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.
NATA Hall of Fame
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.
Bob Gray is known for his passion for athletic training and his devotion to the growth of his colleagues and the profession as a whole. Gray, a respected clinician, is the Coordinator of Athletic Training at the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, his employer since 1991. Sought-after for his expertise, Gray was named as the ATC Observer for the National Football League, a position he has held since 2011, and was named the Head Athletic Trainer for the NCAA Division I basketball regional finals in 2015. Recognized at the local, district and national levels, he was awarded the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 1998, he was inducted into the Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 1999 and, in 2010, he received the Golden Pinnacle Award from the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers' Association. Gray currently serves on the NATA Foundation Board of Directors.
Michael Goldenberg has impacted the athletic training profession through his trailblazing efforts to integrate technology to improve and promote the profession. The District II webmaster since 1998, Goldenberg introduced listservs, text and voicemail campaigns, online voting and various online tools, and established many state and district websites. As the DII Director, he launched the Communicate, Activate, Serve program to increase communication, as well as membership involvement in District II programs. In 2000, he founded and chaired the NATA Webmaster's Advisory Group. As a member of the NATA Board of Directors, he was heavily involved in decisions that positively impacted the Association and profession, including the NATA logo change, the nomenclature study, the professional degree decision and the resurgence of the Joint Committee Meeting.
David Craig is known for his presence and leadership, both courtside and beyond. Craig graduated from Purdue University, where he was mentored by the legendary “Pinky” Newell. He spent 35 years as the Indiana Pacers' Head Athletic Trainer, working with the 1970 and 1971 ABA Championship teams and the 2000 Eastern Conference champions. In 1984, Craig was elected as the first president of the Indiana Athletic Trainers' Association and contributed to the licensure and reimbursement of ATs in his state. Craig served as an athletic trainer for the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo and the 2004 USA Olympic men's basketball team in Greece. Craig has held countless leadership positions at the state, district and national levels and received numerous awards including the Joe O'Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year Award and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.
Thomas Weidner is a national expert in research on upper respiratory illness. His work includes the influence of exercise on the duration and severity of a cold, and the effect of a cold on athletic performance and exercise. Weidner has also provided benchmark research in athletic training education, particularly clinical education. He has authored an athletic training clinical education textbook, several textbook chapters and numerous papers and abstracts. His upper respiratory illness research continues to be cited in countless publications and television programs worldwide. An advocate for athletic training education, Weidner chaired the Clinical Education Committee and was instrumental in the training and development of clinical instructors. Weidner was a member of the board of editors of the Journal of Athletic Training for 18 years. He has been with Ball State University since 1991, where he is currently a George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Athletic Training and Chair of the School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science.