Ed Ferreira, a former Fresno State athletic trainer who also was a lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology, died Sunday, March 25. He was 64.

Services for Mr. Ed Ferreira are set for Saturday, March 31, at 11 a.m. at The Well – North Campus (Maple and Nees). Fresno State President John. D. Welty has directed that the university’s flags be flown at half-staff March 27-29 in his memory.

Mr. Ferreira was an athletic trainer for 29 years with Bulldog teams, working with men’s basketball, women’s cross country, track and field, men’s golf, men’s tennis and wrestling teams after joining Fresno State in 1979. He previously was head athletics trainer at West Valley College in Saratoga.

“Fresno State lost an important part of our family and will miss him dearly,’ said Kelli Eberlein, director of sports medicine for the Bulldogs. “He was a huge part of our history and helped thousands of students throughout his life.  His mentorship was so far-reaching.”

Mr. Ferreira was instrumental in developing in 1985 the Athletic Training Education Curriculum accredited by the National Athletic Trainers Association that has helped prepare many students for athletic trainerpositions throughout the nation. Eberlein noted that Fresno State has athletic training alumni working in every conference in both NCAA Division I and Division II.

He also was a driving force behind the development of the Student Athlete Assistance Program in 1984, which provides drug testing and support services for student athletes.

“The impact Ed has made to the profession of athletic training is far reaching,” said Dr. Scott R. Sailor, program director of the Athletic Training Education Program in Kinesiology.  “His students still consider him their mentor and frequently would contact him for advice long after they had graduated and moved on.”

The Bulldogs honored Mr. Ferreira prior to the March 1, 2008, men’s basketball game against New Mexico State, presenting him with a framed No. 29 jersey marking his years of service. He also has been honored by the National Athletic Trainers Association and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

He has volunteered at Poverello House in Fresno, the Integrated Tribal Development Program – Thailand Mission Team, Southeast Asian Friendship Ministries, Flying Doctors of Mercy (LIGA International) in Mexico, American Lung Association Asthma Camp and the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

When he retired, Mr. Ferreira said in an interview with gobulldogs.com that his most memorable moment as a trainer – he worked under coaches Boyd Grant, Ron Adams, Gary Colson, Jerry Tarkanian, Ray Lopes and Steve Cleveland – was when the men’s team under Grant won the 1983 NIT championship in New York.

“The city had literally shut down and declared a holiday,” Mr. Ferreira recalled about the homecoming at Fresno. “When we came out of the airport, the people lined the street – both sides – in red from all the way to campus. And to see that experience, it was just incredible.

“That basketball team was pretty special,” he added.

A graduate of San Jose State with a degree in physical education, he earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from Cal State Hayward.

He is survived by his wife Kelly, daughters Michelle Ferreira and Jeannie Davis and granddaughter Ashlynne Davis.

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