Brad Swope serves as the Associate Head Athletic Trainer at Tennessee State University, working directly with the men’s basketball and track and field teams. Prior to joining the Tigers, Brad served in the athletic training business for more than three decades, most recently completing a two-and-a-half-year journey in the mission field with his wife Jana, joining Cru’s Athlete’s in Action.
Following Brad’s graduation from Miami University of Ohio in 1983, he began his athletic training career in a practice with his father. During the ten year period Brad saw patients from his father’s practice while providing athletic training coverage for nearby Springboro High School. The sports medicine and rehabilitation branch of the practice grew as another area high school was built and Brad began hosting seminars for local coaches, taught CPR, and created a sports medicine course for the students of Springboro High School.
Brad also split his time as he became a member of the Clearcreek Fire District, serving as a Firefighter/Paramedic and as the Captain of the Division of EMS.
Baptist Sports Medicine brought Brad to Nashville in January of 1993, where he continued to work for eight years. In that time, BSM’s Sports Medicine Department grew exponentially, as the department added a number of schools to its service list. Brad worked his way up to the coordinator position, in which he implemented pre-season examinations, event medicine and collaborations between BSM, Metro Police Departments, and the Tennessee Golf Association.
In 2001 Brad moved to Sumner County creating a Sports Medicine Outreach Program for Sumner County Regional Medical Center. The program grew quickly with the addition of schools, athletic trainers, and physicians. This stint was interrupted while he taught at Mount Juliet High School, returning two years later to Station Camp High School.
Through Brad’s 26 years in Tennessee, he has served his profession at the state, district, and national levels. He has chaired the TATS Corporate Relations Committee, been a member of COPA for SEATA and the NATA, and has participated in numerous speaking engagements throughout Tennessee. Brad’s next goal is to introduce NATA’s AT’s Care in Tennessee.