Sports science lab named after John “Doc” Anderson – The Troy Messenger

The sports science laboratory in Troy University’s new Jones Hall will bear the name of a Troy icon – John “Doc” Anderson.

The honor was made possible by a gift from Tracy and Luann Atz Causey, both 1998 graduates of Troy. The gift will be used to purchase new equipment for Jones Hall, which is nearing completion on the Troy campus. The building will house the programs of the College of Health Sciences.

On July 27, a small event was held to surprise Anderson with the honor.

“Luann and I are honored to be able to honor John “Doc” Anderson in this way,” said Tracy Causey. “He has represented Troy well over the years and impacted the lives of young men and women for generations during his long tenure at Troy University. He has never allowed or enjoyed the spotlight, but at this point in his career and life, a spotlight is absolutely necessary and deserved. He is truly a legend in the athletic training industry and his influence and impact should not be easily forgotten. This is simply our attempt to make that more widely known and to show him the gratitude of all those he has impacted over the years. Thank you, Doc, for all you have done and will continue to do.”

The recognition was truly a surprise for Anderson.

“I was surprised; I thought we were just going to get a tour of the building,” he said. “It’s humbling. The university is bigger than any of us. We hope to produce good sports science students. That’s what we’re about. Qualified students make teachers look good. It’s all about the students.”

Anderson has experience at all levels of athletic training: student, coach, trainer, professor and curriculum director.

As a student-athlete at Auburn University, he helped the Tigers to the 1964 SEC cross country title before graduating in 1965.

Anderson began his coaching career four years later at Troy as head coach of the track and cross country teams and served as head coach of the track and cross country teams simultaneously for 12 seasons, during which time his teams won three track and field conference championships and seven cross country conference championships.

He left Troy in 1980 to take over as head athletic trainer at LSU for ten years, but returned in 1990 and continued coaching the cross country teams.

Between his start at Troy and his return there, Anderson coached 45 All-Americans, including Charles Oliver, who won the 1976 NAIA national championship in the 400-meter dash, two Alabama Collegiate Conference championships in 1970-71 and a Gulf South Conference championship with the track and field team in 1978. The cross country teams won 10 Gulf South Conference titles and five NCAA Division II regional championships.

He was named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Coach of the Year twice in 1973-74 and the National Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1992. During his two careers at Troy, he was named conference coach of the year six times and was also named NCAA Division II Regional Coach of the Year four times.

As a sports coach, Anderson served on the U.S. track and field team at the 1996 Olympic Games and was a member of the team’s medical team in 1984, 1988 and 1992.

He received the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Service Award in 1997, was inducted into the Alabama Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame in 1999, and received NATA’s Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer award in 2006. Anderson was inducted into Troy’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and the NATA Hall of Fame in 2017.