David L. Sells has built his career inside athletic facilities—on game days, during renovations, and in the moments when planning meets reality.

He began his professional career working in Emergency Management, where he developed a deep appreciation for preparedness, coordination, and decision-making under pressure. That early experience shaped his practical, risk-aware approach and ultimately led him to transition into the private sector, applying those principles to complex operational environments within collegiate athletics.

David’s work sits at the intersection of fan experience, operations, and capital projects, with a focus on helping athletic departments make smart, durable decisions that hold up under real-world conditions. He is not a theorist or a spectator. He has worked on-site with teams managing logistics, labor, premium spaces, temporary operations, and complex transitions—often while events continue and expectations remain high.

Today, David advises collegiate athletic departments on facility planning, renovation phasing, operational readiness, and fan experience strategy, particularly during large-scale, multi-year projects. His role is to help institutions anticipate challenges, understand how decisions ripple across operations and the fan journey, and avoid issues before they surface on game day.

What distinguishes David’s approach is perspective. He understands how plans look on paper—and how they function when weather changes, schedules compress, crowds arrive, and staff is stretched thin. This allows him to bridge the gap between leadership vision, consultant design, and day-to-day operations.

David works best as a trusted, independent partner—bringing clarity, asking the right questions, and identifying challenges early, when they are still solvable. His focus is always the same: protect the fan experience, support staff, and help facilities perform as intended, both now and long into the future.

His work is grounded in one principle: preparation matters—especially on game day.