Athletic Training Scholarship Endowment" 

SALISBURY, MD--Salisbury, MD--In 1972, under the leadership of then head athletic trainer, Hunter Smith, the Salisbury University Athletic Training Educational Program (ATEP) was created. The foundation he built has been the impetus for a program that has now become one of the nation's elite. Recently, the Salisbury Athletic Training Educational Program was ranked 17th in the country among accredited ATEP programs. The Salisbury University ATEP was one of only three Division III schools in the top 25 nationally and first among institutions in this region.

Smith left Salisbury in 1981 to join the National Football League and was replaced by one of his former students, Pat Lamboni, ATC, as Salisbury's head athletic trainer. In honor of Smith's vision, leadership and continued support of the Salisbury University Athletic Training Program, the Hunter Smith Athletic Training Scholarship Endowment has been established.  

The endowment, which has a $40,000 goal, will provide for an undergraduate scholarship for a qualified student entering the Salisbury ATEP.  The scholarship will be used as a recruiting incentive for prospective students, with hopes that over time the endowment will grow to allow for a three-year scholarship for a student. The scholarship will be awarded based on the student's academic, professional and community endeavors, and his or her continuance in the athletic training major.

Smith, currently the head athletic trainer for the Indianapolis Colts, will join Lamboni on campus on Thursday, July 5, to formally kick-off the endowment campaign. Media are invited to join Smith and Lamboni at 11 a.m. in the Social Room of Holloway Hall.

"Hunter is a Salisbury native who was a pillar of the community while he was here," said Lamboni. "He has touched the lives of a lot of people in the athletic training world. This endowment is just a small way to honor him for what he started here at Salisbury University."

The new scholarship is the second now available to SU's athletic training majors. Outgoing senior students pursuing graduate studies are eligible for an annual grant sponsored by Peninsula Orthopaedic Associates.

Further information regarding the Hunter Smith Athletic Training Scholarship Endowment is available by contacting Lamboni at 410-543-6355.