The Tennessee Technological University Sports Medicine
Department is an integral part of the Athletics Department. The
Sports Medicine Department is made up of four full-time Certified
Athletic Trainers, four Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainers, and
several student athletic trainers. This staff is responsible for
the health and well-being of all 16 sports and more than 300
student-athletes.
The Head Athletic Trainer is Joe Erdeljac, MS, ATC, who is in his
second year at Tech. Also on his staff are assistant athletic
trainers Upton Dabney, Chris Fry and Adrienne Wilson.
The Sports Medicine Department also has a Registered Physical
Therapist on staff, Chuck Williams, who works several days a week
in a satellite clinic. The Physical Therapist is here for the
student-athletes, the students and faculty on staff with the TTU
community. This service is just like any other Physical Therapy
Clinic where there is a fee for services, and most insurance is
accepted.
Dr. Richard Williams is the University's Team Physician. He is
assisted by several local physicians, along with a Team Optometrist
and a Team Dentist.
Assisting the Athletic Training Staff:
Dr. Richard Williams
Team Physician
Dr. Richard Williams, M.S., M.D., serves as the Team Physician for
Tennessee Tech student-athletes. A physician at Mid-State Sports
Medicine, Dr. Williams has specialized in sports medicine
throughout his professional medical career, including experience
with high school, college, Olympic and professional athletes. He
understands sports medicine from an athlete's point of view,
participating on track and field and basketball teams during his
high school and collegiate careers. A 1975 graduate of
Crawfordsville (Indiana) High School, Dr. Williams also spent one
year as a foreign exchange student in West Germany. He graduated
Cum Laude (A.B.) from Dartmouth College, and went on to earn an
M.S. degree in Medical and Molecular Genetics from Indiana
University, and an M.D. from the Indiana University School of
Medicine. Dr. Williams worked with the Indianapolis Colts training
camp and provided volunteer medical support for high school soccer
and football teams in Indianapolis during his senior year in
medical school, and also served as a research assistant at the
Methodist Sports Medicine Center. During his residency at the
University of Cincinnati Hospitals, Dr. Williams provided coverage
for local high school and college football teams, and worked
extensively with the University of Cincinnati athletic teams. He
earned an Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship with Kentucky
Sports Medicine in Lexington, and during the 1994-95 season was the
team physician at Eastern Kentucky University, including primary
game coverage in football and basketball, and training room
coverage for all sports. He also worked with local high schools and
the University of Kentucky sports medicine staff, and had extensive
clinic and operating room experience in all aspects of sports
medicine care. Since 1995, Dr. Williams has been in practice in the
Upper Cumberland. He has assumed primary responsibility, training
room care and game coverage and injury treatment for all of
Tennessee Tech's athletic programs along with area high schools.
Kristine Germann, PA-C
Physician Assistant working with Women’s Sports
Kristine Germann covers several of the women’s sports
programs and events at TTU. She specializes in primary care sports
medicine and non-surgical orthopedics. A native of Jefferson City,
Missouri, Kristine attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City
Medical School. While there, she was a Division I varsity letterman
in volleyball. She then went on to the Medical College of Georgia,
completing her PA degree in 1994. She has 10 years of experience in
various areas of health care including internal medicine,
psychiatry and sports medicine. She has also worked with the LPGA
tour in primary care and sports medicine for the professional lady
golfers. Kristine has been practicing with Dr. Williams at
Mid-State Sports Medicine since 2007.
Dr. James Talmage
General Practitioner/Consultant
Dr. James Talmage, M.D., has over a decade of providing a variety
of services to Tennessee Tech's more than 300 student-athletes as
general practitioner and consultant to the sports medicine staff.
Currently a physician at the Occupational Health Center, Dr.
Talmage moved to Cookeville in 1979 and has worked closely with the
Tech sports medicine staff since 1987. While working with all men
and women athletes, his primary area is the women's basketball
program. After graduating with a degree in Physiology from The Ohio
State University in 1968, he was Summa Cum Laude in 1972 from the
OSU medical school. He served a one-year internship at the Tripler
Army Medical Center in Honolulu, then served his residency at the
Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. His career in
practice began in 1977 at the Ireland Army Hospital at Fort Knox,
Ky., before moving to Cookeville in 1979 to begin work at Upper
Cumberland Orthopedic Surgery. He has since worked with Cookeville
Regional Medical Center, Family Medical Center, Internal Medicine
Group and Corporate Health Institute. He is Board Certified both in
orthopedic surgery and in emergency medicine, and among his
published works and lectures have been numerous items relating to
athletic injuries and sports medicine.
Dr. Craig Maltman
General Practitioner/Consultant
Dr. Craig Maltman, M.D., is the newest member of the Tennessee Tech
sports medicine team. For the past several years, Dr. Maltman has
helped to improve the Tech program by providing services as a
consultant to the sports medicine staff and a general practitioner
for all of Tech's more than 300 student-athletes. Dr. Maltman is
currently on the active staff at the North Cedar Medical Center.
Born in Scotland, he was schooled in Canada. He earned his
bachelor's degree with honors in 1983, his master's in Physiology
in 1985, and his medical degree in 1987, all from Queen's
University in Kingston, Ontario. He also served a two-year
residency in family practice at Queen's before embarking on his
professional medical career in 1989. On November 7, 1992, the
Athletic Training facilities were dedicated and named the Dr.
William C. Francis Student Therapy/Athletic Training Complex. The
renaming of our facility was in honor of Dr. William C. Francis,
our long-time team physician who was instrumental in the health
care of all TTU student-athletes for 35 years. The complex is a
state-of-the-art Athletic Training facility and Physical Therapy
Center. Dr. Francis passed away in October, 1996.
Dr. Mike Huddleston
Team Optometrist
Dr. Clark Childress
Team Dentist
Chuck Williams
Physical Therapist
TTU/CRMC Golden Eagles Sports Medicine Student Therapy
Center
Chuck Williams has spent the past decade serving athletes
everywhere from Massachusetts to Washington, from Colorado to
Indiana. Now his varied experiences will help Tennessee Tech
University student-athletes and community members who need physical
therapy services. Williams serves as the physical therapist for
TTU/CRMC Golden Eagle Sports Medicine, a partnership between
Tennessee Tech Athletics and the Cookeville Regional Medical
Center. A 1998 graduate of the University of Dayton Pre-Physical
Therapy program, Williams also became a certified Athletic Trainer
(ATC) the same year. He added his MSPT in 2000, became a Certified
Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) in 2001, and received
his DPT in 2002. In 2006, he earned Sports Certified Specialist
(SCS) status. Williams has been able to put all of his education
into practice with positions in some outstanding locations,
including Massachusetts General, Harvard University, Vail, Colo.,
Dayton, Wash., and Connersville, Ind. Williams, 34, began his
professional career by gaining clinical and outpatient experiences
while working at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of
Health Professions in Boston from 1998 to 2000. He was a Physical
Therapy and Athletic Trainer Fellow at Harvard University Sports
Medicine in 2000, working with the football and men’s ice
hockey teams. In 2001-02, he served as a staff Physical Therapist
at Physical Therapy Health Services in Canton, Mass., before taking
a position in 2002 at the Howard Head Sports Medicine Centers in
Vail, Colo. While there, he was a physical therapist and
Association Coordinator of Knee, Hip and Sports Rehabilitation.
During that time, he spent a year-and-a-half as a physical
therapist and athletic trainer to the U.S. Women’s World Cup
Alpine and Olympic Ski Team, and developed accelerated rehab
programs and return to sport programs for several NCAA athletes,
NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA teams, plus professional soccer player and
skiers. Williams moved to Dayton, Wash., in 2006 and spent two
years as Director of Rehabilitation at Dayton General Hospital.
That post allowed him to work extensively with high school
student-athletes. Most recently, he has been Director of
Rehabilitation and Wellness at Fayette Regional Health System in
Connersville, Ind.
Williams will work in the TTU/CRMC Golden Eagle Sports Medicine
Student Therapy Center, located inside the east side of Tucker
Stadium. The center specializes in athletic and orthopaedic
injuries and creates a convenient way for students, faculty and
staff to attend physical therapy without leaving campus and is open
to the community including youth and high school student-athletes
who need the services offered by Golden Eagle Sports Medicine.