Hype man

Recent graduate played key role in telling Mizzou Athletics’ story.

If you’ve set foot in Taylor Stadium, Mizzou Arena or Memorial Stadium during the past two years, chances are you’ve likely experienced the magic of Eichel Davis’ storytelling. Mizzou Athletics’ unofficial “hype man” told the story of Mizzou’s athletic programs through powerful videos that often aired before games and have been viewed thousands of times on social media.

Davis, a St. Louis native, graduated from Mizzou in 2018 with a degree in digital storytelling. During his time at the university, he worked as an intern with Mizzou Athletics’ strategic communication department.

This is a picture of Eichel Davis and friends during Mizzou's commencement outside Mizzou Arena.
Eichel Davis graduated from Mizzou with a degree in digital storytelling. Davis' work for Mizzou Athletics made him well known to Tiger fans.

Before graduation, Davis accepted a position as a social media specialist and creative video producer at Texas Christian University, where he will work to promote the private university’s athletics programs. As a Missouri native, he is excited to live in a different state and meet new people. “Missouri is home, but I really want to go see the world a little bit, and this is the first step for that,” he said.

Davis credits his success “on the fields” to his growth as a filmmaker and storyteller in the classroom, but he is the first to acknowledge that Mizzou wasn’t always his first choice.

“I used to say that I would never stay so close to home,” Davis said. “But when I visited campus for the first time, I knew I was going to go here. There’s something so special about campus — the people, the culture, the mentality—it’s all so awesome.”

Since Davis can remember, he has wanted to tell stories. At Mizzou he created videos, his favorite medium for storytelling, to tell stories about one of his biggest passions—sports.

“Storytelling is such a huge part of our lives; we do it every day without even thinking about it, through conversations, social media and simply communicating,” Davis said. “Getting a chance to tell Mizzou Baseball’s story gave the team a face and personality, connecting them with students, fans and alumni.”

People quickly took notice of Davis’ skills as a storyteller. The Columbia Missourian profiled his work and several sports reporters paid attention to his videos. Dave Matter, who covers Mizzou Athletics for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, once tweeted one of Davis’ videos saying it would give people chills.

“I can’t say enough about the impact that Eichel had on Mizzou Athletics,” said Shawn Davis, assistant director of strategic communication for Mizzou Athletics and Davis’ former supervisor. “Telling stories the old fashioned way simply does not captivate audiences like it used to. That has forced communication professionals to think outside the box to tell their stories. Luckily for us, Eichel was the perfect storyteller in today’s world of digital media. He was able to tell the stories of our programs in a way that captivated our fan base. Using a unique blend of emotion and storytelling, he transformed everything that we were doing on social media. He became our unofficial hype man.”

While Eichel has countless memories from his time at Mizzou, his time with Mizzou Baseball was more meaningful than he could have ever imagined.

“Coach Jamieson gave me my first shot, and it was at Mizzou Baseball where I became ‘the hype video’ guy,” Davis said. “Mizzou Baseball is special. Those guys and those moments in time are timeless. I know that one day Missouri will have a national championship trophy inside the gates of Taylor Stadium.”

Now working in Fort Worth, more than 600 miles from CoMo, Davis brings with him life-long friendships and memories from his time as Tiger. However, the distance will be felt by his Mizzou family.

“The only thing that exceeded Eichel’s creative vision was his desire to work hard,” Shawn Davis said. “He spent countless hours churning out video after video, each one surpassing the next. His creativity has moved me to tears, given me goosebumps and had me ready to run through a wall, sometimes all at once. Working with Eichel will forever be one of the highlights of my career.”

Mizzou’s hype man might be wearing purple now, but his heart will forever be Black and Gold.

“Mizzou has given me so much,” he said. “There are so many great people here reaching toward so many different things that it allows you to find yourself and your voice, and say something powerful.”

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