Bio

Fran Babich was a pioneer, and accomplished a number of firsts as an athlete and as a female athletic trainer. She was in the first group of female athletes at C.K. McClatchy High School, and amongst the first at Sacramento City College and CSU Chico. As a product of the California community college system, she was a three sport star. After earning an associate degree from Sacramento City College in 1973, she was one of the first female student athletic trainers at Chico State. When she went through the graduate program in athletic training at the University of Arizona, she concurrently became the first female to work as an athletic trainer with her high school football program. Upon graduation from Arizona in 1978, she became the first athletic trainer at Pomona College and only the third head athletic trainer at a 4-year college or university with football. In 1980 Fran was the first athletic trainer hired at Butte College and the first woman hired as head athletic trainer within the community college system in California.

Fran was one of the two co-founders of the CCCATA, which was established during 1989-90 academic year. This organization has given athletic trainers an unprecedented voice in their work environment, their quality of life and most importantly in the healthcare they provide student athletes in their charge. From 1990-94 she served as the first president of the CCCATA where she chaired the original development and writing of the CCCATA constitution, bylaws and medical guidelines found in the CCCAA constitution. For her work with the CCCATA she received the 1998 CCCATA Athletic Trainer of the Year award and induction into the CCCATA Hall of Fame, class of 2011. 

Starting with her time as president of the CCCATA (1990-1994), Fran was a constant presence in CCCAA leadership for 20 years. From 1994-1996, again in 2002-2006 

and yet again from 2008-2011, Fran served as a member of the CCCAA Gender Equity Committee to help promote equal opportunities for all student athletes. She served on the CCLC California Commissioner of Athletics Hiring Screening Committee in 1995 and from 2003-2010 she served as a member of the Management Council. In addition, she served on the program review committee of the health department at Siskiyous in 1997. She also served as part of the CCCAA Athletic Program Review Committee of 6 schools between 2003 and 2011 and was in charge of coordinating the gender equity component of the review.

In addition to her work with the athletic trainers and gender equity committee, Fran worked closely with her conference, the Golden Valley Conference. For over 15 years, as the women’s representative to the Conference Board, Fran helped ensure that the conference rules and regulations were followed by the conference’s athletic programs. She has also served from 1998-present as a member of the conference’s gender equity committee. Beginning this year, Fran started a three-year term as vice president of the Golden Valley Conference Board and is the first athletic trainer to hold this position.

On a regional level, Fran also served two decades with the Far West Athletic Trainers’ Association (FWATA) which encompasses California, Nevada and Hawaii. She started as a member of the College and University Athletic Trainers Committee (CUATC) in 1995 and served as chair of that committee from 1998 until 2010. Fran has also served on the FWATA managing board on two separate occasions and she is currently in her second three-year term as district treasurer. She has been honored by the FWATA on several occasions receiving the 1994 Athletic Trainer Service Award, 2002 Special Service Award, 2005 All District Team Community College Award, 2009 Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer honor and 2012 Hall of Fame induction.

Nationally, Fran has been active in the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), serving on the Secretaries Treasurers committee twice, from 2000-02 and is currently in the middle of a term that started in 2010. She was also a member of the NATA CUATC committee from 1998-2006. Amongst other accomplishments while a member of this committee, she helped write the Pre-Participation Evaluation Guidelines, Appropriate Medical Coverage of Intercollegiate Athletics, Guidelines for Medical Emergencies, Heat Illness Guidelines, and Management of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Guidelines. In 2005 she was part of the NATA Head Injury Task Force, which collaborated with the NCAA Football Rules Committee and other health care professionals to create the modern rule that prohibits spearing and using the helmet as a weapon in football.

She has been recognized on a national stage with the 2005 Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer, 2006 NATA CUATC Community College Athletic Trainer of the Year, 2014 Athletic Trainer Service Award and 2014 Gail Weldon Award.

Fran is inducted in the following Hall of Fames: Butte College (Athletic), 2013 C.K. McClatchy High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the 2013 Block C.