David Craig, LAT ATC, longtime Head Athletic Trainer for the NBA Indiana Pacers and Director of Athletics for High Performance Breathing Technology, LLC will be inducted into the 2016 National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame.
David graduated from Purdue University working under the legendary William “Pinky” Newell. After working summer camps with the NFL’s Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, David spent the next 35 years as the Head Athletic Trainer for the NBA Indiana Pacers. During his time with the Pacers, David was part of two ABA championship teams.
PHOTOS: David Craig Career Gallery »
“I am excited to be recognized by my colleagues and inducted into the prestigious NATA – National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame,” stated Craig. “I want to thank my family and friends who have made it possible for me to practice as an athletic trainer for 45 years. Special thanks go out to the Indiana Pacers where I was the head athletic trainer for over 35 years. It has been an enjoyable career and I still enjoy being an athletic trainer.”
“We champion the outstanding contributions of David and his constant commitment and passion for the athletic training profession,” says Chuck Kimmel, ATC, NATA Honors & Awards Committee Chair. “We recognize and celebrate him as a member of the tremendous class of 2016 and all he has done to support NATA, its wide reaching programs and the members it represents.”
David was the first president of the Indiana Athletic Trainers’ Association and in 1993 won the organization’s “Professional Clinician/Athletic Trainer of the Year” Award. In 1995, he was inducted into the IATA Hall of Fame. He served as the athletic trainer for the Eastern Conference in the 1985 and 1996 NBA All-Star Games. In 2001, he won the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. In 2003, he was named the recipient of the Joe O’Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year Award and served as the athletic trainer for the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.
David received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Purdue University. In 2004, he served as one of the athletic trainers for the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team in Greece and continues to work with several USOC teams. David was also honored as a distinguished “Sagamore of the Wabash” by the Governor of Indiana.
David serves as Director of Athletics for High Performance Breathing Technology, LLC – “The Oxygen Advantage”© and as athletic trainer for many USOC teams, collegiate and professional athletes as well as the general public.