SUPPORT STAFF BUBBA SCHMIDT EQUIPMENT MANAGER
Veteran staff member Robert “Bubba” Schmidt is in his 33rd season as basketball equipment manager at West Virginia. Schmidt is responsible for all the athletic garb and gear worn and used by each of WVU’s varsity athletic teams, with the exception of football. He is responsible for the ordering of new equipment for 16 sports and facilitating all orders and returns with Nike. One of his primary duties involves keeping an up-to-date inventory of all equipment items and storage, a task he handles efficiently for the hundreds of Mountaineer athletes practicing out of the Coliseum and Shell Building. The 1976 graduate of WVU has a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He has worked in the equipment room since 1978 and was elevated to equipment manager at the start of the 1980 season. The Wheeling native is married to the former Betsey Pedone. They have three daughters, Kaylee, Iliana, and Anne Peyton.
STEVE BIERER
ASSISTANT EQUIPMENT MANAGER
Steve Bierer enters his sixth season as an assistant equipment manager at WVU. A native of Morgantown, Bierer, the top assistant to veteran equipment manager Bubba Schmidt, works daily with the Mountaineer men’s and women’s basketball teams. Bierer came to WVU after serving a three year stint as head equipment manager for Olympic sports at Virginia from 2005-08. He spent 2000-05 at East Carolina as an assistant equipment manager, his last season serving as head equipment manager. From 1998-99, Bierer served as an assistant equipment manager at Virginia Tech and spent five seasons (1993-98) as a WVU student football manager under Hall of Fame Coach Don Nehlen.
JOHN SPIKER
COORDINATOR OF ATHLETIC MEDICAL SERVICES
John Spiker serves as coordinator of athletic medical services for the Mountaineer athletic program, overseeing the athletic training services for all sports.
Spiker has been with WVU since 1975 and served as coordinator of the athletic training curriculum until 1984. He assumed his current duties in 1991 and is serving in his 32nd season with WVU athletics. Nationally recognized in sports medicine, the National Athletic Trainers Association has named Spiker the 1980 Collegiate Trainer of the Year, a Distinguished Athletic Trainer in 1994 and to the NATA Hall of Fame in 2012. He was also named to the WVU School of Physical Education Hall of Fame in 1993. A licensed physical therapist, Spiker is president of HealthWorks Rehab and Fitness, a clinic which specializes in orthopedic rehabilitation. He also spent two years as assistant athletic trainer at North Carolina and three years as an assistant trainer at Pitt. Spiker received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from WVU in 1969 and his master’s degree in education from Pitt in 1972. He earned his physical therapy certificate from Penn in 1973. A native of Bruceton Mills, W.Va., Spiker and his wife Sabra have three children - Heather Throckmorton, Tim and Zachary.
RANDY MEADOR
COORDINATOR OF ATHLETIC TRAINING SERVICES
Randy Meador is a member of the athletic training staff, primarily working with the Mountaineer basketball team. As coordinator, he oversees various administrative tasks in the athletic training area. Meador has served 28 seasons as West Virginia’s head basketball athletic trainer. He formerly served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer with the West Virginia football and basketball teams. He was appointed to his present position in July 1985. A respected member of the athletic training community, Meador was named West Virginia Athletic Trainers Association Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2003, was the recipient of the Mountaineer Touchdown Club Curbstone Coach award in 2003 and was most recently named the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer in 2011. A native of Oxford, Ohio, Meador earned a bachelor’s degree from Miami (Ohio), in 1984, where he served as an athletic training student for four years. He earned a master’s degree in athletic training from West Virginia in 1985. In addition to his athletic duties, Meador serves as a lecturer in the highly acclaimed athletic training curriculum of the WVU School of Physical Education. He was president (1990-93) of the West Virginia Athletic Trainers Association. Meador and his wife, the former Bev Day of Cincinnati, have two sons, Luke and Eli.
DR. MATHEW LIVELY
STEPHANIE WHITE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF STUDENTATHLETE ACADEMIC SERVICES
MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Dr. Matt Lively oversees all aspects of medical care for Mountaineer athletes and serves as a team physician in the area of general medicine. He is responsible for the dayto-day medical needs of WVU’s athletes. The Oak Hill native currently serves as an assistant professor in the internal medicine and pediatric departments of West Virginia University Hospitals. He graduated from WVU in 1988 with a degree in athletic training and went on to earn his master’s degree at Eastern Illinois in 1989 and a D.O. degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in 1993. Prior to osteopathic school, Lively served stints as an athletic trainer for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Eastern Illinois and Greenbrier East High.
ANDY KETTLER
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING
Andy Kettler enters his sixth season as WVU’s strength and conditioning coach for basketball. A native of Cincinnati, Kettler spent two years as the head strength and conditioning coach at Winthrop. While there, he was in charge of all aspects of the Eagles’ strength and conditioning program. Prior to his time at Winthrop, Kettler was the head strength and conditioning coach of the Kansas City Royals for two seasons. With the Royals, he was in charge of the entire strength and conditioning staff, including the supervision of two assistants and six interns. Kettler designed and implemented programs for strength, conditioning, flexibility and nutrition. Kettler is a 2001 graduate of Ashland with a bachelor’s degree in sports industries/recreation. Following college, he served as an intern at Toledo before joining the Cleveland Indians organization as strength coach for one of Cleveland’s minor league teams, the Lake County Captains. After a one-year stint with the Indians organization, Kettler served as minor league strength and conditioning coordinator for the San Diego Padres’ six minor league teams. Kettler is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). He and his wife, Kimbraly, have a daughter, Brynley and a son, Jaxson.
Stephanie White was appointed as an assistant director for student-athlete academic services in August 2010. She is responsible for the day-to-day academic services for the men’s basketball and women’s soccer programs. White assists student-athletes in their respective plan of study through coordinating class schedules, offering regularly scheduled advising meetings, arranging for tutors and monitoring study time. With the ultimate goal of graduation for each student-athlete, she also remains familiar with NCAA rules relating to eligibility in order to keep student-athletes compliant and eligible. Prior to WVU, White was a full time teacher at the Mason County Career Center in Point Pleasant, W.Va., from January 2004-June 2007. She also has experience with WVU as a graduate teaching assistant, student athlete mentor and temporary educational counselor. White earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from West Virginia University in 2002. She earned her master’s degree in secondary education from WVU in 2003, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education administration.
BRYAN MESSERLY SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR
Bryan Messerly is in his 20th year with WVU’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and his 14th consecutive season with Mountaineer men’s basketball. Messerly, who was named WVU’s sports information director in August 2007, is the primary media contact for men’s basketball as well as managing the day-to-day responsibilities of the sports information office. Messerly spent seven years (200007) as WVU’s associate sports information director following a three-year stint as assistant sports information director at Virginia Tech (1997-2000). A Weirton, W.Va., native, Messerly also worked in WVU’s sports communications office as a graduate assistant from 1995-97, and as a student assistant from 1991-95. He earned two degrees from WVU: a bachelor’s degree in business administration/finance in 1995 and a master’s degree in sport management in 1997. Messerly is a member of CoSIDA, United States Basketball Writers Association, WVU’s all-time sports committee and the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. He and his wife April, who is WVU’s director of athletic facilities and operations, have a son, Judd, and a daughter, Carper.
WVUsports.com :: #HailWV
71