NATA Hall of Fame

As a student at Kansas State Teachers' College, Lynn Bott quickly made a name as a fast study, a hard worker, a gifted healer. Those traits have endured throughout 20+ years at the University of Kansas and decades of volunteer service, including a successful push to gain licensure in Kansas. Now an instructor and director of sports medicine at Baker University, Bott finds his greatest job satisfaction in mentoring students.

As early as the late 1970s, Randy Biggerstaff began advocating for athletic trainers in the clinic setting. An entrepreneur at heart, the Mizzou graduate has spent 30 years opening, directing and growing sports medicine clinics and consulting businesses. Now the education program director at Lindenwood University, Biggerstaff remains a key voice in clinical and emerging practice settings.

Chad Starkey has carved a niche as an educator and visionary. As the first chair of the NATA Education Council, he led the transition to accredited curriculum. Now an associate professor and coordinator of the division of athletic training at Ohio University, Starkey has served on the Board of Certification board and is author of several textbooks and articles.

Bill Lyons has been at the University of Wyoming since 1978, were he has served as head athletic trainer and athletic training education program director. After working under Wyoming legend Jack Aggers, as well as Gary Delforge and Warren Lee, Lyons has made it a point to pass on the lessons he learned by mentoring students throughout his career.

Tom Koto's legacy centers on legislative recognition and job opportunities for athletic trainers. He helped get athletic trainers hired by the Boise, Idaho, school district and played a key role when the Idaho legislature adopted registration in 1989 and licensure in 2003. He currently works at Intermountain Orthopaedics and volunteers as a physician extender at a free clinic for the homeless.

Joe Iezzi has been an athletic trainer for 30+ years, and his proudest achievements center on motivating students. A leader in Pennsylvania and a former NATA board member, Iezzi introduced changes in the Pennsylvania law and initiated a new law to be directly under the Medical Practice Act. He has been at Downingtown High School since 1988.

Michael Ferrara has taken athletic training to the global scene. He was the founding president of the World Federation of Athletic Training & Therapy, and in 2010 he earned distinction as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching athletic training in Ireland. Ferrara has also been active in providing care for Paralympic athletes and the U.S. Disabled Sports Team. He is a professor and program director at University of Georgia.

Dave Pursley played a pivotal role in getting licensure adopted in the state of Georgia, and he is a founding member of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers' Society. After caring for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves for 52 years - 44 of them in the Major Leagues - he retired in 2002.

DC Colt takes pride in being a member of the first curriculum class at West Virginia University, where he graduated in 1977. He has been active with the NATA board, Foundation and Board of Certification - all while becoming a treasured member of Northwest Missouri State University, where he worked for 27 years. In 2008 Colt became an athletic trainer for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

NATA President #9

Julie Max became the first woman elected as NATA president, in 2000. She has spent her career developing students and promoting the profession. Since 1979 Max has worked at California State University Fullerton, where she was the driving force behind the development of an athletic training education program that has received national acclaim.