Tarleton State University Athletics

Entering the 2025-26 season, Brant Berkstresser will begin his fourth season as the Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine at Tarleton State University. Berkstresser leads Tarleton State's sports medicine department which includes a multi-disciplinary team delivering care in areas such as injury prevention, athletic injury assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation, nutrition and mental health. He also primarily oversees the football and women’s golf sports medicine programs.
 
Berkstresser came to Tarleton State in July 2022 from Harvard University. At Harvard, he oversaw the sports medicine department for over 1,100 Ivy League student-athletes since 2008 as the Associate Director of Athletics for Student-Athlete Health and Performance. He has over 30 years of experience in athletic training and collegiate athletics.
 
During his time at Harvard, he was granted the Impact Leadership Award in 2010 and 2011 which recognizes high achieving employees who consistently exhibit superior performance with exceptional effectiveness. He was a 2013 Dean’s Distinction Award Winner, which recognizes a small number of FAS staff members for their outstanding citizenship and exceptional contributions in support of Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ (FAS) teaching and research mission.
 
Berkstresser has served on numerous collegiate health committees during his career, including the Ivy League Review of Autonomy Legislation and the Ivy League Ad Hoc Committee on Concussions.
 
At the national level, Berkstresser previously served as the Executive Chair of the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) Intercollegiate Council on Sports Medicine (ICSM).  Mr. Berkstresser was awarded the NATA President’s Award in 2024 due to his leadership and the advocacy issues performed by the ICSM during his tenure as the Executive Chair.  In addition, he has served in multiple capacities within the NCAA including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Concussion Safety Protocol Committee, NCAA Bylaw 17 Working Group, Health and Safety Cross Functional Team, NCAA Drug Testing Sub-Committee and is a former Chair for the NCAA Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sport Committee. 
 
Berkstresser has led national and international presentations for numerous health and safety professional organizations. He is a co-author of journal articles related to cardiology, concussion, exertional heat stroke, and orthopedic injury management.
 
Prior to Harvard, Berkstresser was the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine at Georgia Southern University from 2003-08 and a staff athletic trainer at the University of Maryland from 1997-2003 and Kansas State University from 1993-97.
 
A native of State College, Pennsylvania, he earned a bachelor's degree in education with an emphasis in athletic training from West Virginia University in 1991. During his senior year at WVU, he completed an internship with the New York Jets Football Club in 1990. He then went on to earn a master's degree in kinesiology from Kansas State in 1993.
 
Berkstresser and his wife, Gretchen, reside in Stephenville.