UK HealthCare

UK HealthCare Expands Partnership with KHSAA

High school hoops
UK HealthCare is now the official health care provider for the KHSAA. Wavebreakmedia, iStock/Getty Images Plus

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 7, 2022) – UK HealthCare and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) have expanded their long-time partnership, as UK HealthCare becomes the official health care provider for the KHSAA.

This move will see UK HealthCare take its title sponsorship of the KHSAA State Football Championship and extend the term of that arrangement, become the title sponsor for the Boys’ Sweet Sixteen Basketball tournament and serve as presenting sponsor for other KHSAA sports and sport-activity championships. 

“We’re honored to be the official health care provider for KHSAA,” said Mark F. Newman, M.D., UK executive vice president for health affairs. “At UK HealthCare, we are always looking to partner with organizations across the state to provide top-tier health care to every Kentuckian who needs it. We appreciate the opportunity to extend this care to the young athletes of Kentucky.”

UK HealthCare has had a long-time partnership with the Association, as the UK HealthCare Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine continues to provide top-of-the-line sports medicine and athletic training services at KHSAA Championship events in the Lexington area.

“UK HealthCare has long been one of the leading advocates for student-athlete safety,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett. “Their staff of doctors, certified athletic trainers and their entire team of medical professionals have assisted the KHSAA and its member schools and student-athletes for decades. Their constant emphasis on safety, prevention, care and treatment of students makes them the perfect long-term partner, and we are thankful they continue to be in for the long haul.”

The partnership will also continue a long-standing emphasis on ever-evolving health care needs around interscholastic athletics and sport-activities. Both UK HealthCare and the KHSAA recognize the influence that sports play not only in the daily lives of the students but in preparing them for a healthy future beyond their participation.

“As the most important health care team for the athletes, our UK HealthCare Sports Medicine providers are pleased to continue our complete coverage of all of the athletes in the KHSAA,” said Jeffrey B. Selby, chair of the UK HealthCare Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine. “UK HealthCare Sports Medicine provides the most comprehensive and expert athlete care in the state. This relationship with UK HealthCare also provides a great opportunity for family members of these athletes to be treated for any orthopedic or other health condition.”

“We are proud to be in this partnership,“ Tackett said. “People like Rob Ullery, who now serves as director for outreach and athletic training services for Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine at UK HealthCare, as well as their entire team of practitioners have been vital to so many of the things we do to make sure we stay on the cutting edge with advice to our schools and updates in regulations. The partnership between the sports medicine providers and doctors throughout the state has us in a very good position to offer assistance to our member schools and their students. This partnership will continue to emphasize that priority.”

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.