Emporia State finds new Athletic Director

Published: Jun. 29, 2022 at 3:46 PM CDT

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - There is a new man in charge at Emporia State University as their new Athletic Director.

David Spafford will take over the role July 17.

Spafford spent the last seven years at NCAA Division II Regis University in Denver, Colorado, serving as Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics since January 2016.

Spafford has held several leadership roles in the athletic community including time on the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball and Women’s Lacrosse Regional Advisory Committee, the RMAC’s Athletic Director’s Administrative Committee and the RMAC Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He established the first ever Title IX review of the Regis athletic department and developed a Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the department made up of administrators, coaches and student-athletes.

Prior to joining the staff at Regis, Spafford’s work with the Kansas State University Foundation and the Oklahoma State University Foundation provided experiences in working through segments of each university’s $1 billion campaigns.

From 2010-11, Spafford was the Assistant Athletic Director for Major Gifts at the University of New Mexico and assisted with the renovation of The Pit while assisting in securing lead gifts for the renovation of the baseball program’s Lobo Field.

Spafford began his intercollegiate athletic career in 1991 working for the University of Missouri - Kansas City Athletic Foundation as a consultant and sales representative.

Spafford is a 1990 graduate of Kansas State University who played football for the Wildcats in 1986.

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