Jeff McKibbin is a respected leader who is known for his dedication to his patients and his commitment to advancing the profession of athletic training. McKibbin, whose career began at the University of Central Oklahoma, spent 24 years as head athletic trainer, with 13 of those years in a dual role as associate athletic director. Over the course of his career, he served as head AT for 14 national championship wrestling teams and one national football championship team. McKibbin's numerous volunteer and leadership positions include chair of the Government Affairs Committee, member of the NATAPAC board of directors and several positions at the state, district and national levels. He is credited with legislative efforts in Oklahoma and developing the first accredited graduate athletic training program in Oklahoma. McKibbin was inducted into the Oklahoma Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 2006, the Mid-America Athletic Trainers' Hall of Fame in 2011 and the University of Central Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2014.
NATA Hall of Fame
MaryBeth Horodyski is a renowned researcher, respected educator and esteemed leader of the profession of athletic training. She currently serves as the director of research for the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Florida. In addition to her work at the university, Horodyski also serves as the athletic trainer at a small private high school in Gainesville. An expert in spine-injured patient care, Horodyski has more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and was selected as one of only five non-physicians to join the Cervical Spine Research Society. Her numerous leadership roles include NATA vice president, NATA District Nine director, SEATA president, SEATA secretary/treasurer and chair of the Executive Committee for Education. Horodyski has received countless awards including the NATA AT Service Award, the SEATA Hall of Fame, the ATAF Hall of Fame and NATA Fellows status.
Kathy Dieringer is celebrated for her service and leadership to the profession of athletic training at the state, district and national levels. She served two terms on the NATA Board of Directors from 2012 through 2016 and secretary and treasurer from 2014 through 2016. In 2008, Dieringer was selected to serve as chair of the newly formed Clinical and Emerging Practices Athletic Trainers' Committee. She has also served as president of NATA District Six and was elected to its Hall of Fame in 2007. She received the NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award in 2002, the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 2006 and the Gail Weldon Award in 2017. An example for entrepreneurial athletic trainers, as well as those in the clinical setting, Dieringer is the co-owner of D&D Sports Med, an outpatient rehabilitation company with three clinics in North Texas.
Since the beginning of her accomplished career, Tanya Dargusch has been a game-changer within the profession. An advocate for athletic trainers in the secondary school setting, Dargusch's work on the NATA Council on Employment helped to spearhead a national market penetration plan specifically for the secondary school setting and contributed to better representation of secondary school ATs on a national level. As chair of the District Secretaries'/Treasurers' Committee, she led efforts to create best practices guidelines for all district secretaries and treasurers. Dargusch was instrumental in acquiring the funding for an association liaison to the American Academy of Family Physicians, which resulted in the introduction of the AT in a physician practice setting on a national platform. In addition to being one of the first women in the industrial setting, Dargusch was the first female elected as a District Two Executive Board secretary.
A true trailblazer of the profession, Fran Babich began her illustrious career at Pomona College, where she became its first athletic trainer in 1978 and one of only three women in the country to hold such a position. In 1980, she was hired as Butte College's head athletic trainer, becoming the first woman named as a head AT in the California Community Colleges system. Babich is the co-founder and first president of the California Community College Athletic Trainers' Association. Though she has been instrumental in elevating athletic trainers in the community college setting, she has worked as an athletic trainer and an educator in every setting, including K-12 schools, DI, DII and DII colleges and universities, as well as the professional setting. Babich's remarkable career has been recognized with multiple honors including the California Community College Athletic Association Hall of Fame, the District Eight Hall of Fame, the Butte College Hall of Fame, the C.K. McClatchy High School Hall of Fame, NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer award and the Gail Weldon Award.
With a career spanning nearly five decades, John “Doc” Anderson has truly left his mark on the athletic training profession and paved the way for generations to come. With the exception of a 10-year stint at Louisiana State University, he served in various roles at Troy University since 1967, including head athletic trainer, professor and program director. Anderson, a former student athlete at Auburn University, doubled as head coach and athletic trainer for both the track and field and cross-country teams at Troy, leading his athletes to several conference championships. He was a member of the U.S. Track and Field coaching staff for the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games and served as an athletic trainer for the 1996 Olympic team. Anderson is the founder of Iota Tau Alpha, a national athletic training honor society. Since its inception in 2005, the organization has expanded to more than 100 chapters with more than 4000 inductees.
Gary Wilkerson is a renowned educator, researcher, clinician and respected expert in his field. Wilkerson is a leader in clinical effectiveness studies and predictive modeling for injury prevention. In 1990, he led a research study conducted at the United States Air Force Academy and in 1996 he served as a member of the polyclinic medical staff for the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Wilkerson is celebrated by his peers and has received numerous awards and accolades. He was named a Fellow of the NATA in 2008 and was inducted into the Southeast Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2015, he spoke in the J&J Featured Presentation in St. Louis. He is currently a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he has taught since 2000.
Patrick Sexton's illustrious career is marked by his dedication to service at all levels of the profession. Sexton has served on numerous committees, work groups and task forces, including as a member of the Joint Review Committee on Athletic Training Education, a member of the ECE Professional Education Committee and vice-chair of the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education. A mentor and example to many, Sexton was elected Vice President of the Wyoming Athletic Trainers' Association and President of the Wisconsin Athletic Trainers' Association, and held several leadership positions with the Minnesota Athletic Trainers' Association. He is also a recognized author and presenter. Sexton is the current Athletic Trainer Director of the Board of Certification and is the Director and Professor of Athletic Training at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
A leader at the state, district and national levels, Eric McDonnell has committed his career to the advancement of the athletic training profession. McDonnell has served as a member of the NATA Board of Directors, Chair of the NATAPAC Board of Directors, Governmental Affairs Committee Chair, and NATA Annual Meeting Host Committee Chair in 2003, and on various task forces and workgroups. Through his governmental affairs efforts, states under regulatory control increased from 28 to 49 and funding for state legislative activities increased. An activist for the Association's federal legislative agenda, McDonnell has attended every Capitol Hill Day since its inception and regularly advocates on behalf of the profession. McDonnell is currently an athletic trainer at the University of Missouri, where he has served athletes for more than 30 years.
Scott Linaker has dedicated his career to advancing the profession of athletic training through his leadership and service. An advocate for athletic trainers in the secondary school setting, Linaker spent more than 20 years as the Head Athletic Trainer at Canyon del Oro High School. Linaker was elected President of the Arizona Athletic Trainers' Association in 1990, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers' Association in 1998. During his presidency, the RMATA Leadership Development Program was created to foster leaders within his district and the entire profession of athletic training. Linaker has held numerous positions at the national level, including on the NATA Board of Directors, Hall of Fame Committee and the NATA Board of Certification.