NCAA executive to discuss health of student athletes in open forum
The University of Georgia will host NCAA Chief Medical Officer Brian Hainline, M.D., for a forum about the health of college athletes Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
The program, “Sound Minds, Sound Bodies and College Sports: A conversation with Dr. Brian Hainline,” features one of the country's leading authorities on athletic training safety for college athletes. Hainline will speak about the NCAA's vision for the health and well being of student-athletes and then join in a panel of UGA faculty and student-athletes.
The forum will include a panel discussion consisting of Hainline, Ron Courson, senior associate athletic director for sports medicine at UGA, and current and former UGA student athletes. Welch Suggs, associate professor of journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, will moderate.
“We are very excited to have Dr. Hainline visiting our campus,” said Courson. “I have had the opportunity to work together with Brian on several NCAA related projects. He has had great impact on sports medicine as the Chief Medical Officer of the NCAA.”
Athletes on the panel include junior Brittany MacLean, women's swimming, senior Malcolm Mitchell, football, and Jon Stinchcomb, 1993 UGA alumnus and New Orleans Saints veteran.
“Concussions and chronic injuries are crucial issues for everyone associated with sports,” said Suggs, associate director of the Grady Sports Media program. “This will be a chance for the UGA community to consider the long-term implications of sports injuries with one of the top thinkers on the issue.”
Hainline is visiting a number of college and university campuses across the country to talk with student-athletes and athletic staff members in order to help the NCAA promote the health and wellness of student-athletes.
“With his visit to Georgia, he will have a series of focus group meetings with a wide range of individuals, from a variety of student-athletes to President Morehead to athletic directors, coaches, sports medicine, nutrition and strength and conditioning staff members,” said Courson.
The forum is presented by the University of Georgia Athletic Association and the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication's Grady Sports Media program. The panel is free and is open to the public. A Q&A will follow the panel discussion.
Date: January 16, 2015Author: Morgan Beavers, marymorganbeavers@gmail.com
Contact: Welch Suggs, wsuggs@uga.edu