Sports Release
August 30, 1999

ED FINAN NAMED VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE ATHLETIC TRAINER’S SOCIETY
PORTALES, NM — Ed Finan, who is starting his third season as head athletic trainer at Eastern New Mexico University, has been named a vice president of the College Athletic Trainer’s Society (CATS). Finan is the only CATS officer from an NCAA Division II university.

The College Athletic Trainer’s Society provides a special organization for athletic trainers at colleges and universities throughout the United State and Canada. Finan was appointed to his new position by past CATS President Maria Hutsink of Boston University.

Other new officers are President Mike O’Shea from the University of Houston, Treasurer Ron Linfont from St. John’s University (N.Y.), Secretary Deb Graff from Oregon State, and Vice President Eric Nussbaum from Rutgers University. CATS is closely aligned with the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA), which features members at the high school, collegiate, amateur and professional levels.

CATS holds an annual symposium one day prior to the NATA convention. This year’s CATS symposium and NATA convention were held in Kansas City in June.

As vice presidents, Finan and Nussbaum are responsible for organizing CATS’ 2000 symposium. They also serve as liaisons to subgroups representing various NCAA, NAIA and JUCO divisions.

“Ed is someone who has been very active in the Southwest,” Hutsink said. “Plus, he’s at a Division II school, which doesn’t always get as much attention at our national organization ... This will get him (Finan) active at the national level.”

In deciding which athletic trainers to appoint as vice presidents, Hutsink checked on Finan as a possibility. The results were positive. “(I) called some people in your conference (Lone Star) ... it kind of all fell into place,” Hutsink said.

“He (Finan) presented himself very well. He speaks well regarding the issues ... He was concerned about making the profession better.”

CATS offers several services to its membership. The annual symposium is one function. The organization also works to improve health care at the collegiate level, and deals with issues directly affecting college athletic trainers at all levels of competition. The College Athletic Trainer’s Society was formed in the early 1990s to give athletic trainers at the collegiate level a more focused organization than the broad-based NATA could provide.

Finan, who is also an instructor of physical education at ENMU, previously worked at HealthSouth Rehab in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was the interim athletic trainer at Southeast Missouri State University in Fall 1996, and was head trainer at Houston Baptist University in 1995-96. Finan earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Emporia State University (Kan.) in 1992 and a Master of Science degree from Central Missouri State University in 1995.