Joe Sheehan has been named coordinator of athletic training and sports medicine for the University of Arkansas’ Department of Athletics, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long announced Tuesday.

Sheehan joins the Razorbacks after spending the past 11 years with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League, including the last three years as an assistant athletic trainer and the director of rehabilitation.

Sheehan will coordinate and manage the medical care for the more than 450 student-athletes that compete for the Razorbacks in 19 intercollegiate sports. He will also serve as the lead trainer for the Razorback football team.

“ Joe Sheehan is a great addition to our staff and is the right person to lead our athletic training staff and coordinate our medical staff, ” Long said. “ Our student-athletes will benefit from his extensive knowledge and his experience at the professional sports level. He is widely recognized for his expertise in injury rehabilitation as well as his proactive approach in employing preventive training methods.

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“ Student-athlete welfare is at the very core of our mission. I am confident that Joe and his staff will provide our student-athletes the highest standard of care. ”

In his most recent role with the Jaguars, Sheehan developed and administered player rehabilitation protocols for the organization. He was responsible for all aspects of medical documentation. Sheehan also assisted with the design and implementation of the team’s off-season strength and conditioning program.

Sheehan is a certified athletic trainer (ATC ), a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS ), certified performance enhancement specialist (PES ) and a certified corrective exercise specialist (CES ).

“ I am extremely excited to be a Razorback, ” Sheehan said. “ I appreciate the opportunity Jeff Long has given me to be a part of this prestigious university and work with all of the 19 outstanding sport programs. Our athletic training staff will work tirelessly to provide state of the art medical care as well as assisting in developing innovative training methods to allow our young men and women to compete successfully at the highest levels. ”

Sheehan began his affiliation with the Jaguars as a seasonal athletic trainer in 1997. In the spring of 1998, he served as an assistant athletic trainer for the Barcelona Dragons, as part of NFL Europe. He returned as a seasonal athletic trainer in the fall of 1998 before being hired full-time as an assistant athletic trainer by Jacksonville in 1999. He was promoted internally three times on the Jaguars’ staff before assuming his most recent title and job responsibilities in June 2005.