Wildcats Welcome Kikugawa As Head Football Athletic Trainer
4/18/2018 3:18:00 PM | Football, Sports Medicine
EVANSTON, Ill. – Kevin Kikugawa has been named Northwestern's Head Football Athletic Trainer, the department announced Wednesday. In conjunction with the elevation of Tory Lindley to Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Health, Safety & Performance, Kikugawa will lead all aspects of health care for the football program and oversee all staff athletic trainers for football.
"The entire Northwestern community is excited to welcome Kevin to our sports medicine team," said Northwestern Director of Sports Medicine & Head Team Physician Jeff Mjaanes, MD. "His holistic commitment to all aspects of student-athlete care is perfectly in sync with our philosophy. With Kevin's arrival on campus and Tory's promotion to a more pre-eminent leadership role within our organization, Northwestern sports medicine will continue to rise to even greater heights."
Kikugawa was most recently the Assistant Athletic Director, Director of Sports Medicine at the University of Nevada where he was directly responsible for the health and well-being of the football student athletes in his role as the head football athletic trainer.
"I am truly excited to join the Northwestern University family and for the opportunity to have a positive impact on the health and well-being of Wildcats student-athletes," said Kikugawa. "The Sports Medicine department has a reputation of being innovative, with a strong forward-thinking mindset, and I consider myself very fortunate to be joining such a well-established group of athletic trainers. I am eager to start building relationships with the medical team, Coach Fitzgerald and his staff, and especially with the student-athletes."
Kikugawa has taken a focused interest in injury prevention and movement efficiency strategies. His philosophy is built around the belief that many take part in the care of student-athletes and he regularly collaborates with physicians, strength and conditioning specialists, mental health specialists and many others with a direct impact on the students.
"Northwestern is very fortunate to add a clinician and a leader as talented as Kevin," said Lindley. "Our football student-athletes will benefit from his tremendous healthcare skill set and relentless desire to advance the mission of sustained success in our program."
Prior to joining Nevada, he spent the years between 2013-2017 with the SMU Mustangs both as an assistant and an associate athletic trainer on Michael Morton's staff. While there, he worked with many teams including football, cheer, equestrian, and golf. His main responsibilities were to maintain the budget and oversee the department's internship program. As a part of the SMU family, he was also given the opportunity to work closely with the sports medicine staff of the Dallas Mavericks and act as part of the host medical staff for the Cotton Bowl.
From 2012-2013, he was the athletic trainer and sports medicine teacher at Monroe High school north of Seattle, WA. There he oversaw the healthcare for the school's 450 athletes.
Kikugawa began his collegiate career as a student at Washington State University earning his Bachelor's degree in kinesiology. Upon graduation, he entered the University of Arkansas to begin his athletic training curriculum. In between his two years at Arkansas, he was able to spend the summer with the Buffalo Bills as an intern. After graduation in 2011, he spent the next NFL season with the Cleveland Browns as a seasonal assistant athletic trainer.
Continuing education is very important to Kevin and he consistently preaches this to his staff. In furthering his clinical skills, he has completed NASM's Corrective Exercise Specialist & Performance Enhancement Specialist programs as well as Functional Anatomy's Functional Range Release course. He has also been credentialed as a certified strength & conditioning specialist.
Kikugawa is married to the former, Teresa Balam, who is a doctoral candidate also in the field of athletic training. Together they have a son, Kaden Michael and an English Bulldog named Genghis.
"The entire Northwestern community is excited to welcome Kevin to our sports medicine team," said Northwestern Director of Sports Medicine & Head Team Physician Jeff Mjaanes, MD. "His holistic commitment to all aspects of student-athlete care is perfectly in sync with our philosophy. With Kevin's arrival on campus and Tory's promotion to a more pre-eminent leadership role within our organization, Northwestern sports medicine will continue to rise to even greater heights."
Kikugawa was most recently the Assistant Athletic Director, Director of Sports Medicine at the University of Nevada where he was directly responsible for the health and well-being of the football student athletes in his role as the head football athletic trainer.
"I am truly excited to join the Northwestern University family and for the opportunity to have a positive impact on the health and well-being of Wildcats student-athletes," said Kikugawa. "The Sports Medicine department has a reputation of being innovative, with a strong forward-thinking mindset, and I consider myself very fortunate to be joining such a well-established group of athletic trainers. I am eager to start building relationships with the medical team, Coach Fitzgerald and his staff, and especially with the student-athletes."
Kikugawa has taken a focused interest in injury prevention and movement efficiency strategies. His philosophy is built around the belief that many take part in the care of student-athletes and he regularly collaborates with physicians, strength and conditioning specialists, mental health specialists and many others with a direct impact on the students.
"Northwestern is very fortunate to add a clinician and a leader as talented as Kevin," said Lindley. "Our football student-athletes will benefit from his tremendous healthcare skill set and relentless desire to advance the mission of sustained success in our program."
Prior to joining Nevada, he spent the years between 2013-2017 with the SMU Mustangs both as an assistant and an associate athletic trainer on Michael Morton's staff. While there, he worked with many teams including football, cheer, equestrian, and golf. His main responsibilities were to maintain the budget and oversee the department's internship program. As a part of the SMU family, he was also given the opportunity to work closely with the sports medicine staff of the Dallas Mavericks and act as part of the host medical staff for the Cotton Bowl.
From 2012-2013, he was the athletic trainer and sports medicine teacher at Monroe High school north of Seattle, WA. There he oversaw the healthcare for the school's 450 athletes.
Kikugawa began his collegiate career as a student at Washington State University earning his Bachelor's degree in kinesiology. Upon graduation, he entered the University of Arkansas to begin his athletic training curriculum. In between his two years at Arkansas, he was able to spend the summer with the Buffalo Bills as an intern. After graduation in 2011, he spent the next NFL season with the Cleveland Browns as a seasonal assistant athletic trainer.
Continuing education is very important to Kevin and he consistently preaches this to his staff. In furthering his clinical skills, he has completed NASM's Corrective Exercise Specialist & Performance Enhancement Specialist programs as well as Functional Anatomy's Functional Range Release course. He has also been credentialed as a certified strength & conditioning specialist.
Kikugawa is married to the former, Teresa Balam, who is a doctoral candidate also in the field of athletic training. Together they have a son, Kaden Michael and an English Bulldog named Genghis.
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