Sources: FAMU expected to name Florida Lottery Secretary as AD

FAMU is expected to appoint John Davis, the current secretary of the Florida Lottery and a longtime Republican operative, as its next permanent athletic director, according to multiple people familiar with the decision.  The move appears to be heavily influenced by Gov. Ron DeSantis is already drawing sharp criticism over questions of patronage and ethics.

Mr. Davis, who played football at Florida State University three decades ago who has no experience in athletic administration, could be appointed as early as this week the sources said. 

His expected ascension to lead FAMU's athletics program, comes at the direct urging of the governor’s office, the sources said.

Critics said Davis' selection, like that of President Marva Johnson's raises immediate concerns, not only due to both their thin qualifications for their roles, but because their both are longtime GOP operatives.

The appointment would see Mr. Davis replace Angela Suggs, who was placed on administrative leave in June after being accused of falsifying travel vouchers at her previous job with the Florida Sports Foundation.  Ms. Suggs’s case, who many felt was a GOP witch-hunt', was resolved with a deferred prosecution agreement and an order to pay less than $650 in restitution.

Another DeSantis loyalist
The governor’s office’s push for Mr. Davis—a longtime GOP operative who once served the Republican Party of Florida as a “minority outreach coordinator”—is widely perceived within the FAMU community as another blatant political favor from Mr. DeSantis, one that continues to undermine the university’s autonomy and dismisses the professional qualifications typically demanded for such a vital position.

"Florida's educational system, has become a landing place for many of DeSantis' cronies," said one political observer. "From college and university presidents, now to ADs."

Davis has is own cloud of ethical concerns

Earlier this year, Mr. Davis faced intense questioning from a Florida House of Representatives committee over his use of state funds, including more than $50,000 in travel reimbursements he received between 2021 and 2024 that legislators suggested may have been improper.

“We’ve provided  document for the travel that includes Orlando as part of the destination. These trips alone cost Florida taxpayers $27,840,” State Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Republican, said during a committee hearing. Lopez suggested that Davis purposely used state funds to reimburse himself for using his personal vehicle to commute back and forth from Tallahassee to his home in Orlando.”

Johnson catches heat
As news broke of the impending appointment, yesterday, FAMU alumni, have expressed fury online, directing their disappointment at University President Marva Johnson. One social media post lamented, “just as the choir was singing last week ‘give Marva a chance,’ she continues to show us that she does not have FAMU’s best interest in mind.”

Another posted, “Marva has no backbone and refuses to stand up to DeSantis, she has proven time and time again, she works for them and not for us.”

"Marva should have reinstated Angela Suggs long ago. Suggs is a well liked, experienced athletic administrator of the highest caliber, who made a minor mistake—one that was resolved legally, with restitution paid and public embarrassment endured. The failure to return her to her post has struck many observers as unduly punitive, particularly in contrast to the political appointment now underway," said a FAMU alumn in facebook post yesterday, when news of Davis' impending appointment broke.  “If Angela were a white male,” one critic noted, “she would have been back in her job months ago, and we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.” 

The expected appointment underscores the continuing influence of Mr. DeSantis’s administration over Florida’s public universities and places a political ally at the helm of an athletics department. For many, it is a choice that prioritizes political connections over experience, leaving Rattler fans to wonder who their leadership truly serves.