For over four decades, Russ Richardson has served as an athletic trainer all over the world and in 2015, was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame – and rightfully so. His list of accomplishments is far and wide, extending from the intercollegiate level to the national level, including U.S. Olympic wrestling, the World Cup of Wrestling, Skate America and USA boxing, among others. He set his roots at the University of Montana Western where he served as the head athletic trainer and later, athletic director. Although now retired, his passion for the profession still lives on.

Richardson is renowned for his holistic approach to student-athlete well-being and has been recognized for his expertise on topics such as dealing with catastrophic injury of a student-athlete, managing substance abuse and use in intercollegiate athletics and the mental health concerns in today’s student-athlete.