PEORIA, Ill. – Joe Whitson has been named Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Training Services according to an announcement Sunday by Bradley University Director of Athletics Dr. Chris Reynolds.
"Joe's experiences will enhance the services to our student-athletes in the area of athletic training, as well as our national-level Sports Performance program," said Reynolds. "His familiarity with the Missouri Valley Conference and Central Illinois medical community will aid in his transition to Bradley."
Whitson comes to Bradley after working 11 years at Illinois State, where he was Associate Athletics Trainer and spent the last 10 seasons as the primary athletic trainer for the Redbirds football team. A 2001 graduate of East Tennessee State, Whitson oversaw inventory and purchasing for the entire Illinois State Athletic Training department in addition to supervising full-time and graduate assistant trainers. He also served as a Preceptor for the Illinois State Athletic Training Education Program, supervising 10 to 12 undergraduate students each semester.
Whitson arrived at Illinois State in 2005 and oversaw the athletic training needs for the Illinois State volleyball and swim teams during the 2005-06 school year. Prior to his arrival at ISU, Whitson spent the previous two years as an athletic trainer at Carson-Newman College.
Whitson earned a master’s degree from Virginia Tech in 2002, where he worked with the Hokies football team. As an undergraduate, he spent one summer interning with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The state of Illinois representative to the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association (GLATA), Whitson serves on the GLATA Finance Committee along with the Honors and Awards Committee. He is a member of both the National Athletic Trainers' Association and the Illinois Athletic Trainers’ Association (IATA), serving on the IATA Board of Directors.
A native of White House, TN, Whitson is married to the former Emily Reliford and the couple resides in Mackinaw, IL, with their two children, Katie Jo and Haden.
