ATHENS — Ron Courson, the UGA Athletic Association’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine, is being inducted into the Georgia Athletic Trainers Association (GATA) Hall of Fame Saturday during the organization’s conference in Macon.
Courson (LAT, ATC, PT, NREMT-I) being inducted into the hall of fame is the highest honor given by the association. Courson has coordinated sports medicine efforts for the Bulldogs since 1995.
Courson is well known and respected among his peers in the college/university setting having served as the president of the SEC Sports Medicine Committee, chairman of the College and University Athletic Trainers' Committee of the National Athletic Trainers' Association and as a member of the NCAA Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports committee. He received the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer award in 2005 from the National Athletic Trainers' Association and was inducted into the Southeast Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 2011 and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2013.
Courson is active in research and education in the field of sports medicine, having authored a textbook, "Athletic Training Emergency Care", a number of professional papers and text chapters and presents frequently at regional and national sports medicine meetings.
Prior to joining the staff at UGA, Courson previously served as Director of Rehabilitation at the University of Alabama from 1991-95 and Director of Rehabilitation with Samford University from 1989-91. Courson received his undergraduate degree in education/physical education from Samford University, performed two years of graduate work at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and graduated with honors from the Medical College of Georgia with a degree in physical therapy. He is a national registered advanced emergency medical technician as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
The Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association is an organization committed to education of its members and enhancement of the profession of athletic training, leading to better healthcare for the population which it serves. The GATA is proudly composed of licensed athletic trainers in many different settings. Over 1000 licensed athletic trainers from professional, collegiate, and high school teams to industries, physician offices, and rehabilitation clinics all work together to promote and practice the profession of athletic training within the state of Georgia.
