Charlie "Doc" Craven Excellence Fund

An opportunity to honor Charlie "Doc" Craven and support the Student Athletic Training Program

Please donate to the Charlie Craven Endowed Excellence Fund! To sustain the long and successful story of the UT Student Athletic Training Program, from its early days as an internship program to today's accredited major; we need to keep up with the most current technology and equipment. In addition, we must hire, retain, and support highly qualified and experienced faculty members. This Endowment will help us do so, but we need your help in building it. It takes at least $25,000 to create an Endowment and we have raised over $15,000 so far. Your donation will help us endow the Craven Fund, honoring the legacy of Charlie "Doc" Craven and supporting the Student Athletic Training Program. 

About Charlie "Doc" Craven

Charlie was a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education (KHE) for 44 years, teaching physical activity, coaching theory, children's movement, and pedagogy. He was the director of KHE's Physical Activity Program for 25 years. He also worked with UT Athletics for 50 years as a strength and conditioning coach and rehabilitation specialist. Doc Craven is an icon in both KHE and Athletics having taught thousands of UT students, helping develop thousands of UT's athletes, and mentoring hundreds of future professionals during his career at UT. 

In 1988, Charlie received the Texas Excellence in Teaching Award for his outstanding service and dedication to the College of Education and KHE. In 2001 he was inducted into the Athletic Department's Hall of Honor in recognition of his impact on the development of athletics programs at UT. In 2011, Craven was granted Honorary Membership into the National Athletic Trainers' Association in recognition of his long standing involvement and support of athletic trainers and physical rehabilitation of athletes. In 2012, in honor of his 44 years of teaching, tireless dedication, and lasting impact on KHE, he was inducted into the KHE Hall of Honor, becoming only the third person to be inducted into both the KHE and Athletics Halls of Honor.  

Craven began his undergraduate studies in physical education at UT in 1957. He developed an interest in strength training and assisted in developing a strength program for UT's baseball team. At the time, very few college athletic teams had formal strength and conditioning programs and most coaches opposed such programs. As a graduate student, Craven taught classes for the Men's Physical Training Program and helped introduce an innovative strength and conditioning program to UT's football team in the early 1960's - a very successful era for Longhorns football teams. He is credited with convincing coach Darrell Royal of the benefits of strength training for football. After coaching at Del Valle for a year, Craven returned to the 40 Acres as a full-time faculty member and as a volunteer with UT Athletics where he was instrumental in developing the strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation programs for UT's baseball, basketball, and football teams. A pioneer in incorporating strength and conditioning training in athletics, he is one of the 30 founding members of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.  

See more about Craven's career at UT under the levels of giving on the right side of this page. You will note that each suggested pledge amount contains a "50" to honor Charlie's 50 years of service to UT. Please know that any donation amount will help us. Consider an alternative donation amount if one of the suggested levels does not meet your desired gift amount. 

About the Charlie Craven Endowed Excellence Fund

Charlie "Doc" Craven had a long-standing impact on UT's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, College of Education (CoE), Department of Kinesiology and Health Education (KHE), and the Athletic Training Program (ATP). The Charlie Craven Endowed Excellence Fund was created by KHE upon Craven's retirement from teaching in 2008 to recognize his dedication and contributions to UT. In line with Craven's tremendous backing for the athletic training student program, he requested that the Endowment be used to support the ATP.  The Craven Fund will support the athletic training students and faculty by helping us purchase state of the art equipment and supplies for the ATP's teaching lab. Equipment such as medical simulators, therapeutic modalities, assessment equipment, therapeutic exercise equipment, and emergency equipment is needed in order to teach the ATP students the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care to their athletes and patients. The Fund will also help us attend workshops and host educational events of our own. 

About the Athletic Training Program 

The ATP is the academic major for students who are studying to become athletic trainers. Many students will also become physical therapists, physicians, orthopedic surgeons, and physician assistants. As part of their degree program, ATP students spend 20-30 hours per week in clinical rotations where they support the Athletics Department's Athletic Training and Sports Medicine Staff in caring for UT's student-athletes. ATP students also assist area high schools' athletic trainers in caring for secondary school athletes. ATP students aren't just glorified water boys and girls, they are assisting the credentialed athletic trainers, physical therapists, and physicians with delivering quality healthcare to athletes. They are taping and bracing, assessing, treating, and rehabilitating injured athletes under the supervision of credentialed professionals. 

92% of our ATP graduates enter a healthcare profession or continue their education at a healthcare related school. Our students' first time passing rates on the national board examination far surpasses the national average. In fact, over the last three years, our students first time passing rate is 96% compared to the national average of 82%. Our graduates are highly sought after for internships, graduate assistantships, jobs, and seats in healthcare professional education programs. 

Why give?

Donations will be used to endow the Craven Excellence Fund so Charlie's legacy lives in perpetuity. Charlie dedicated over 50 years of his life to UT. He taught thousands of students, helped develop thousands of athletes, and mentored hundreds of future professionals during his career. He is as deserving as anyone to have an endowment in his name. The Endowment will support the Athletic Training Program - a nationally recognized program of excellence. Students in the ATP support UT Athletics and area high schools by assisting with the delivery of medical care to their athletes. Your donation will help honor Charlie's career, support the ATP, and assist us in offering a top-notch program. Thank you for your donation.