THEN:

May 2, 2006

Houston - Legendary Rice athletic trainer Allen Eggert has announced his retirement from the University.

Eggert, 65, was to begin his 39th season with the Owls this fall.

"After 38 years at Rice, it is time for me to move on," he said in a statement. "It has been a terrific ride for me."

"Allen has been one of the giants in the profession of sports medicine," said athletic director Bobby May. "He learned from one of the best in Eddie Wojecki, and in turn he has taught generations of young athletic trainers how to give the very best treatment to literally thousands of Rice student-athletes."

A 1989 inductee in the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame, Eggert has worked with 11 head football coaches at Rice, beginning with Jess Neely during his days as an Owl student trainer. A 1963 graduate of the University, he spent two years as a student trainer under Wojecki, himself a Hall of Fame trainer and a pioneer in the sports medicine profession.

After graduation, Eggert spent five years as the athletic trainer at California Western University in San Diego, earning a master's degree from that institution in 1967. He also worked part-time with the NFL's San Diego Chargers during that span.

Eggert returned to Rice after Wojecki's death in 1968 as the head athletic trainer for all sports. He assumed the title of assistant athletic director/sports medicine in 1997, continuing to serve as the head trainer for Rice football.

Eggert's influence has been most apparent in the scores of Rice student-athletes and student trainers who have gone on to careers in medicine and related fields. Rice's current team physicians, in fact, are former Owl football players who were treated by Eggert during their Rice careers: Drs. Leland Winston and Tommy Clanton.

"We've strived to give all our athletes the quality of health care that is second to none," he added. "I hope all of us in sports medicine have earned their trust."

NOW: