David Gottsleben - Inducted 2015
A Brookings native and 1971 Montrose High and 1975 South Dakota State grad, Gottsleben is in his 31st season as the University of South Dakota head men's track and field coach.
While at USD, he’s been a conference coach of the year a total of 18 times (in the North Central Conference, Great West and Summit League) and he was an eight-time regional coach of the year at the Division II level and twice a national coach of the year (1997 and 2006). He’s guided the Coyotes to 16 conference titles (nine in the NCC, four in the Summit and three in the Great West). Gottsleben not only built the program into a power at the NCAA Division II level but has guided USD through a successful transition to Division I status. Gottsleben’s Coyotes have won three straight Summit indoor titles and they won their first Summit outdoor title in 2014. This was the first outdoor team title since the NCC meet in 2006. After establishing the Coyotes as one of the top programs in the Division II NCC, Gottsleben continued that success when USD joined NCAA Division I and the Great West Conference. He guided USD to three straight indoor titles. The Coyotes finished second all three years at the outdoor conference meet.
At USD he has coached athletes who have earned 165 All-American honors, as well as six national champions. He led his squads to eight top-10 finishes at Division II nationals, including third at the 1997 indoor and 2000 outdoor meets and fourth at the 2001 indoor and 2006 outdoor meets.
In 1994 he received the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Track and Field Coaches Association Award for his distinguished service to Division II track. He was chosen the College Men's Coach of the Year by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association in 2000 and 2014. He's in the Sioux City Relays and Division II Coaches halls of fame, and he was an Honorary Referee at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays.
Gottsleben was the coach at Menno High School from 1975-1979, and men's and women's track coach at Dakota State from 1980-1984, where he was SDIC coach of the year twice.
