Dr. Marisa Colston. Photo by Angela Foster.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Professor of Graduate Athletic Training and Exercise and Health Sciences Marisa Colston has received the Southeast Athletic Trainers’ Association (SEATA) Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award, one of the organization’s highest honors.
The award recognizes certified athletic trainers in District IX who have demonstrated exceptional and sustained service to SEATA and to the athletic training profession. Eligibility requires at least 11 years of certification while living or working in District IX and at least 15 years of professional service. Nominees are evaluated on their contributions to SEATA through leadership, committee work, conference involvement and other service to the profession.
Colston, who joined the UTC faculty in 1999, has held a series of leadership roles during her time on campus. She served as director of the Graduate Athletic Training program from 2001 to 2014, then served as head of the Department of Health and Human Performance from 2016 to 2024. She was also an associate department head for a year to support the department’s leadership transition.
Along the way, Colston has earned national, regional and state recognition for her work. Previous honors include the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award, induction into the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society (TATS) Hall of Fame, SEATA and TATS educator-administrator awards and Eastern Michigan University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
UTC Professor Gary Wilkerson nominated Colston for the honor.
“Over the past 25 years, we have worked together very closely in the development and continual improvement of the Graduate Athletic Training Program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga,” Wilkerson said in his nomination letter. “Throughout the time I have known her, I have observed an exemplary commitment to the best interests of students, athletes and the athletic training profession that has never wavered.”
Wilkerson said Colston’s influence has extended well beyond campus. He pointed to her leadership in promoting high standards for clinical competence and professional ethics at the national level, as well as her long record of service to the profession.
Colston said the SEATA honor is meaningful because of what it says about the work and the people around her.
“It’s a privilege,” she said. “It’s the highest award that the association offers. So it was a privilege to be nominated by Gary. I appreciate his recognition of the things that I do and try to do. But it has to go through a rigorous rubric. It’s not a given when you nominate someone for this.”
When she learned she had been selected, Colston said, “I was just thrilled. I didn’t expect that at all.”
Colston’s research has focused on injury prevention through predictive modeling and on the ethical and professional dimensions of athletic training. Her professional leadership roles have included serving as vice president of TATS and chairing the TATS Professional Education Committee and the SEATA Professional Education Committee.
Colston said she has never viewed awards as the point of the work.
“If it brings positive recognition for the program, it’s nice,” she said. “I want students to know that faculty here aren’t going to corral you through like a number. You’re going to have somebody who has made contributions to the profession and is well-connected in the profession, and who will build a relationship with you that extends beyond your two years in the program.
“Faculty here will help you get a job, help you with opportunities, help you with decisions you have to make, and hopefully become a lifelong colleague. So to me, it’s more about that. Certainly, we always appreciate recognition, but you don’t do the things that you do for the recognition.”
One of those former students is Dr. Lynette Carlson, who earned her master’s degree in athletic training from UTC in 2002 and is now an associate professor and director of clinical education for athletic training at UTC.
“Dr. Colston said to me at graduation, ‘You’re going to go get your doctorate, right?’” Carlson recalled. “I thought it was absurd that she said that, but she did plant that seed in me. She was the first one to ever say that to me, and it meant a lot because I thought a lot of her—and she’s a fantastic educator and a great mentor.”
Carlson said Colston’s influence continued well beyond graduation and helped shape her own professional path.
“She’s done a lot for the profession,” Carlson said. “Outside of Chattanooga, she’s volunteered at every level of our organization, from the state level to the national level, and she set a really good example. I’m glad she showed us that’s what an involved athletic trainer should do.”
That kind of long-term impact is one reason Colston said students remain at the center of what has kept her engaged through the years.
Asked what has kept her motivated, Colston answered quickly: “Students. The students.”
In addition to teaching graduate athletic training courses, she now also teaches undergraduate classes, which has allowed her to connect with students earlier in their academic careers and discuss professional paths in athletic training and related health fields.
Colston said she is also energized by rapid advances in neuroscience and AI, as well as the chance to remain engaged in research.
“It’s all very exciting to me,” she said.
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