David Colt

David “D.C.” Colt was inducted into the College of Applied Human Sciences Hall of Fame in the fall of 2025. He was previously inducted into the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Hall of Fame in 2017.

A Buffalo, N.Y., native, Colt earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education with a minor in athletic training from West Virginia University in 1977, a master’s degree in education from Northwest Missouri State University in 1978, and a doctorate from the University of Missouri.

Colt served as head athletic trainer at Northwest Missouri State University from 1981 to 2008, where he also taught in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

After leaving Northwest Missouri State, Colt continued his career as an athletic trainer at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and later as an instructor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, Kan. He also became Athletic Training Program Director at the University of Missouri, where he helped launch and expand athletic training academic programs.

At the professional level, Colt held leadership positions in the Missouri Athletic Trainers’ Association, the Mid-America Athletic Trainers’ Association, and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). He served as NATA vice president, District V director, and treasurer, as well as president of the Missouri Athletic Trainers’ Association.

Colt’s contributions to athletic training have been recognized through induction into multiple halls of fame, including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame, Missouri Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Mid-America Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame, and the Northwest Missouri State University Hall of Fame. The training room at Northwest Missouri State is named in his honor.