Georgia’s Sports Medicine department has a different look as of Friday afternoon.

The University announced that longtime head athletic trainer Ron Courson will be spending more time as the UGA Athletic Association’s Executive Athletic Director for Athletic Health and Performance.

Courson will be replaced by former football letterman Connor Norman, who will be the new Director of Football Sports Medicine with Ryan Madaleno as the new Head Athletic Trainer for Football.

“Ron’s contributions left an indelible mark on our program, ensuring his legacy as an innovator in athletic training and sports mental health and wellness,” said head coach Kirby Smart. “The time, focus, and attention that he put into our student-athletes was extraordinary and unmatched. I could not be more grateful for the time I had working with Ron.”

Courson, who served as UGAAA’s Director of Sports Medicine for 30 years, was promoted to Executive Associate Athletic Director in February 2021 after previously serving as a Senior Associate Athletic Director.

“Over the last three decades, Ron Courson and his department have set the standard for athletic training and sports medicine,” Bulldog athletic director Josh Brooks said. “Ron has been a leader in his field while serving the University of Georgia Athletic Association with grace and humility. His accomplishments are many, but his greatest achievements are the countless individuals he mentored and the influence he had on so many of our student-athletes."

During his career in sports medicine, Courson has also been involved in many athletic training activities including work as an athletic trainer with the U.S. Olympic Team at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea; 1990 Goodwill Games; 1987 World University Games, 1987 Pan American Games and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

He served as the chief athletic trainer for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials as well as the chief athletic trainer for track and field for the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games (ACOG). Courson also served as the president of the SEC Sports Medicine Committee, chairman of the College and University Athletic Trainers' Committee of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, and a member of the NCAA Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee.

Courson is a former medical liaison to the American Football Coaches Association and serves currently on the NFL Health and Safety Committee and the USA Football Medical Advisory Board. He was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2013.

More recently, Courson was inducted into the Georgia Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in January 2018.

Meanwhile, Norman played under Mark Richt, playing defensive back and on special teams. He was a former team captain for the Bulldogs.

He just completed his eighth season working with the football team, serving as the program’s Director of Rehab from 2017-2023 after earning undergraduate degrees in Exercise Science and Athletic Trailing from UGA and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Belmont University.

Madaleno graduated from Eastern Kentucky with a degree in Athletic Training before earning his Master’s degree in Health Studies from Alabama. He has been an associate athletic trainer with Georgia’s football team since 2021 after starting his career as an intern with the New York Giants and then was a graduate assistant trainer with Alabama in 2015-16.

He also served as a full-time assistant athletic trainer for Florida from 2017-21.