University of South Dakota Athletics

Dave Gottsleben led the South Dakota track and field program for 33 seasons. One of the most accomplished Coyote coaches, he led the Coyotes to 20 conference championships – more than any coach in USD history. Gottsleben was twice named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (1997, 2006). He was NCAA Regional Coach of the Year eight times and conference coach of the year 17 times and in three different conferences.
 
Under Gottsleben, the Coyote men accumulate 125 All-America awards with seven NCAA titles and 13 NCAA runner-up finishes. In team scoring, his programs tallied 13 top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Division II Championships. Those numbers include a third-place finish indoors in 1997 and a third-place finish outdoors in 2000. Gottsleben retired from coaching following the 2017 season.
 
Gottsleben served as meet director for five NCAA indoor national track and field championships which brought the best Division II athletes to Vermillion and the DakotaDome in the late 80s and early 90s. Several of those athletes would go on to earn Olympic medals.
 
Numerous other Hall of Fames have honored Gottsleben including the Sioux City Relays, Howard Wood Dakota Relays and Drake Relays. He was inducted into the South Dakota Spots Hall of Fame in 2015.
 
Gottsleben and his wife, Helen, reside in Yankton. He has a daughter, Kendra.