NAIA-SIDA Spotlight - David Toelle, Kansas Wesleyan

Name: David Toelle

School: Kansas Wesleyan

Conference:    KCAC

Number of Years in the Sports Information Field:   Since 2001 (This is 19)

Tell us a little bit about yourself: I was born in Emporia, Kan., the first baby born in the county in 1978, moved to the country and attended Reading Grade School and then Northern Heights High School. Came to Kansas Wesleyan in 1996 as a student-athlete in cross country and track, never left. I have two undergraduate degrees from KWU, one in Computer Information Systems and one in Sports Management. My wife’s name is Jennifer, we met at Cedar Point Amusement Park in 1998 and got married in 2002. Have two kids, Trae is 16 and Tenille is 10, and two cats. Some people think that my house was a business, because of the way it looks, but it’s always been a house. I was the 2011-12 recipient of the KCAC SID of the Year award and the 2011 KWU Young Alumnus Award.

Favorite Hobby: Listening to music and relaxing

Favorite Professional Sports Team:  Kansas City Royals

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Vacation Destination: The beach (North Carolina’s Outer Banks)

Favorite Style of Music: Country

Favorite Athlete of All Time: Michael Jordan

Favorite Author: Don Coldsmith (The Spanish Bit Series)

Favorite Quote: “Don’t be sorry, be right.” – Gene Pruitt

Favorite Memory as an SID: The 2007 KCAC Men’s Basketball Championship game inside tiny Muir Gymnasium. It seated 800, but there were probably 1200 people there. The atmosphere was electric in the gym, like nothing I had ever felt before. KWU was down 1 with 12 seconds left, inbounded the ball, nearly turned it over, got it back, missed a shot, a player who had been sick as a dog all day gets the rebound and shoots from the elbow, fading away and fell down, the shot goes in and KWU wins 56-55 over Friends to make it to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 1950. The AD at the time and I spent the next three hours in the gym listening to music and enjoying ourselves. Left the scoreboards on all night, burned-out 2/3 of the lightbulbs, didn’t care. It was awesome.

HONORABLE MENTION

Opening our on-campus football stadium on Homecoming 2015. We hadn’t played a home game on campus since 2006, playing soccer and football at the high school stadium. It was a great night and well worth the wait.