FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Tusculum University assistant athletic director for sports medicine Chris Lenker has been named this year’s recipient of the Eugene Smith/Mickey O’Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year Award as presented by the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society.
The award honors the legacies of Smith who served as athletic trainer at the Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) and O’Brien, who served at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Both individuals shaped the model for providing care for athletes at the collegiate level.
Lenker will be recognized at the TATS Annual Symposium later this month (May 30-June 1) at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin.
Lenker, who just completed his 25th year at Tusculum, oversees healthcare for more than 600 student-athletes at Tennessee’s most historic university.
“We are very proud of Chris for earning this prestigious honor from the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society,” said Josh Ealy, Vice President of Athletics at Tusculum. “Chris continues to serve our student-athletes, coaches and university with distinction. His hard work, talent and dedication are greatly appreciated and we are excited for this recognition of his tireless efforts.”
Lenker has worked in all levels of sport from high school to the Olympic level, but his passion has always been in the collegiate setting. This summer, Lenker will again serve as athletic trainer for the Greeneville Flyboys—Major League Baseball’s and USA Baseball’s developmental collegiate summer baseball league.
“I’ve worked for more than half my life with college athletes. It’s not a job for the faint-of-heart, but it’s immensely rewarding. It’s an honor to have my efforts recognized by my peers and leaders in the profession,” Lenker said. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t recognize my staff whose hard work and long hours are largely ‘behind-the-scene’ and also the Tusculum administration for their support of our department.”
Lenker’s staff has been twice honored by the South Atlantic Conference as the league’s Athletic Training Staff of the Year during the 2008-09 and 2016-17 academic years. During the 2016-17 season, his accolades were adorned in glory again when he was named the recipient of the Tusculum Sports Benefactor Award.
Lenker joined the Tusculum staff after serving as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at East Carolina University for two years. While at ECU, Lenker assisted in the management and rehabilitation of athletic injuries for 500 student-athletes in the 19 sports offered at the NCAA Division I program. Prior to his stint at ECU, Lenker served as head athletic trainer at White Oak High School in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Lenker participated in the United States Olympic Committee’s Volunteer Medical program in July 2003, working with athletes training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He served as a staff athletic trainer at the Masters WaterSki and Wakeboard Tournament in Pine Mountain, Georgia from 2010-2016.
The Iowa native is certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification and is licensed through the Tennessee Board of Athletic Training Examiners. He is a certified lifeguard and holds instructor certifications from the American Red Cross in First Aid, and CPR for the Professional Rescuer. He is also trained in dry needling.
Lenker served as president of the Mountain Athletic Trainers’ Society from 2016 to 2018. He served as chair of the SAC Athletic Trainer Committee from 2008 to 2010. From 2003 to 2019, he was active in Tusculum’s Athletic Training Education Program as a clinical preceptor and adjunct faculty member.
Lenker earned his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science at East Carolina in 1997, and later earned his Master’s in Health Education at ECU in 2000.
Lenker achieved a personal milestone in 2008 by earning his pilot’s license.
Lenker is the father of one son, Addison Cade and one cat, Corndog.
