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Scott Sunderland
Head Athletic Trainer & Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sports Studies
2 East South Street
Galesburg, IL 61401-4999
Knox has created a program of athletics and sports studies, and built superb athletic facilities, with the knowledge that students do sports for different reasons at four basic levels: intercollegiate competition, personal fitness and health, club teams, and informal recreation (intramurals).
In the Midwest Conference, Knox competes with other small liberal arts colleges in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, with regular non-conference action against opponents from throughout the region. Knox is a member of NCAA Division III, and has sent both individual athletes and full teams to NCAA national meets. Intramurals are overseen by a faculty advisor, but are primarily organized by the Student Intramural Board, which puts together leagues based on student interest. The most popular sports feature both novice and competitive leagues.
Courses offered by the sports studies department provide the theory and skills necessary for the administration of athletic programs, athletic training, coaching of select sports, and health and fitness.
Students planning careers that combine teaching and coaching, as well as those with interests in medicine or sports medicine, can take advantage of a two-part academic program. A course in the care and prevention of athletic injuries is taught by an experienced certified athletic trainer who has worked at the Goodwill Games, Olympics and other major events. The course is combined with a term working as a student trainer on one of Knox's 21 intercollegiate teams.
Knox boasts first-rate sports facilities. The 48,000 square-foot T. Fleming Fieldhouse, built in 1992, encloses a six-lane, 200-meter track and court space. Fleming Fieldhouse has three indoor tennis courts and cages for softball, baseball and golf.
Memorial Gymnasium has an attractive maple floor and the largest seating capacity in the Midwest Conference. The E. & L. Andrew Fitness Center features state-of-the-art strength and cardio equipment. Locker rooms, meeting rooms, and the swimming pool are also located there.
Outdoors, the baseball and softball teams play on two of the best fields of their types in the region. The football team uses Stisser Field at the Knosher Bowl, a natural grass bowl amphitheater with a synthetic turf playing surface that is widely revered as one of the best and most distinctive small college football stadiums. The Turner Track at Trevor Field complex provides an eight-lane all-weather running track and field event sites. Trevor Field is also used as practice space and for hosting a variety of events. Adjacent to Trevor Field are six outdoor tennis courts. All facilities are available for formal and informal fitness activities by students, faculty, and staff.