Tony Davila has been a CSUN staple for a long time and has found it difficult leaving behind his alma mater. In fact, the whole Davila family has huge roots at CSUN. Davila was the first one in his family to graduate from CSUN, and now everybody in the Davila family has either graduated college since, with four members graduating from CSUN.
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Davila has been there through it all. He has been a member of the campus since 1959, met his wife while at school, and was an essential force on CSUN's early baseball teams. From 1962-1964, Davila was a three-year letterman on the baseball team. Playing at third base, he earned three All-CCAA awards and still to this day, he is 10th all-time in Matador history for career batting average at .359. Davila would graduate in 1964 with a degree in kinesiology and a minor in biological studies.
"CSUN gave me an educational foundation for the rest of my life," Davila said.
He had dreams to pursue a career in Major League Baseball. After signing with the Los Angeles Angels in 1964, he spent three-and-a-half years in the organization. Unfortunately, an injury during spring training cut his playing dreams short.
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He came back to work in his hometown of the San Fernando Valley at Hale Middle School as an administrator where there he received a call from CSUN head baseball coach Bob Hiegert. He was asked to join Hiegert's coaching staff at CSUN even though he had no prior coaching experience.
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"Bob [Heigert] and I said a total of maybe 10 words prior to me taking a coaching position," said Davila. "When he asked me, I had never coached before and was just a teacher, I had to think about it. I then just happened to fall in love with coaching."
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Davila is big into details. He can recall specific moments from his title-winning teams, and even mentioned that players don't break up double plays like they used to.
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"In coaching you find out there is no detail too small." Davila said.
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Even during times when CSUN baseball had little to no money, he had to resort to borrowing equipment from little league facilities.
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"We had to create ways to finance and keep our program going in the beginning," said Davila. "We had such little money when we first started coaching baseball that we had to borrow a backstop and snack bar from a little league field."
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Despite the hardship and obstacles the team faced with finances, Davila reached the heights of his profession while on the staff. During his tenure of assistant coaching from 1969-81, CSUN's teams had nine winning seasons and brought home a Division II National Championship in 1970, back when CSUN was still San Fernando Valley State College.
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After hitting the pinnacle in one sport. Davila wanted to try his hand at something else. That is when he was asked to be the men's and women's tennis head coach in 1981. In only its second season, Davila led the women's program to a national championship in 1982 as well as a NCAA runner-up finish in 1986.
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He led the men's tennis program for seven seasons and the women's team to a total of 16 while he racked up two All-District VIII awards with the women's program. Davila also coached the women's team in its transition to a Division I program in 1991.
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"The women were very skilled, and they showed me that they had the same desires to win as the men did." Davila said. "Those players would run through a wall for you. And they were good students. You have to apply that same discipline in the practice field as you do in the classroom in order to be successful."
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The Davila family carries a lot of weight at CSUN. All four of his sons, Tom, Tim, Terry and Teddy earned degrees at CSUN and made their way into successful careers.
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Terry and Teddy played four seasons each on the men's soccer teams with Terry following in his father's footsteps eventually becoming a head coach of the team beginning in 1999. A 21-year head coach of the men's soccer team, Terry is the winningest coach in the history of the program.
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"I always took my son to work way back when." Davila said of Terry. "He's evolved with coaching so much and he is a far better coach than I could ever hope to be. Not only is he a great coach of players, but he is a great coach of coaches."
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Davila credits almost all his success to a good family life, including a mom who happened to be "tough as nails" to him.
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"I was a very stubborn kid, but my mother used to pitch to me and practice with me. She was my coach because my father was the one usually working," said Davila.
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He recalls a turning point in his life when he was 12 and his mom was throwing him batting practice. He hit a line drive into the shin of his mom who threw the ball.
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"I told my mom at the time with tears coming down her face to suck it up and run it off," he said. "She took the ball and said, 'I'll show you one to run off' and then I knew she wasn't one to mess with. She instilled in me I could get anywhere with hard work and by sticking to it."
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Davila has accomplished many accolades in his CSUN career, including induction into the Matador Hall of Fame in 2004. He also received a rare second induction in 2009 as a member of the 1970 San Fernando Valley State baseball championship team.
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However, what keeps him coming back is the opportunity to work with his son Terry every day. Tony continues to serve as an advisor to his son on the men's soccer team. Naturally, the coaching has not stopped for Davila.
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"These young people are such great kids, they have great stories and I love that I can have an input to help the students grow up to be good, decent people." Davila said.
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Through all the highlights and accolades in his time at CSUN, Davila wants to be remembered by one line.
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"I gave it my best."Â
