HALL OF FAME FEATURE: David Pavord '99

David Pavord ’99 came to Averett University in 1993 with hopes of resuming his collegiate career, but a meeting with then-Athletic Director Vesa Hiltunen changed his path and ultimately the trajectory of a restarted cross country program. Within a few seasons, Pavord had his teams in the top half of the conference on his way to a Hall of Fame-worthy career.

Pavord began his collegiate career at the University of Lynchburg, where he competed on its cross country team for a couple of seasons, but injuries prohibited him from being able to compete for all four years. Pavord graduated with his bachelor’s degree and still had a desire to run. One day, he met with Hiltunen about running for Averett, but Hiltunen had something else in mind. Pavord received a call later that afternoon asking him if he would rather coach the men’s cross country team. At the time, Averett was in what would become the USA South Athletic Conference and did not have any running programs. Men’s cross country was in the process of becoming a conference sport, so Averett approved restarting the Cougar’s cross country program. Pavord was given the reigns.

When he took the men’s cross country head coach position, Pavord was only 22 years old. Taking the job only one month before the new school year started, Pavord had to field a team quickly with the season quickly approaching. Pavord constructed a team that came from a few recruits mixed with kids he found in the hallway and a handful of tennis players. Pavord made due with what he had, leading his team to second-place in the conference that year.

“I think I was too young to know that I wasn't supposed to succeed,” Pavord said. “I was 22 at the time, a year out of college and I had one year of coaching experience at George Washington High School. I don't know, I was just young and enthusiastic and wanted to hit the ground running.”

Not only was Pavord the head men’s cross country coach, but he started a women’s cross country program in his second year and he was also the assistant sports information director. In addition, he served as Averett’s work study coordinator and the intramural director.

During his time at Averett, Pavord formed bonds with other coaches such as his assistant coach Timo Harkonen, then-baseball head coach Ed Fulton and longtime women’s volleyball coach Danny Miller, who is now Averett’s current deputy director of athletics.

“I’m really excited for David Pavord getting inducted into the Averett Athletics Hall of Fame,” Miller said. “David was a great coworker. He was my assistant when I was head sports information director in the 1990s.He did an amazing job and was extremely hard-working and committed to build the cross country program into respectability being able to win some championships.”

During his coaching career at Averett, Pavord found great success. Pavord was named the USA South’s Coach of the Year for women’s cross country in 1996 and 1997, leading the Cougars’ women’s program to the top spot in the conference both years with an official championship in 1997. During his tenure, the men’s team made four NCAA Regional appearances and the women’s team made appearances in two seasons. He also had individuals compete in two other NCAA Regionals on the men’s side and four times on the women’s side. He produced two women’s USA South Runners of the Year selections, multiple Averett Athletics Hall of Famers, 17 all-conference performers on the women’s side and 10 all-conference performers on the men’s side.

“One of my favorite sayings to the team — and probably some of them could probably still recite it — was, ‘Believe, achieve. Doubt, you're out,’” Pavord said. “Meaning you have to believe you can do it. If you can't believe it, you doubt you can do it, then you'll never do it. So, you’ve got to believe in yourself to do it.”

Despite all of the team and coaching success, Pavord, it did not make him lose sight of giving his athletes the true student-athlete experience.

“The winning and doing well, winning the couple conference championships, that was great,” Pavord said. “But the daily interacting with the students, getting involved with them, trying to help them improve their lives, that's what I enjoyed the most.”

While coaching the team during his first stint from 1993-99, Pavord met his wife, Katri, at Averett. Later, when Pavord returned to coach the men’s program in 2003, his wife coached alongside him as the head women’s cross country coach from 2003-04.

“It was actually really nice,” Pavord said. “The two of us work well together. We're actually teachers at the same school now, and our rooms are across the hall from each other. So, we've been able to work well together for a number of years. But that was really our first working together experience, and it went well. It's easy to be on the same page, and it was easy for us to talk and discuss about, ‘Hey, what do we need to do? Where do we want to go? How do we want to do this?’ So that was quite easy.”

The couple have been married for 23 years and are currently living in Helsinki, Finland. Pavord currently teaches the fourth grade, and Katri teaches fourth through sixth.  Together, they have two children, daughter Johanna who Is 16 and son Timo, who is 13. His son was named after his former assistant Harkonen.

When Pavord learned that he was being inducted into the Averett Athletics Hall of Fame, it made him think of his late father William Pavord, who was a long-time professor at Averett and chair of the business department.

“I just had this long connection with Averett and then to be told that I was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame — that was just overwhelming in one sense,” Pavord said. “It made me think a lot about my dad, how a lot of this wouldn't have been possible if he hadn't been working there because I wouldn't have gone there to get my education degree.”

Pavord came in as a young man with aspirations to start a new program and left with friendships and ultimately a family, as well as a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1999. He carved his legacy into Averett’s cross country programs through leadership and perseverance, setting an example for his student-athletes and others around him that you can find success if you are willing to put in the work.