Sometimes, life leaves us with difficult questions that go unanswered. Almost a year ago, on May 6, 2011, the University of Wyoming, the UW athletic department, and the UW swimming and diving team experienced one of life’s most unfair questions.
David Schmitt, then senior swimmer for the Cowboys, died after falling from War Memorial Stadium late on that Friday night, the day before he was to bear his cap and gown for graduation.
“It was unfathomable,” Head Swimming Coach Tom Johnson said. “David was a great kid; nicest kid I knew. I couldn’t believe it happened to him. It was an honor to coach him.”
David Schmitt
Senior swimmer, and close friend of Schmitt, Marshall Dilworth said Schmitt and one other swimmer had gone to the stadium. They were reliving the past four years and looking ahead to the future with excitement. After a long talk, the other swimmer decided to head home while Schmitt stayed behind to continue to think about life. Schmitt was found later underneath the west side of the stadium.
“David was adventurous,” Johnson said. “He was never one to take the easy way. He hopped over the railing from the upper deck thinking the lower deck was right beneath it, but there was a hole in the stadium that separated the two and he fell straight through.”
The holes in the stadium have since been covered up.
“What I hope does not get lost in all of this was just how great a person he was,” Dilworth said. “He was an influential person. He made everyone around him a better swimmer and a better person.”
Schmitt swam for the Cowboys all four years of his collegiate career. He also served as the president of the Student Athletic Advisory Council and was always trying to be involved in people’s lives to make them better.
“He is hard to describe,” Dilworth said. “He was someone you strive to be.”
“He was one of those guys that when you met him, you instantly became friends,” Johnson said. “I have so many stories of him meeting random people at Denver International Airport on road trips and just talking to them for hours.”
Following his death, which was the second death in the UW athletic department between 2010 and 2012, the athletic department chartered buses from Laramie to Casper, Schmitt’s hometown, for the funeral. However, nearly half of the swim team, and more than half of the student body, had already headed home for summer break.
“It was very difficult with half the team gone,” Dilworth said. “It just happened at an awkward time and it was hard to deal with without the rest of our team around.”
A bench was dedicated in Schmitt’s honor on the north side of the Corbett building on campus. On the plaque reads “Lead. Inspire. Serve.”
“This was our motto because it completely encompasses who David was,” Dilworth said. “He was always looking out for other people.”
All of the swim team’s gear had the initials ‘DS’ on it to honor Schmitt. The initials could be found within the bucking horse on the team’s swim caps. Shirts were made and sold, with the proceeds going to Schmitt’s family, which had the triathlon logo with a kayak. The motto on the shirt read, “Smiling all the way through.”
“This is who he was: constantly smiling. He enjoyed life,” Dilworth said. “I am a better person for having known David Schmitt.”
Though it is unclear why Schmitt died when he did, his spirit lives on through his friends and family left behind. His legacy will live on: To lead, and to inspire and to serve.
