San Diego State alum Trimaine Davis will serve as an honorary captain and participate in the coin toss prior to kickoff at the Super Bowl in Tampa on Sunday.
Davis played basketball from 2003-06 under head coach Steve Fisher, and and was a team captain on the 2005-06 squad. That team that posted a 24-9 record and captured the Mountain West regular season and tournament titles.
Davis, who currently works as the retention coordinator for the VIP Scholars program at UCLA, earned a degree in African American Studies in spring 2006 from SDSU.
He will be joined on the field at Raymond James Stadium by two other honorary captains, nurse manager Suzie Dornier of Tampa and Marine Corps veteran James Martin of Pittsburgh.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity just to showcase that all three of us, myself, James and Suzie, share this common bond of service and stewardship,” Davis said. “The fact that we’re able to highlight the importance of this, that it comes from everyday folk who are in the position to do this work to inspire others, I think is incredible, and I’m so honored to have that opportunity.”
Basketball coach Brian Dutcher, who served as an assistant coach while Davis was with the program, called him “the ultimate success story,” not based on his sports accomplishments, but on his “getting the most out of the opportunity” SDSU gave him as a scholarship athlete.
Davis was not a starter, yet he made an impact.
“Leadership is a tremendous asset to any program, and when you can get a leader, especially one that’s not in the starting lineup, but just provides inspiration to everybody on a daily basis, it makes a difference,” Dutcher said.
The NFL chose Davis and his fellow honorees based on their work in the community.
“These heroes are symbolic of the thousands of health-care professionals, educators and veterans throughout our country who continue to care for, heal and support those in need during this pandemic,” the NFL said in a statement.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Davis prioritized the need to ensure both his students and members of their households had devices and internet access to help bridge the digital divide.
Not only did Davis secure hotspots, laptop computers and tablets for his students, but he also hosted tech workshops for families to learn how to make the most of the devices.
The NFL cited Davis’ work to prioritize “the academic success of Black students” through his service with the CSU Northridge Black Male Initiative, San Diego State’s Student African American Brotherhood and Afrikan Student Union as reasons for honoring him.
“(This honor) is tremendously well-deserved, and all of us know there are others out there who I’m sure are also deserving,” Fisher said. “But (Trimaine) is now on a platform where we’ll be talking about him in this particular episode for a long time to come, and I think this will help catapult him to do greater things for others.”
Davis played in 100 games with 14 starts at San Diego State. He scored 325 points, while shooting 59.9 percent from the field.
He won two conference titles with the Aztecs and was member of the 2003 NIT team that claimed the school’s first Division I postseason victory, as well as the 2006 squad that advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Prior to the on-field recognition of the honorary captains, poet Amanda Gorman, who spoke at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, will recite an original poem about Davis, Dornier and Martin.
