David Spafford

Last updated
David Spafford
Current position
TitleAthletic Director
Team Emporia State
Conference The MIAA
Biographical details
Born (1959-04-25) April 25, 1959 (age 63)
Belleville, Kansas
Alma mater Kansas State University
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1991–1994 UMKC (sales)
1994–2000 Kansas State (assistant AD)
2004–2004 Wichita State (associate AD)
2010–2011 New Mexico (assistant AD)
2016 Regis (interim)
2016–2022Regis
2022–present Emporia State

David Spafford (born c. 1965) is an American university sports administrator and eighth athletic director for Emporia State University, a NCAA Division II sports program in Emporia, Kansas. [1] Previously, Spafford was the athletics director at Regis University, and before that, served as the assistant or associate athletics director for several college institutions.

Contents

Biography

Spafford was born in Belleville, Kansas, to Captain Gail Dean Spafford and Peggy Lorraine Slate. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1990 with a degree in political and social science, and also competed on the 1986 Kansas State Wildcats football team. [2] Spafford is married to the former Bryanna Furman, with whom he shares six children with. [3]

Career

Early career

During his college and post-college years, Spafford served as an assistant high school football coach. He helped coach the 1988 Manhattan High School football team to an undefeated season, winning the state championship. [4]

In 1991, Spafford joined the intercollegiate athletic world when he joined the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) Athletic Foundation as the basketball ticket sales coordinator. [5] After three years at UMKC, Spafford began his eight-year career at his alma mater, Kansas State. At Kansas State, Spafford served as the assistant athletic director for development, connecting with university alumni, and fundraised millions of dollars for the Ahern Scholarship in 1998. [6]

In 2000, Spafford joined Wichita State University as its the associate athletic director of development, where he oversaw all fundraising activities for Shocker Athletics. [7] Spafford fundraised to renovate Charles Koch Arena, which led to the renaming after Charles Koch, along with Eck Stadium.

In 2004, Spafford left Wichita State to be an agent for State Farm, where he stayed until 2010. [8]

New Mexico, other university foundations

For one year, beginning in 2010, joined the University of New Mexico as the athletics department major gifts assistant director and secured the lead gifts for the renovation of the basketball arena and the Lobo Baseball Field. [9]

After a year at New Mexico, Spafford spent the next five years between the Kansas State University Foundation and Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Foundation.

Regis University

In July 2015, Spafford joined Regis University as the university advancement vice president with the goal of fundraising for athletics. [10] Six months later in January 2016, Spafford was named the interim athletic director and was promoted to the full-time position in June 2016. [11]

Spafford served on multiple committees for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), as well as the NCAA Division II during his years at Regis. Under his leadership, every sports teams had participated in the RMAC postseason play, with the lacrosse team advancing to the NCAA Division II national semifinals in both 2018 and 2019, and the Ranger volleyball team to the national semifinals in 2019 after reaching the Elite Eight in 2018. [12]

Spafford spearheaded $6.5 million in fundraising to build a new athletic center, as well as renovate all locker rooms, athletic officers, a new ticket office, and sound and video boards as well as an indoor facility and artificial turf. [13]

Emporia State University

On June 29, 2022, Spafford was announced as the eighth director of athletics at Emporia State. He began July 17, 2022. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference</span> Collegiate athletic conference which operates in the western United States

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with members in Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference</span>

The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second oldest in the United States, tracing its history to 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emporia State University</span> Public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States

Emporia State University is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Emporia State is one of six public universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburg State University</span> Public university in Pittsburg, Kansas, United States

Pittsburg State University is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents.

William L. White Auditorium

William L. White Auditorium, commonly known as White Auditorium, is a 5,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Emporia, Kansas. It is home to the Emporia State University men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the volleyball team.

Larry Ronald Kramer was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He played college football at University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he was consensus selection at tackle to the 1964 College Football All-America Team. Kramer served as the head football coach at Southern Oregon College—now known as Southern Oregon University—in Ashland, Oregon from 1970 to 1971, Austin College in Sherman, Texas from 1973 to 1982, and Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas from 1983 to 1994, compiling career college football coaching record of 124–115–5. He led his 1981 Austin team to a share of the NAIA Division II Football National Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emporia State Hornets</span>

The Emporia State Hornets are the athletic teams that represent Emporia State University (ESU). The women's basketball and softball teams use the name Lady Hornets. The university's athletic program fields 15 varsity teams in 11 sports all of whom have combined to win 50 conference championships as well as three national championships. Corky the Hornet serves as the mascot representing the teams, and the school colors are black and gold. Emporia State participates in the NCAA Division II and has been a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) since 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emporia State Hornets football</span>

The Emporia State Hornets football program is a college football team that represents Emporia State University, often referred to as "Emporia State" or "ESU". The team competes as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), which is a conference in the Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The program began in 1897 and has fifteen conference titles. On December 15, 2006, former Hornet quarterback Garin Higgins became the team's 24th head coach, following the resignation of Dave Wiemers. Home games are played on Jones Field at Welch Stadium, located on the Emporia State University campus in Emporia, Kansas. In August 2017, Hero Sports named Emporia State the "best football team in Kansas, regardless of division."

The Central Intercollegiate Conference (CIC) was an American intercollegiate athletic conference that operated from 1928 to 1968. It was less often referred to as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC), particularly towards the beginning of its existence. Formed in late 1927, the conference initially had seven members, all located in the state of Kansas, and began play in early 1928. Many of the league's members went on to form the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) in 1976.

Sheahon Zenger

Sheahon Jay Zenger is an American university sports administrator and former assistant American football coach. Zenger currently serves as the athletic director at the University of New Haven. He previously was fired from his role as the athletic director at the University of Kansas in 2018 where he had served since 2011, and Illinois State University.

Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–1976)

The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), operated in the western United States. It was aligned with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). The two allied conferences worked under the name of the Mountain and Plains Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MPIAA). It was announced on May 15, 1972. The founding schools were Fort Hays State College ; Kansas State College of Emporia ; Kansas State College of Pittsburg ; Southern Colorado State College ; the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Northern Colorado and Washburn University. The conference only lasted four years, as Nebraska–Omaha and Northern Colorado left for the North Central Conference (NCC), Southern Colorado went back to the RMAC, and the rest of the schools started the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC), which merged into the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) effective in the 1989–90 school year.

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Emporia State Hornets basketball

The Emporia State Hornets basketball team represents Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, in the NCAA Division II men's basketball competition. The team is coached by Craig Doty, who is in his first season as head coach. The Hornets currently compete in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Larry Boylan

Laurence Charles Boylan was an American educator most notably for serving as an administrator at what is now known as Emporia State University. Before serving as president of the Kansas State Teachers College (KSTC), Boylan was the Dean of Graduate Studies at KSTC and served at a couple of different institutions before coming to Emporia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emporia State Hornets baseball</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Weiser</span>

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Bob Fornelli

Robert William Fornelli is an American college baseball coach and current head baseball coach at Pittsburg State University. Previously, Fornelli coached at his alma mater Emporia State University from 2004 to 2018 where he guided the Hornets to five Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association regular season championships and two conference tournament championships, 13 trips to the NCAA Tournament, two World Series appearances and a national runner-up finish. Fornelli was the coach at Fort Hays State from 1996 to 2003.

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References

  1. ↑ "Emporia State Names New Athletic Director". 27 KSNT News. June 29, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  2. ↑ "The Belleville Telescope 09 Jul 1992, page Page 4". Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "David Spafford - Director of Athletics - Staff Directory". Emporia State University Athletics. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  4. ↑ reports, Staff. "Former KSU grad and employee, MHS football assistant hired as AD at Emporia State". The Mercury. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ "The Manhattan Mercury 16 Jul 1992, page 9". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  6. ↑ "The Belleville Telescope 28 Apr 1994, page Page 5". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  7. ↑ "The Belleville Telescope 20 Jan 2000, page Page 4". Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "The Belleville Telescope 30 Dec 2004, page Page 4". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Albuquerque Journal 25 Jul 2010, page Page 23". Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Oliver, Jenna; University, Regis (June 23, 2016). "Spafford Named Assistant Vice President of Athletics at Regis". rmacsports.org. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Regis University taps Spafford to lead Rangers Athletic Program". Regis University Athletics. June 15, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Regis University volleyball team scores record season successes | YourHub". yourhub.denverpost.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Regis University athletics director selected to lead program at Emporia State in Kansas". Regis University Athletics. June 29, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  14. ↑ Lovergine, Vince (July 19, 2022). "Emporia State officially welcomes new Athletic Director" . Retrieved September 6, 2022.
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