Billy Chambers
Class of 2006
Billy Chambers began his career as a student manager at Athens High School in 1952. He continued his career as an athletic trainer in college at Oklahoma where he served four years under athletic trainer Bud Wilkinson.
After graduating from Oklahoma, Chambers moved on to the University of Missouri as an assistant athletic trainer for three years. He left Missouri to take a job as head of the athletic training program at Cal State Fullerton where he stayed for 38 years, retiring in 1999.
During his career, Chambers worked as an athletic trainer at events like the 1968 British Com- monwealth Games, the 1971 Pan-American Games and the 1971 Pan-Africa International games. He was also an athletic trainer at the Shrine East-West Basketball game in 1960 and 1961 and worked at the USA-Russia track meet.
He was elected to two terms as president of the National Athletic Trainers Association which now has 33,000 members at every level of athletic competition.
Chambers was chairman of the NATA Research and Education Foundation scholarship committee for 11 years and is now in charge of the fund raising for the scholarships that are presented each year to students that are planning a career in athletic training. They will present 73 - $2000 scholarships this year and due to very generous donors, he has been able to secure almost two million dollars over the past 15 years.
He was voted National Jr. College Athletic Trainer of the Year for five different years; awarded the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Award in 1985 and was voted into the hall of fame with the National Athletic Trainers Association in 1986.
OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY
Served four years under Bud Wilkinson.
NATIONAL ATHLETIC TRAINERS ASSOCIATION
Served two terms as president.
NATA-RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Chairman scholarship committee for 11 years. Now in charge of fundraising.