Now in his 23rd season directing the Eugene Christmas Sports Medicine Center at Northwestern State and 30th year in the profession, Ed Evans has earned the respect of his peers, along with honors from Northwestern State’s athletic letterwinners and the Louisiana governor’s office for his contributions to the field of sports medicine and athletic training in general and to Northwestern State in particular.
Evans was presented honorary membership in the Graduate N Club, the association of athletic letterwinners at Northwestern State, during 2005 homecoming ceremonies. Only four other individuals have received such an honor from the N Club, which paid tribute to Evans’ dedicated, unselfish service in four decades (counting his time as a graduate student) to student-athletes at NSU.
In 2004, Evans was named the regional “College Athletic Trainer of the Year” by the Southeastern Athletic Trainers Association, which includes members who are in the profession in seven states from Louisiana to Georgia and Kentucky.
Evans served six years as president of the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association and six more as secretary/treasurer. He was enshrined in the LATA Hall of Fame in 2000.
Evans is a member of the Advisory Committee on Athletic Training to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. He also serves on the Governor’s Council for Physical Fitness, appointed early in 2000 by then Gov. Mike Foster.
Evans worked as a graduate assistant at Northwestern from 1979-82. He earned his master’s degree in physical education (1980) and completed 30 hours beyond the master’s with an emphasis in guidance and counseling.
Evans served four years in the U.S Navy as a hospital corpsman and physical/occupational therapy technician. He spent seven years as athletic trainer at Natchitoches Central High School, working the Louisiana High School Coaches Association’s All-Star games two years, before joining the Northwestern staff.
He and his wife Chris have three sons, Jonathan, David and Tim. An avid cyclist, he generates donations for the training room in an annual spring bike-a-thon.
