When Rex Sharp became Mizzou's Head Athletic Trainer in 1996, he was following Fred Wappel, who spent 41 years tending to the injury needs of the Tigers on his way to a spot in the MU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Now Sharp is carving his own place in Missouri history as the man who directs the operation of the Dr. Glenn. L. McElroy, M.D. Sports Medicine Center - MU's primary treatment and rehabilitation facility. In his role as director, Sharp supervises a staff of five assistants and seven certified graduate assistant athletic trainers. He was given the title of Assistant Athletic Director in 2008.
In addition to his duties as Asst. Athletic Director of Sports Medicine, Sharp is one of only 10 collegiate certified athletic trainers in the nation currently serving on the College and University Athletic Trainers' Committee. Additionally, in the spring of 2002, Sharp was selected as Chairman of the Big 12 Conference Medical Aspects of Sport Committee. Following the 2000 academic year, Sharp and his staff were recognized by the Big 12 Conference as the athletic health care "Staff of the Year."
The native of New Albany, Ind., spent 11 years on the staff at Ball State where he had primary athletic health care responsibilities for the football team, and coordinated the sports medicine efforts for BSU's 20-sport program. He supervised a staff of two fulltime assistants, a physical therapist and a number of graduate assistants and student trainers.
A 1979 magna cum laude graduate of Ball State, Sharp was the 1978 recipient of the Robert H. Gunn Scholarship, presented to the nation's outstanding student athletic trainer by the National Athletic Trainers' Association, and was awarded the NATA postgraduate scholarship from the NFL in 1979. He earned a Master of Science degree in biology (exercise physiology) in 1983 from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich.
Sharp taught high school biology in New Albany from 1979-81, was a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Michigan Tech from 1981- 83, and was the head athletic trainer at Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State) from 1983-85.
Sharp and his wife Eileen have a daughter, Audrey, and twin sons, Adam and Jered. He was born April 29, 1957. In the summer of 2005, he was inducted into the Ball State University Athletic Training Hall of Fame.
