Oct. 8, 2007

Nicole Sperger has been named an assistant athletic trainer at the University of Notre Dame. Sperger - who previously was an associate athletic trainer at Delaware State and served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Michigan State - will work specifically with the Notre Dame women's swimming and diving team and the men's and women's track and field programs.

Sperger joined the athletic training staff at Delaware State prior to the 2006-07 academic year and worked directly with the football and women's basketball teams. Her two years at Michigan State (2004-06) included assisting with a variety of daily treatments and procedures within the athletic training department. During her time in East Lansing, Sperger also served as the head athletic trainer at nearby Everett High School - where she instituted injury assessment and rehabilitation design, in addition to providing athletic-training coverage at home events.

As an undergraduate, Sperger was a two-sport athlete at Marian College in Fond du Lac, Wis. She played four seasons with the Marian softball team (1999-2002) and was a three-year member of the basketball team (2001-04), serving as the team captain in her final season. She was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at Marian in 2000 and '01 while also serving for three years as a student athletic trainer (2001-04).

Sperger was a member of the Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society and received the All-America Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association in 2000 and '01. She graduated from Marian in May of 2004 with a bachelor of science degree in business administration, after majoring in sport and recreation management with a minor in athletic coaching. Sperger went on to receive her masters of science in kinesiology, with an emphasis in athletic training, from Michigan State in the summer of 2006.

During her time in Wisconsin, Sperger served as a student athletic trainer with Luther Middlefort Clinic in Eau Claire (summer 2002), with her duties including game coverage for the Chippewa Valley Predators semi-professional football team.

Sperger - who has worked at various professional, collegiate and high school sporting events and camps - is a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association.