MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas University Head Athletic Trainer Ken Cole has announced the hiring of Rachel Gillespie to the position of Assistant Athletic Trainer. In her first year in Magnolia, Gillespie will oversee the athletic training care of the SAU Football Team in 2019-2020.
 
"We are excited to add Rachel to our athletic training staff for this upcoming year," noted Cole. "She has several years of experience working with NCAA DII athletes and she has already developed a great rapport with our football players."
 
A native of Englewood, Ohio, Gillespie comes to SAU after serving on the athletic training staffs at Graceland University, UVA-Wise and fellow Great American Conference member Northwestern Oklahoma State, where she obtained her M.Ed. with an emphasis in Sports Administration and Adult Education Management and Instruction in 2017.
 
In all three of her previous stops, Gillespie, who is a member of the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has helped oversee the athletic care of the football programs and she brings four-plus years of experience in helping student-athletes on the gridiron.
 
While at Northwestern Oklahoma State and UVA-Wise, Gillespie also served as the athletic trainer for each university's softball teams as well as the women's basketball team for one season in Alva. During her time at Graceland, Gillespie also worked with the wrestling and track & field programs.
 
A 2014 graduate of Miami University (Ohio) with a bachelor's degree in athletic training, Gillespie will also serve as an instructor in SAU's Health, Kinesiology and Recreation Department.