The last year-plus has made large scale medical decisions in the sports world more important than ever. The Big Ten is taking a big step in that direction, with the hire of Ohio State‘s Dr. James Borchers.
Borchers’ name may be familiar to many around the league. He most recently served as the team physician for one of its top athletic departments, overseeing the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Now, he’ll consult all 14 Big Ten programs “on matters of student-athlete health and safety and will lead all conference sports medicine programming and initiatives – including policy development, research, educational opportunities, and public outreach,” per the league’s release on his hire.
“The physical and mental well-being of our student-athletes is our top priority,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren says. “The addition of Dr. Borchers will further serve and protect the health and safety of our nearly 10,000 student-athletes. It will also ensure the conference is on the cutting edge of the latest medical advances and that we maintain strong interconnectivity to the best and brightest professionals in the medical community.”
James Borchers, who was Ohio State’s head team physician and played a key role in the Big Ten playing football last fall after the season was initially canceled, has been named the first-ever chief medical officer of the Big Ten. https://t.co/s8eWHC1cfj
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) October 7, 2021
As mentioned by Ohio State football writer Dan Hope, Borchers played a big role in the Big Ten’s decision to reverse course on canceling the 2021 season, and going through with a shortened season.
His leadership probably helped his case in landing this new role with the conference in a major way.
“It is an honor to be named Chief Medical Officer for the Big Ten Conference, which has long been a leader in collegiate athletics,” Dr. Borchers said, of his new job. “This will be a tremendous opportunity to collaborate with the talented medical professionals within the conference and across all levels of college and professional sports as we continue to provide a best-in-class environment of health, safety and wellness for our nearly 10,000 student-athletes.”
[Big Ten]
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