Floyd receives NATA’s Lifetime Contribution Award

National Athletic Trainers’ Association recognizes professor R.T. Floyd’s exemplary contributions to advancement of the research and education organization

University of West Alabama professor and athletic trainer Dr. R.T. Floyd recently received the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Research and Education Foundation’s Lifetime Contribution Award.

Floyd was honored at the NATA Clinical Symposia and Athletic Training Expo in June. According to the NATA Foundation’s website, the award is given in recognition of exemplary contribution by an individual or a group who has provided significant advancement or financial growth to the NATA Foundation over a sustained, extended period of time.

“I have tremendously enjoyed my 16 years on the NATA Foundation Board of Directors and very proud of the progress made over its 27-year history progressing from just over $300,000 in assets its first year to nearly $5 million this year,” said Floyd. During his time on the board, the NATA Foundation has awarded 1,669 scholarships totaling over $3.3 and more than 300 grants totaling almost $4.9 million.

Floyd was initially elected to the NATA Foundation Board of Directors in 2002 as the District IX Chair. He was the member development chair until 2009, vice president for district relations until 2013, president until 2017, and served as past president until June of 2018.

In 2007, he received the NATA Sayers “Bud” Miller Distinguished Educator Award and the NATA Foundation’s Volunteer Service Award in 2011. Floyd is a 2013 inductee of the NATA Hall of Fame.

Floyd, third from right, at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in June 2013

Floyd joined the UWA faculty in June 1980 and today serves as director of the Athletic Training and Sports Medicine Center at UWA. He is a distinguished professor and chair of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance and an assistant dean in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Floyd maintains active membership in the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. He previously represented the Southeast Athletic Trainers (SEATA) and District IX of the NATA as District Director to the NATA Board of Directors for eight years.

Floyd served as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic in Montgomery from 1977 through 2001, after spending two years on the annual event’s athletic training staff. He earned his B.S. and M.A.T. in physical education from UWA in 1980 and 1982, as well as an Ed.D. in Human Performance Studies from the University of Alabama in 1995.

In 2001, Floyd was named to the UWA Athletic Hall of Fame. He received the District IX Award for Outstanding Contribution to the field of Athletic Training by SEATA in 1990 and the Award of Merit in 2001 before being inducted into the SEATA Hall of Fame in 2008.

Floyd was inducted into the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2004 and was named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2005.

To learn more about the Athletic Training and Sports Medicine Center at UWA or the academic program, contact Dr. R.T. Floyd at rtf@uwa.edu or 205-652-3714.