
“First as a student and later as an administrator, David’s passion for the Belmont Bruins and advocacy for student-athletes is unquestioned,” said Corley. “We wish David and his family well in this new chapter of life, and know we will continue to see them regularly at athletic events.”
Fish knows that some people will question his decision, and some might even call him crazy for leaving a dream job — but in the end, he knows he’ll find his calling with the support of his friends and family, he says.
“Man, I’m so thankful that I have a wife and a family and a close friend group that’s supporting me and encouraging me and saying ‘yeah, you follow this call and God is going to richly bless you,’” said Fish.
Fish looks at his departure as an opportunity to spend more time with his 9-year-old son and his wife, who works full-time as the athletic director at Currey Ingram Academy.
“I’m selfishly praying that maybe God’s next step for me might actually allow me to be more present in not only my wife’s life but in my son’s life,” said Fish.
Wherever the road takes him, all he knows is his path will become clearer with time, he says.
“I know for a fact that whether it’s three, six, nine or 18 months from now, hopefully maybe not that long, that I’ll look back and have some 20/20 hindsight and say, ‘Oh, that was the reason,’” said Fish.
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Photo courtesy of Office of Communications.