Swarthmore College Athletics

Athletic trainer Doug Weiss arrived at Swarthmore in 1968 and treated generations of students with warmth, patience, and understanding until his retirement in 2002. Prior to Swarthmore, he served with the Marine Corps before working as a trainer for the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Eagles. Although he originally intended to stay at Swarthmore for only three years, Weiss fell in love with the College through his interactions with its students. At the beginning of his tenure, female students did not have access to training facilities, but Weiss treated them regardless. He pushed the administration for equal access and by 1977, Swarthmore was one of the first academic institutions with co-ed facilities. In 1989, a Doug Weiss Residency in Sports Medicine was established to create a full-time assistant trainer position at Swarthmore and in 2001, West Chester University endowed a scholarship in his name as well. After his passing on September 25, 2006, the department dedicated its athletic training room in his honor.