Davis Tutt ’15 has spent the last three years working for the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation (CSSC), with the goal of reinvigorating the city’s sports event culture. He is now the organization’s Director of Sports Tourism & Olympic Engagement, responsible for leading the Sports Commission pillar of the CSSC. In this role, he works to identify national and international sports events compatible with Colorado Springs and complete bids to secure those events for the city – all with the aim of growing sports tourism in Olympic City USA.
CSSC is a non-profit established in 1979 to assist in the relocation of the U.S. Olympic Committee from New York City to Colorado Springs. Their mission is to inspire and advance Colorado Springs, Olympic City USA, and the Pikes Peak Region through sport and community events. CSSC plays a critical role in bringing civic leaders together with some of the nation’s premier sporting organizations to promote tourism and create positive economic impact. They host events like the Rocky Mountain State Games, Cycle to the Summit, and the Labor Day Lift Off. And CSSC recently hosted the 2024 Pikes Peak Air Show, bringing fellow alum and Blue Angel pilot Isaac Becker ’17 back to town.
“It’s way more than a traditional sports Commission,” says Tutt. “We’re not just trying to get their events here. We’re trying to actually help them as businesses. Beyond that, it’s also working with the USOPC, making sure that they’re happy and bringing events to them. And then at the same time trying to convince as many national governing boards that aren’t here to move to Colorado Springs.”
Colorado Springs is home to 26 national sport governing boards. The only other city that has multiple boards is Indianapolis, IN. They have three.
“Colorado Springs is really above and beyond,” says Tutt. “We’re truly the only city that can realistically claim the name Olympic City, USA.” But Tutt is always looking for ways to make it better.
Tutt was an El Pomar Foundation Fellow after graduating from CC and credits the program with launching his career in the nonprofit world. During his fellowship, he began to work with some of the national governing bodies for sports that are located in Colorado Springs.
“I just realized that I’ve always loved sport, played sport. I just realized that it was something that was a part of me,” says Tutt. “But especially sport through a nonprofit lens, that’s something that really interests me.”
Tutt’s intro into the Olympic world occurred between his junior and senior year at CC as an intern with the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee. He worked in their archives, allowing him to mix his love of sport and his skills as an Art History major. After the internship, he knew his future career had to be somehow connected with the Olympics.
Tutt’s also always known that his future would always be in Colorado Springs. His family has lived here for five generations, arriving in the 1870s. Since then, the Tutts have been heavily involved in foundational work and economic development.
“Being a fifth generation member of Colorado Springs, I know how great this city is. And I want to make it even better,” says Tutt. “So when this opportunity came up with CSSC, I took the took the jump.”
Before becoming Director of Sports Tourism & Olympic Engagement, Tutt served as CSSC’s Director of Operations at the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, overseeing the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off, The Broadmoor Winter Polo Classic, and the Colorado Springs Summer Fest/Winter Fest (formerly the downtown Olympic and Paralympic Celebrations).
“I say that my job is to make Olympic City USA live up to its name,” he says. “We should be hosting Olympic events here, but we should also be offering a wide range of sporting events for the city for its citizens to attend, and to attract more visitors. The next resident of the city was once a visitor. We want to bring as many different people from all walks of life and all different types of sport to show that Colorado Springs is a great sport city. You never know if they may end up wanting to live here in the future.”
Tutt also works closely with his alma mater, placing CC at the heart of sporting events that come to Colorado Springs. Last summer, he worked with Justine Square, Executive Director of Ed Robson Arena, to help the venue host USA Weightlifting and the World Jump Rope Championships. He has also partnered with Square and Lesley Irvine, CC Vice President and Director of Athletics, in their efforts to make CC the home of next summer’s Department of Defense Warrior Games.
“Robson is way more of a community resource than I think people realize,” says Tutt. “A lot of the national governing bodies are here in Colorado Springs and the arena is the perfect size for them. And the amenities that are in that building are incredibly attractive to not only the organizations that are based here but visiting organizations as well.”
Outside of CSSC, Tutt serves as a member of the Fountain Valley School Board of Trustees, the Peak Education Board of Directors, the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum Board, and as the Board President of the Colorado Springs Youth Sports/El Pomar Youth Sports Park. He also serves on the FAC Museum Subcommittee, allowing him to still use his Art History degree.
“I would not be as competent as I am in both my writing skills and my public speaking skills, which is predominantly what I have to do now, without my time at CC,” says Tutt. “The professors and my mentors took a lot of pride in their students. They wanted to make sure that you had the tools to go out and do other things besides Art History. Also, there were so many other opportunities that the College provided. If you have the confidence to talk about what you know in those situations, then show up, it kind of snowballs to other, bigger things.”
And Tutt is always looking for those bigger things, searching for the next way to make Colorado Springs the best it can be.
“Sport can serve as a catalyst for a lot of different things – from youth development to economic development,” says Tutt. “That’s really where I see my position, as helping usher in a new generation of Colorado Springs, but also making sure it still keeps its community and its flavor as a small big city. I want to make sure it lives up to its name as Olympic City, USA and that we’re actually doing the things that we say we’re doing.”