UC Davis Athletics

Danielle Shank serves as Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations, Chief Marketing Officer, and Senior Woman Administrator at UC Davis. In this role, she oversees the Aggies’ marketing, communications, digital media, and ticketing units, and provides sport supervision for field hockey and swimming & diving.
 
A key member of the department’s senior leadership team, Shank leads branding and strategic communications initiatives, including oversight of the five-year IGNITE Strategic Plan. She plays a central role in conference governance across the Big West, Big Sky, and Mountain West Conferences, and is a departmental leader on Title IX and gender equity efforts.
 
Since joining UC Davis in 2019, Shank has helped elevate the external profile of Aggie Athletics—driving a 150% increase in ticket revenue and a 130% rise in attendance, including seven UC Davis Health Stadium records. She has led the implementation of a unified communications strategy, while forging new partnerships across campus and the broader community to enhance the game day experience and support student-athletes.
 
Before UC Davis, Shank held leadership roles in athletics development at Boston College, where she directed annual giving, suite sales, and sport-specific campaigns, and led branding efforts for the $150 million Greater Heights capital campaign. She previously served in development roles at Miami University (OH), the University of Tennessee, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
 
A former Division I field hockey captain at Miami University, Shank holds dual bachelor’s degrees from her alma mater and a master’s in Sport Administration from UNC.