U of A Professor Receives University of Connecticut Thomas J. Pike Athletic Training Alumni Award

University Relations

Brendon McDermott

University of Arkansas associate professor Brendon McDermott recently attended the National Athletic Trainers' Association annual meeting in Las Vegas to present on heat illness management and came home with the University of Connecticut Thomas J. Pike Athletic Training Alumni Award.

The award honors a University of Connecticut alumnus for "outstanding contribution to the athletic training profession."

McDermott attended UCONN from 2005-2009 and continues to collaborate with faculty from the university. While at UCONN, he served as a teaching and research assistant, conducting research in thermoregulations, hydration and heat illness recognition and treatment. He also taught courses in UCONN's undergraduate athletic training program.

McDermott was at the national conference not only to present on heat illness, but also to moderate a session on hydration best practices, help run the national student quiz bowl, and to serve on a research and education foundation committee.

McDermott has been at the U of A since 2012. He teaches and conducts research in the athletic training master's degree program in the College of Education and Health Professions and is a certified athletic trainer and Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. He has become a go-to expert in the field of heat illness and hydration.