Sports information director David Toelle named to Kansas Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame
David Toelle, a pioneering sports information director at Kansas Wesleyan for the past 21 years, has been named to the KWU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Toelle is the fifth member of the 2022 hall of fame class announced by the school over the past month. He will be inducted with former All-America football running back Ron West and ex-women's basketball coach Gordon Reimer, along with the 2007 men's basketball team and the 2009 women's basketball team.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 22 as part of KWU's homecoming weekend.
Toelle, who arrived at Wesleyan in 1996 as a member of the track and cross country teams, developed an interest in computers as well as sports statistics during his college career and eventually became the Coyotes' sports information director, a position he still holds today.
More: Kansas Wesleyan football ranked No. 12 in nationwide NAIA preseason poll
"At some point, they needed someone to do stats at basketball games when the person doing it couldn't," said Toelle, who also worked part time in Wesleyan's information technology office until he moved to sports full time in 2005. "It really started with the NSCAA (National Small College Athletic Association) tournaments that we hosted.
"I think the first one I did was the '97 tournament, and it just kind of progressed from there."
Toelle also has done statistics for state high school and national junior college events in Salina over the years.
"I think he's a pioneer for the NAIA," said former KWU athletics director Steve Wilson. "You'll see people from across the membership map who see him as someone who does it well and they want to replicate what he's doing.
"I'm one of them. When I was in that world, I was coming to Dave for advice."
West, whose name was announced last week, was a three-year football standout at KWU. He led the Kansas Conference and was a second-team NAIA All-American in 1976, when he led the league in rushing with 1,362 yards, including a school single game record 314-yard performance against Colorado College.
This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: David Toelle will be named into Kansas Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame
