B.B.A. and C.I.S.T. student, Life U Men’s Track and Field team member

“Full Sprint”

Born in mainland Lagos, Nigeria, Tobiloba Oniyide has come a long way both geographically and metaphorically to prove himself academically and in his sport. Oniyide grew up with his mom, grandma and aunt in their family home. He moved to the U.S. in 2020, competing as a sprinter for Cumberland University for three years before transferring to Life University (Life U). After learning so many good things about Life U’s Track and Field program and the stellar coaching staff from a friend on Life U’s team, the switch felt like a natural next step for him.

Cumberland University is located in Lebanon, Tennessee, a fair bit quieter than what is expected in the metro Atlanta area. So it was yet another major adjustment, getting used to traffic flow driving around and a new educational setting.

“It wasn’t really hard, just a different system I had to get used to,” Oniyide said.

Despite the need to get acclimated, Oniyide fell into stride with his teammates pretty easily, as many of his teammates are international as well.

“I don’t really feel different. You come to practice, and you hear a lot of accents. It’s pretty cool. It’s a good environment to train, and everyone’s mindset is ‘We want to win; through hard work to do everything to win,” Oniyide explained.

Some of the highlights of Oniyide’s track career at Life U include:

“I’m a sprinter, so I like to do the short stuff, quick and done,” Oniyide said.

Though the recent NAIA championships mark the end of an amazing season, Oniyide continues to finish strong in other aspects. Oniyide is pursuing a dual degree as a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) and a Computer Information Systems and Technology (C.I.S.T.) student. He enjoys the opportunity to continue to learn new things. He only recently added on the C.I.S.T. portion of his program, so that opens up new possibilities in the world of tech.

“I’ve been saturated in the business world for a long time now, so I kind of know my way in and out of it. But the tech world, I don’t know as much. But it’s been good, finding out things I didn’t know about,” Oniyide said.

With a student whose quick on their feet and dedicated like Oniyide, the added challenge in the classroom shouldn’t hurt his pace too much. Like many Life U student-athletes, he is learning balance with remarkable aplomb.

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