For 37 years, Director of Sports Medicine Lynn Bott has dedicated his life toward helping athletes recover from injury.

Bott has received many awards, served on many committees and organizations and has been recognized for his efforts however, his recent honor tops them all.

On June 24, he will be inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Association, or NATA, Hall of Fame in Philadelphia. To receive this honor, Bott said one must be a certified athletic trainer for more than 25 years and a member in good standing for those years. He said the panel looks for individuals and their contributions locally, statewide and nationwide.

“It shows that my dedication and service and my passion for athletic training, and I’d also say my passion for teaching,” Bott said. “To me, that all works into one big area.” 

Throughout his years in the business, Bott has served as the director of District Five and a director at the national level. He also served on the board of directors for the NATA for six years.

Bott has been inducted into the MidAmerica Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame, Kansas Athletic Trainers Society, the University of Kansas Athletic Training Education Hall of Fame and has a scholarship named after him at KU.

Associate Athletic Director Theresa Yetmar said Bott has been a pioneer in the profession of athletic training and helping student-athletes recover from injury.

“We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Lynn’s caliber in our athletic department,” Yetmar said. “He’s extremely caring and compassionate and I couldn’t think of any better person to be in charge of our department.”

Only a limited number of individuals are inducted into this special hall of fame on a yearly basis. Bott said an average of three individuals receive the honor each year and three other individuals will join him this year for induction.

Senior Nikki Anderson works under Bott’s leadership as a student athletic trainer on a daily basis and uses him as a mentor.

“He’s a very intelligent and compassionate athletic trainer who really cares about his student-athletes,” Anderson said.

Bott will be accompanied by his wife and several family members at the induction ceremony held in the Philadelphia Convention Center.

"It'll be a lot of fun," Bott said. "They have quite a ceremony and the lecture hall holds about 6,000 people." <br/>