SPARTA, Mich. - Training & Conditioning, a print and digital publication for the athletic training and strength and conditioning communities, has announced its 2025 Most Valuable Athletic Trainers of the Year. Three individuals took home awards in the high school, collegiate and professional categories, but a familiar face to University of Northwestern faithfuls appeared in the Honorable Mention list: longtime athletic trainer, coach and professor Dave Hieb.

2024-25 was Hieb's 36th year as an athletic trainer at Northwestern, where he has worked with more than 3,000 student-athletes in his tenure. He was also the school's head baseball coach for 28 seasons until his retirement from coaching in 2023. In addition to his training and coaching duties, Coach Hieb has also served as a professor in the university's Kinesiology department for many years. UNW Director of Athletics, Dr. Matt Hill, has worked with Hieb for over two decades and had this to say: "Dave's knowledge of the physical body, best practices to follow to reduce injury, rehabilitation techniques, and flexibility and strength training make him one of the best in the industry. He will never go home until everyone is taken care of. That means some very long days but because of his love for his athletes he is willing to go the extra mile. Coach Hieb also goes beyond the physical injury to give advice and guidance in life."