JONESBORO, Ark. (5/28/16) – Arkansas State University Head Certified Athletic Trainer Ron Carroll has been reappointed to the Arkansas State Board of Athletic Training for the 22nd consecutive year, and the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame member will also continue his role as the board's only ever chairman since its inception in 1995.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson reappointed Carroll to the board that is responsible for providing appropriate governing care to athletic trainers across the state. Four different Arkansas governors, including two Republicans and two Democrats, have now placed Carroll on the board.

Carroll became the first certified athletic trainer at Arkansas State University in April of 1976 and is now in his 40th year serving the Red Wolves' athletics programs. Inducted into the Arkansas State Athletics Hall of Honor in 2005, Carroll has never missed any of the Red Wolves' 470 football games during that time.

Carroll was originally appointed to the Arkansas State Board of Athletic Training by former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker in 1995. Serving three-year terms, he was reappointed in 1998, 2001 and 2004 by former Governor Mike Huckabee and received the same designation by former Governor Mike Beebe in 2007, 2010 and 2013.

“This is quite an honor and, at the same time, a great responsibility to protect the citizens of the state of Arkansas with high quality athletic training measures by ensuring licensed athletic trainers are performing at the high standards set by the state,” said Carroll.

Along with serving on the board, Carroll also currently works as a host trainer for student and coach's athletic training workshops.

The Arkansas State Board of Athletic Training is a regulatory organization created to issue licenses for the practice of athletic training and to uphold the standards prescribed by statute to protect the health of the public. It is composed of five members, each appointed by the Governor every three years.

Four of the five members appointed are Arkansas licensed athletic trainers who are fully able to engage in training within the state of Arkansas. The fifth member serves as a full voting consumer member. This member is not actively engaged in or is retired from the practice of athletic training, medicine, physical therapy, or employment by an athletic department of an accredited education institution.