The newest member of the Pfeiffer University Athletics Advisory Council (AAC) wore the black and gold of the Falcons as a student-athlete during the NAIA days of the athletic program.
Kim Wilson '82 played slow-pitch softball and basketball for the Falcons, saying she credited legendary softball coach Jack Ingram for recruiting her.
"Growing up, I knew I always wanted to go beyond my playing experience in high school onto the collegiate level," Wilson said.
"I'll never forget the day he gave me a phone call, and that was on a landline…that was the beginning of my career with Pfeiffer. It was definitely a moment I'll never forget."
"She was around six feet tall and had really good lateral movement; she moved quite a bit quicker than you would think somebody with her size could," Ingram said.
"She used it in basketball, and we played her at first base in softball. She had really good hands, and anytime you have a first baseman with great hands, it just makes your infield that much better because you know she can reach out and catch almost anything."
"I was given an opportunity by Coach Ingram, and he believed in me. He offered me a chance," Wilson said.
Ingram noted Wilson was part of a 31-win softball team in 1981 and was part of the conference and NAIA district championship team one season later. Wilson also was a member of the 1983 conference championship squad.
Being a student-athlete at Pfeiffer, Wilson said, was being part of a close-knit group, not just within teams but with the whole student body and professors.
Wilson said she was drawn to Pfeiffer because you were not just a student ID number.
"You had a name, and that was clear from the leadership shown there," Wilson said.
"It was a small, Christian-based school, a school that I knew at which I would have an opportunity to advance my career in basketball and softball."
Wilson said her experience at Pfeiffer led to her career success. She worked in transportation with Rodeway Express for 25 years before retiring from the company. Wilson later worked with U.S. club soccer for eight years, eventually retiring to Myrtle Beach.
When asked to join the AAC, Wilson said she decided to because Pfeiffer "set the stage for my career, and I've had a wonderful career…I see what Pfeiffer is doing now with athletics, and it is amazing. All the different sports they've added for females and males, the successes they have accomplished through the years, is just amazing. I feel like I want to help in any way I can that will continue the growth of a student-athlete to give them the opportunity to be as successful as they can possibly be."
Wilson said she wants Pfeiffer Athletics in the future to have "the tools to make them successful…the equipment they need, the travel, the recruiting. You have got to have money to get all of those things."
She added she would help in "any way I can help continue what has been started to, that growth. I'm proud of Pfeiffer; it's amazing what they have accomplished, and I want to be a part of that continuation."
Regarding her appointment to the AAC, Ingram said, "we have a number of people who have been student-athletes at Pfeiffer prior to joining (the board), and that's really important, to give back. I commend the Knapp family and David Smith for the idea (of the AAC)."
