UT DALLAS ATHLETICS HALL OF HONORS
LARRY GARDNER
HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER, 2001 - 2009
LARRY GARDNER spent much of his almost 50-year career in athletic training working with world-class athletes in the National Football League (NFL), the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the U.S. Olympic team, but Larry often said that “the most enjoyable job he ever had” were the nine years he spent developing the athletic training program for the University of Texas at Dallas.
A longtime Dallas professional, Gardner came out of semi-retirement in 2001 when he noticed that UTD was looking for an individual to organize and facilitate a full-time training program for its ever-expanding athletic program. As the number of sports and student-athletes grew every year, Gardner was able to add additional personnel and increase the rehabilitation and treatment services his department offered. He was a true favorite among many of the student-athletes he dealt with during the years. His staff won American Southwest Conference Athletic Training Staff of the Year awards three times.
A native of Sulphur, Louisiana, Gardner graduated from McNeese State University in 1961 and physical therapy school a year later. After working at two universities in California, he joined the training staff for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in 1965 and went to Super Bowls with the team in 1971 and 1972. He then joined the Miami Dolphins and was part of their Super Bowl team in 1973.
In 1974, Gardner left professional sports to begin a 26-year portion of his career that included work with various local sports medicine facilities and orthopedic manufacturing companies. During that time, he worked at events for the PRCA and CART, the professional Championship Auto Racing Team; and attended the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.
Gardner has been active for many years with the National Athletic Trainers Association, serving as Vice President of Research and Education in 1993. He served four years as an executive board member of the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association and was president of that organization in 1995.
