Brad Drake - Associate AD for Sports Medicine <br> <em> (FB, GOLF)</em> - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Brad Drake

Title:
Associate AD for Sports Medicine
(FB, GOLF)
Alma Mater:
Presbyterian, 1996
Office Phone:
(478) 301-2453
Email:

A seasoned athletic training professional with previous stops at two other collegiate institutions, Brad Drake begins his first year at Mercer in 2023-24 as the Associate Athletics Director for Sports Medicine for the Bears. Drake joined the Bears family in August 2023 after spending the previous three years with the University of Florida Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Institute.

While in Gainesville, Drake assisted sports medicine surgeons and non-operative physicians with clinical duties, while also assisting in the creation of treatment plans and clinical exams. In addition to his office duties, he was also charged with supervision of the doctoral athletic training students in their coverage of local high school athletic departments.

Drake spent 13 seasons at Charleston Southern, including 10 as the Associate Athletics Director for Medical Services where he provided medical coverage for the football program, as well as CSU’s men’s and women’s golf teams. As department head, he provided oversight of 15 varsity athletic programs, and was also responsible for budget and inventory management. An associate athletic trainer at CSU from 2007-10, he more than doubled his personnel at CSU from 2010-18, while also serving as the drug testing and insurance coordinator for the athletics department.

He got his start in the field in 1999 as an athletic trainer in the Greenville (S.C.) Hospital System and provided medical coverage for Greenville Senior High School, as well as PRN coverage for Greenville’s minor league hockey team, the Greenville Grrrowl. He made a slight move northward in 2001 as the athletic trainer for Emerald High School in Greenwood, S.C. where he provided medical coverage for all sports, while also serving a dual role as the clinical instructor for Erskine’s athletic training program.

Drake got his first taste of collegiate athletics administration as an assistant athletic trainer and instructor at Erskine from 2003-05 where he was charged with the day-to-day athletic training responsibilities for the baseball, women’s basketball and women’s soccer programs. He moved back to the prep level in 2005 as the athletic trainer at James F. Byrnes High School in nearby Spartanburg.

A native of Greenville, S.C., Drake has been heavily involved in volunteer work amid his field over the last two decades, most notably serving various positions on the executive staff of the South Carolina Athletic Trainers Association from 2014-22. Prior to his time at the executive level, he also served on the association’s program and scholarship committees.

Drake earned his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Presbyterian in 1996, and completed his graduate work in health and exercise science at Furman in 1999. He and his wife, Catherine, have a dog, Captain, and a cat, Furrgie.