Eric Trainer - Associate Director - Basketball (W) - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Eric Trainer

Title:
Associate Director - Basketball (W)
Email:
Phone:
(865) 974-8173

(Updated 8/24/23)

CSC 25-Year Award Feature Story (By Kobe Mosley)

As of the 2023-24 academic year, Associate Director of Strategic Communications Eric Trainer is in his 27th consecutive year and 30th season overall with the University of Tennessee Athletics Department. The 2023 recipient of the College Sports Communicators' 25-Year Award is enjoying his 37th year in the college sports communications field, including his 33rd as a full-timer.

In July 2023, Trainer was a District 4 winner in the CSC Fred Stabley Jr. Writing Contest. His recap of No. 6 Tennessee's epic 52-49 victory over No. 3 Alabama on Oct. 15, 2022, took top honors in the Event Coverage category for all college athletics activities taking place in the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee during the 2022-23 academic year.

During his lengthy tenure in intercollegiate athletics, Trainer has promoted national championship-winning programs, provided support to legendary coaches and publicized student-athletes who have become Olympic gold medalists, professional league standouts, All-Americans and recipients of other prestigious awards for academics, athletics, character and community service. He also has been influenced directly by a trio of Tennessee CSC Hall of Famers in Debby Jennings, Bud Ford and Haywood Harris.

Trainer is serving as the strategic communications director for the Lady Vol basketball team for the 12th season and is in his 30th year of involvement in communications efforts for a program that has been guided by Pat Summitt, Holly Warlick and Kellie Harper during that span. During the previous 11 seasons, the Tennessee women won a pair of SEC titles and an SEC Tournament crown as well qualified for 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three trips to the Elite Eight.

He has served as a media coordinator or assistant for numerous NCAA women’s basketball events and has accompanied the team to eight NCAA Final Fours during his career. He also contributed significantly to media relations efforts as Tennessee hosted the 1990 NCAA Final Four at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Prior to taking the lead role with women’s basketball, Trainer worked with the track & field and cross country programs at UT for 15 seasons, spending from 1997 to 2012 with the women’s teams and also working with the men’s squads during the final three years of that stint. During that time, the Lady Vols won a pair of NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, three SEC Indoor titles and three SEC Cross Country crowns as well as set several world, American, NCAA, SEC and school records along the way under the leadership of J.J. Clark.

In addition to working with women’s basketball and men’s and women’s track and cross country, Trainer also has been a media relations contact for men’s golf, volleyball and women’s tennis at Rocky Top. He also has provided media relations/strategic communications support at home football games and various other regular and postseason events as well as serving a two-year stint on the computer stats crew for men’s basketball. In 2022, he served as the media coordinator for the NCAA Baseball Regional and Super Regional Tournaments at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

During his time on Rocky Top, Trainer has been a member of several committees and working groups. Most recently, he assisted in planning and communications efforts for Tennessee Athletics' approach to hosting events and visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he currently serves on an external operations committee that brings together members from various departments to encourage and enhance strategic thinking, planning, communication and implementation of public events or campaigns.

Prior to his full-time employment at Tennessee, Trainer spent six years as the director of athletic media relations and marketing at Carson-Newman University (Tenn.) from 1991 to 1997. During his time in Jefferson City, he oversaw publicity for all 15 sports teams, including a national power Eagle football team that has sent numerous players to the NFL through the years. That program was coached by the late Ken Sparks, who retired with the fourth-most victories all-time by an NCAA football coach. Trainer also had a hand in production of the Ken Sparks TV Show, sponsorship sales for the Eagle Radio Network and other event marketing endeavors.

Trainer also was a sports information graduate assistant and intern at Tennessee from 1988 to 1991 and spent the 1987-88 school year as a student worker in the University of Arkansas women’s sports information office. While at UA, he assisted with communication efforts for the Lady Razorback basketball team, wrote feature stories and offered support at numerous other home men's and women's athletic events. Trainer also wrote for The Arkansas Traveler student newspaper during his time in Fayetteville and completed his college days as an intern editor/reporter on the sports desk at The Tulsa World in Oklahoma.

Trainer earned a degree in journalism from Arkansas in 1988 and completed his master’s in sports administration at UT in 1991. A native of Princeton, Mo., he has received numerous awards for publications, including nine “Best In The Nation” citations and seven “Best Cover” accolades. He and his wife, Laura, a former Lady Vol basketball manager (1986-89) and current academic advisor in UT's Haslam College of Business, reside in Knoxville. They have two sons, Cameron (25) and Griffin (19).