Andy Clawson serves as the college’s first-ever director of sports medicine for the athletic department and has been with The Citadel since 1973.
Clawson is responsible for the prevention and rehabilitation of athletic-related injuries and illnesses for more than 350 cadet-student-athletes in addition to the members of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets.
A highlight of his career came in the summer of 2001 when he was enshrined in the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Hall of Fame in ceremonies in Los Angeles. In 2016, the El Dorado, Arkansas, native was inducted into the Arkansas Athletic Tranier's Association Hall of Fame. Locally, he was recognized with the Charleston Metro Sports Council’s Achievement Award.
Among Clawson’s most recent achievements include The Citadel Palmetto Award in 2009, created by the college's Board of Visitors to recognize cadets, faculty, staff or alumni for exceptional performance that reflects great credit on the college or the state of South Carolina. The Palmetto Medal is the second highest honor bestowed by the college.
In 2013 he was given The Citadel Alumni Association Lifetime Membership for his continued service to the South Carolina Corps of Cadets.
Additionally, he was the 1998 recipient of the Fred Hoover Award, the highest sports medicine-related honor given in the state of South Carolina. The Citadel recognized him with the Outstanding Service Award in 1992.
Clawson takes great pride in the successes of his numerous former assistant trainers who have entered the athletic training field on a variety of levels, including professional ranks, colleges, racing, rehab and hospital facilities, among others.
Clawson received his BSE degree from Henderson State in 1969 and earned his master’s degree, also from Henderson State, in 1970. He was recognized by his alma mater in 2002 with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
After a brief stint as Henderson State’s athletic trainer in 1969-70, Clawson spent three years as an assistant athletic trainer at Clemson and became The Citadel’s head athletic trainer in 1973.
Clawson has been active in many professional organizations, especially the NATA, where he twice served as vice president, had two stints as a member of its board of directors and two others as acting District III director. Since 1990, he has served on NATA’s Board of Certification.
Within South Carolina, he has been on the S.C. Advisory Committee for Athletic Trainers since 1984 and continues to serve as the state chairman. Clawson also holds membership in the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and The McCue Society, among others.
Generous with his time and popular on the speaking circuit, Clawson served as athletic trainer for the 1976 USA Basketball Team Olympic Trials in Raleigh, N.C., and also volunteered his services for the 1996 Special Olympic World Games, also in Raleigh.
In 2003, Clawson and his staff won the Athletic Training Staff of the Year award from the South Carolina’s Athletic Trainer’s Association.
He is married to the former Mary Richardson of Sullivan’s Island, S.C., and has one son, Drew.
