Aug. 23, 2011

AUSTIN, Texas -- St. David's HealthCare announced a six-year agreement with UT Athletics on Tuesday, making the Central Texas-based health care system the official health care sponsor and emergency services provider for UT's 20-sport men's and women's athletics program.

"We are pleased to serve as a resource to The University of Texas at Austin, and we are excited to tap into the passion of Longhorn fans to further impact health and wellness across the community," David Huffstutler, president and chief executive officer of St. David's HealthCare, said. "Through this sponsorship, St. David's HealthCare will have the opportunity to strengthen our connection to the people and communities we serve."

As part of the agreement, St. David's HealthCare has committed to provide services and financial support, including:

• Heart screenings for all of the university's incoming student-athletes;
• A St. David's HealthCare clinical staff member embedded within UT Athletics sports medicine/athletics training staff area to assist the head team physician in health care delivery service for student-athletes;
• On-site medical support at all UT home athletics events-ranging from paid clinicians to medical volunteers, with the largest contingency of approximately 120 medical personnel under St. David's HealthCare supervision at each home football game;
• Upgrades to all first-aid rooms at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and Mike A. Myers Stadium.

"The health and safety of our student-athletes and fans are our top priorities," DeLoss Dodds, men's athletics director, The University of Texas at Austin, said. "In St. David's HealthCare, we have found a true partner in creating a safe, comfortable atmosphere for fans at all of our athletics events and additional medical support for our sports medicine staff, team physicians and athletics trainers in caring for our student-athletes."

St. David's HealthCare is launching the sponsorship with heart screenings for all incoming student-athletes on Tuesday, Aug. 23. The health care system will serve as the presenting sponsor for the 2011 football season opener against Rice University on Saturday, Sept. 3.

Longhorn IMG Sports Marketing, a division of IMG College, brokered and is managing this innovative sponsorship agreement. IMG College serves as the multimedia rights representative for The University of Texas at Austin Athletics.

For more information, please visit stdavids.com/UT.