Steve Walz is in his third stint with the University of South Florida Athletics Department and is serving his 10th year as Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Medicine. He was promoted to that position in April 2002 after serving as head athletics trainer for two years.

In his current position, Walz oversees all aspects of sports medicine for USF including the day-to-day care of the USF football program’s student-athletes.  

Walz began his latest tenure at the Tampa school in 2000, although he originally came to campus in 1992 as a graduate assistant athletic trainer in charge of all sports medicine responsibilities of men’s basketball. Walz remained in that position until 1994 when he joined Florida Orthopedic Institute (FOI) where he continued to work with USF student-athletes who were undergoing rehabilitation and/or surgery. In addition to his position at FOI, Walz served as head athletic trainer for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.

In 1996 Walz returned to USF as the football program’s first-ever athletic trainer before returning home to Missouri where he worked in a private clinic until his return in 2000.

While in Missouri, Walz was an Outreach Program Director at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Kansas City.

A native of Jefferson City, Mo., Walz is a 1992 graduate of the University of Missouri and earned his master’s degree from USF in 1994.

Highly respected outside the athletic training room and off the playing fields, Walz also has a faculty appointment in USF’s College of Medicine, Department of Orthopedics as an instructor. In addition, in 2004, Walz was named the Outstanding Staff member at USF and was named the Athletic Trainer of the Year by the state of Florida for 2006-07.

Walz is also currently serving as President of the BIG EAST Sports Medicine Society and was a past executive board member of the Athletic Trainers’ Association of Florida. 

Steve and his wife Shelley reside in Tampa and have a nine-year old son, Henry.