Troy University Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2018
Larry Blakeney roamed the sidelines of Veterans Memorial Stadium for 24 legendary seasons as Troy University’s head football coach. Chuck Ash was by his side for all of them and played an influential role in Troy’s success on the field.
Charged with the health and well-being of Troy University’s student-athletes, Ash dedicated his life to his alma mater for more than three decades through various roles in the athletic training department.
Named Troy’s head athletic trainer in February 1991, Ash transformed Troy’s athletic training department into what it is today and one that was a benchmark many in the industry tried to reach.
“Chuck built the athletic department sports medicine team as it is today,” said John “Doc” Anderson, who held Ash’s role from 1967 until 1980 and was inducted into the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. “He raised funds when the office was in Eldridge Hall to transform the second floor into an athletic training facility.”
The only child of a pair of school teachers, Ash served Troy University student-athletes from his roots as an undergraduate student athletic trainer in the mid 70s until he retired as the Director of Sports Medicine in the fall of 2017.
“Chuck still has the letter that I sent him in high school about coming to Troy,” Anderson said. “He took a lot of pride during his career because Troy is such a special place to him. Coaches and student-athletes have defining victories, in my opinion becoming the head athletic trainer at Troy University, his alma mater, was Chuck’s defining moment.”
Not only did Ash work with the current Troy student-athletes and coaches, he was also instrumental in outreach to area high schools as Troy quietly built one of the top athletic training curriculums in the country.
“His outreach and the way he mentored all of the athletic training students was a great thing to see,” Anderson said. “Chuck is a smart cookie and what made him as successful is that he was steady and has a lot wisdom. His whole approach was common sense and he built his department on that standard.”
His leadership did not go unnoticed as Ash was named the 2016 Troy University Alumnus of the Year. Additionally, he was inducted into the Alabama Athletic Trainer Hall of Fame in 2008 and was also named the Alabama Athletic Trainer Association College and University Athletic Trainer of the Year during his career. In 2001, Ash was granted membership into the prestigious American Sports Medicine Fellowship Society.
A 1978 and 1979 graduate of Troy, Ash attended 305 consecutive Troy football games in his role as an athletic trainer. He witnessed Troy’s two NCAA Division II National Championships and saw the transformation of the football program from Division II, to FCS and finally FBS. Ash was on the sideline for Troy’s five straight Sun Belt Conference championships and he stood beside Blakeney as the legendary figure at Troy University coached his final game on Nov. 29, 2014.
“He’s witty, he knows how to get along with people and could read the athletes, which is not easy,” Anderson said. “I am proud of him and I know the countless number of athletic trainers across the country that he has helped mentor feel the same way. Chuck Ash is a no-doubt hall of famer in my book.”
