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Founder of athletic program calling it quits

On June 30, UA will lose a major member of its athletic department. His last name may not be Tomey or Olson, but Dr. Gary Delforge will be missed just as much as either one of those men.

Delforge, founder of the UA athletic training program, announced on Friday that he will retire this summer. A longtime member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, Delforge's name is synonymous with athletic training at the UA.

Delforge is currently the chair of the sports health care program at the Arizona School of Health Sciences.

"He ran the athletic training program without par," said former student Debbie Craig, the current head trainer at University of California at Santa Clara. "He handpicked wonderful teachers, and his students had a 100 percent placement rate."

Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood agrees Delforge will be missed.

"I know him, but I don't know him very well," he said. "But I'll tell you this, everybody I know has nothing but great things to say about Gary. A lot of times, someone retires and people think they have to say good things about that person. In Gary's case, those feelings are real."

Students will remember Delforge for more than just his professional approach to training. His personal approach to teaching included staying close to his former students, including Craig.

"Dr. Delforge was everybody's surrogate father," she said. "He was very warm, welcoming and friendly, even after I graduated. In fact, I was in a bind over a month ago and called him. He got me out of that bind, and I had been gone for over 10 years."

A 1960 graduate of Kansas State University, Delforge worked the Pan-American Games in 1975, where he connected with Olympic great Bruce Jenner.

"There's no feeling like representing your country," Delforge said, "It's something I won't soon forget."

Delforge first became acquainted with the University of Arizona while pursuing his masters' degree from Kent State University. Delforge, who held as many as six full-time jobs while pursuing his degree, was named UA's head trainer in 1969.

The athletic training program, which began in with Delforge's hiring, lasted until 1995. Why the program was cut is still a mystery to graduates of the program.

"Hands down, it was one of the most respected graduate programs in the country," Craig said. "He told us every year that there was a danger that they might cut the program. When they finally did, it wasn't as much of a surprise as a disappointment."

Following the closing of the program, Delforge opened an independent training facility in conjunction with the Arizona School of Health Sciences, which claims that Delforge's intense teaching regiment "is three times as comprehensive or equivalent to two masters' degrees."

Delforge's greatest legacy will be the students that trained under him.

A man who often bragged that he spent "each and every moment with my students," Delforge's former students are currently trainers for the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia Eagles, and the University of Notre Dame.

"He's a great guy," Craig said. "His sense of humor and smile made everything worthwhile. I'm glad he gets to spend more time with his family."

Delforge plans on spending time after retirement relaxing, some say for the first time in his life.

"I have reached a point in my life where family is my sole concern," he said. "I simply plan to relax and maybe do some traveling."