The choice that chose back

All around the country, high school seniors are choosing their colleges. Four decades ago, Bill Whiting ’90 made his choice: one he still refers to as “the best decision of my life.”

Whiting first heard about the University of Dayton through a cousin, but as a water polo player, he was immediately drawn in when he learned UD fielded one of the nation’s top 25 water polo teams.

“That piqued my curiosity,” Whiting said. Few students from his part of Long Island went to Dayton then, but the opportunity to continue competing at the collegiate level pushed the school onto his list of possibilities.

But it was the visit that sealed the deal. UD invited him to stay overnight in a residence hall, and the experience surprised him. He recalled being “almost suspicious” of how genuinely kind and helpful everyone was.

“Until you go visit, until you breathe it, taste it, experience it, meet the people. For me, that was hook, line and sinker.”

“People from the NYC area tend to be a bit impervious. At first, I was like, ‘What do they want from me?’ And then you realize: That’s just genuinely who they are,” said Whiting. “I was just like, ‘Wow.’ Everybody was so friendly. It caught me off guard. Until you go visit, until you breathe it, taste it, experience it, meet the people. For me, that was hook, line and sinker.”

Whiting enrolled, joined the water polo team and later Lambda Chi Alpha, and eventually earned a marketing degree from the University of Dayton. The combination of athletics, fraternity life and the University’s small‑community feel — especially the student neighborhood — defined his college years.

“It was such an eye‑opening experience,” Whiting said. “I am friends with over 30 Flyers that I graduated with. My friends who went to other great schools look at me like, ‘That's impressive that you are still close with all these people!’ There’s a bit of envy there.”

The water polo team and fraternity also offered structure: study sessions, expectations, a rhythm that helped him adjust to college life. “You think you’re going to have all this freedom,” he said, “but having that structure actually grounded me.”

He credits mentors across campus — like Father Richard Knuge, S.M. ’47 — with helping him grow. Knuge, who worked in UD’s career placement center, reviewed résumés, encouraged practice interviews, and pushed students to prepare for life after graduation. “I don’t think I would have had the opportunities I did without people like him,” Whiting said. “I never felt like just a number at UD.”

“If I were to do it over 10,000 times, I’d do it 10,000 times again. And I’d choose Dayton every time.”

The community, Whiting said, stretches well beyond life as a student. He still visits friends in Dayton several times a year — some alumni, some local community members he met along the way. Even his girlfriend, who didn’t attend UD, wears Flyer gear and loves the school spirit, often tagging along on Whiting’s trips back.

“There’s something in the air over there,” he said.

His UD years set him on a path that led to more than two decades in the wine industry, including serving as director of wine education for Banfi Vintners. In 2020, he stepped out on his own to create Bill’s Blend, honoring his family’s 100‑year legacy in the business.

Today, he hopes prospective students understand what he discovered as a teenager from Long Island. “You’re crazy if you don’t make that choice,” Whiting said. “If I were to do it over 10,000 times, I’d do it 10,000 times again. And I’d choose Dayton every time.”

Photo provided by Bill Whiting ’90.