Emporia State officially welcomes new Athletic Director

EMPORIA, Kan. (WIBW) - Emporia State formally introduced David Spafford Monday afternoon as their new Athletic Director.

Spafford is a Belleville, Kansas native and a 1990 grad of K-State

He’s returning home after spending the last seven years at Regis University in Denver serving as Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics.

Spafford is just the third Athletic Director in the last 40 years.

He has some connection to Emporia, as he was on the Board of Directors for the Kansas Shrine Bowl and he was a football coach at Emporia High School.

Spafford says he wants to get to work right away and has big aspirations.

“Walking across that stage, I want to make sure you have a championship ring on one hand, I want to make sure you have a diploma in the other hand, and to make sure you have a job when you get out. That’s my promise to you,” Spafford said.

He brings a wealth of knowledge on the athletics side but also the educational side.

With 27 years of experience under his belt and what ESU provides, Spafford says Emporia State is destined to prosper and others agree with him.

“I believe in building overall departments, not just one or two areas. I think being in a position with scholarships, being in position with salaries and helping our staff and taking care of their business there. Making sure we’re funded correctly, I want to make sure the kids, our student athletes have the type of things taken care of on the road. Types of transportation, staying at the right hotels, making sure we’re feeding them. All of those things are very important and a part of the overall,” Spafford said.

“His background is more than just athletics, it’s in development as a whole so perspective in what he’s going to be able to bring to the table is going to be substantial to us and we’re all looking forward to learning from him,” Emporia State Men’s Basketball Coach Craig Doty said.

“He’s going to add to our atmosphere, and he’s going to add to our drive forward in the future. I really liked how excited he was about athletics and academics and making sure like he said, a diploma in one hand and a championship ring in another, like that’s what we want to hear,” Emporia State SAAC President Erica Self said.

Self says in her role along with the committee, they’re the voice for the athletes at Emporia State.

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