St. Bonaventure University has received a $1 million gift from Matt Davis, ’87, and his wife, Laura.

The Davises have earmarked $600,000 of their gift for the Athletic Performance Center, $300,000 for an endowment to benefit the School of Business, and $100,000 to the Bonaventure Fund annual appeal.

The gift will count toward the $125 million goal of the university’s Bolder Bonaventure Campaign, which ends May 31.

“The desire of Matt and Laura to support so many areas speaks to how deeply they care about the entire Bonaventure experience for our students,” said Dr. Jeff Gingerich, university president. “A gift this significant also tells me how much they believe in our future. For that, I can’t thank them enough.”

The Davises have been longstanding supporters of St. Bonaventure, including the Bonaventure Fund, Sixth Man Club, Bonnies Athletic Fund and the Warming House.

“St. Bonaventure has and always will have a special place in our hearts,” said Matt Davis. “We firmly believe in the visions outlined by President Gingerich, (Director of Athletics) Bob Beretta, and the School of Business. My life was and continues to be blessed by my Bonaventure education and the Bonaventure experience. Giving back and supporting the university in a meaningful way is important to sustaining that experience for current students and generations to come.”

Matt Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Bonaventure in 1987. He began his business career as an accountant with Deloitte & Touche and was later employed by Boston Partners Global Investors, where he rose to chief financial officer, chief operating officer and senior advisor. In 2020, Davis accepted the position of chief financial & operations officer at Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., where he and his family reside.

“We are enormously grateful for the generosity of Matt and Laura Davis. The entire St. Bonaventure community is incredibly fortunate for their continued support of the University and the Athletic Department,” said Vice President and Director of Athletics Bob Beretta. “Matt has been a longtime advocate for enhancing the student experience at his alma mater.”

The planned Athletics Performance Center (APC) will impact all of St. Bonaventure’s 400 student-athletes. The APC will feature a 10,000-square-foot strength and conditioning center that will house the latest weight training, cardiovascular and conditioning equipment. It will triple the current space inside Reilly Center and provide the university’s 19 NCAA teams a competitive boost for student-athlete recruitment and development.

Bonnies Sports Medicine also will have a new home inside the APC. A large treatment center will feature training tables, rehab equipment, a hydrotherapy room with hot and cold tubs, a physician’s exam room and offices for the athletic trainers.

The APC will also include a student-athlete lounge and a nutrition station, making this new addition to the Athletic Department a central gathering place. In recognition of the gift, the student-athlete lounge will be named for the Davis Family.

“This gift will serve current and future Bonnies meaningfully for generations,” Beretta said. “It’s highly fitting that our new student-athlete lounge will bear the Davis name.”

To learn more about the Athletics pillar of the Bolder Bonaventure campaign, please visit GoBonnies.com/BolderBonaventure.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).