Twenty seven years after returning to Northwest Missouri State, David "D.C." Colt is walking away.
Colt, the Bearcats' Head Athletic Trainer, has resigned from Northwest and accepted a position at the Air Force Academy, a Division I school in USAFA, Colo. There he'll primarily work with the Falcons' baseball program.
During his nearly three decades of service to the university, Colt has amassed a truckload of awards and acclaim. He was named into the Missouri Athletic Trainer's Association Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2006, the National Athletic Trainers Association named him Division II's Athletic Trainer of the year. The NATA inducted Colt into its Hall of Fame on June 19 this year. He's also a member of the MIAA and Missouri Sports Hall of Fames.
It's a pretty impressive legacy but his real achievements are with the athletes he helped, the lives he changed.
To truly appreciate what Colt did for Bearcats athletics, it's imperative to look back at some of the athletes he helped along the way.
Colt was there to help former quarterback Josh Lamberson overcome an injury so severe there was a chance he would never walk right again let alone come back to football.
Lamberson didn't just come back. He led the Bearcats to the 2005 national championship game. Colt was there watching from the sidelines.
Then there's Andy Peterson. Peterson had more injuries in his five year career at Northwest than some squads do in the same amount of time. There were some seasons Peterson spent almost as much time with Colt as he did with coach Steve Tappmeyer.
Peterson has said in the past that he owed much of his career and success at Northwest to Colt. Peterson, now a graduate assistant for the men's basketball team, got a chance to express his gratitude by accompanying Colt to his NATA induction in St. Louis.
Lamberson and Peterson represent just two of hundreds of similar stories that make up Colt's legacy. Just try to find a sports program at Northwest where Colt's deft touch hasn't at one time or another meant the difference between winning and losing.
"Dave has had a Hall of Fame career at Northwest where he has served thousands of Bearcats,” said Northwest Director of Athletics Dr. Bob Boerigter in a release. “As an educator, both in the classroom and in the training room, Dave has impacted many lives. We wish him nothing but the best as he moves forward in this new professional opportunity.”
Colt won't be on the sidelines this coming fall for Northwest's Aug. 30 home opener against Abilene Christian. However, the Bearcats and the rest of Maryville likely won't be far from his mind that Saturday evening.
"I would like to thank Northwest Missouri State University for 27 years of wonderful care and memories,” Colt said in a release. “My wife, Susan, and I will truly miss the University, the city of Maryville and its people. We’re leaving a wonderful group of friends and colleagues, but I look forward to seeing many of them again on either a return trip to Maryville or at a Bearcat game in the Colorado area.
"We would like to wish everyone at Northwest and the community of Maryville the best of luck and bid them a fond see you later.”
Notes: Colt received his bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University in 1977, earned his masters at Northwest in 1978 and recently received his doctorate from the University of Missouri. Prior to arriving back in Maryville, Colt spent three years (1978-81) as an assistant trainer at Temple University.
Maryville, Mo. —
