July 17, 2009

Dr. Michael T. Petty, team chiropractor for the Tennessee men's athletics department, was recently selected to serve a two-week medical rotation in the Sports Medicine Clinic at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

The U.S. Olympic Committee made the announcement that Petty will work with a multi-disciplined team of sports medicine experts treating and assisting world-class athletes from all across the country. His medical rotation runs from July 20 to Aug. 4.

Petty twice has served as a team physician for the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials, in 2004 when the trials were held in Sacramento, Calif., and 2008 in Eugene, Ore.

Petty received his pre-med training at the University of Tennessee and graduated valedictorian of his class from Life Chiropractic College in 1986. He began his association with the athletics department in 1996 when he began helping UT kicker Jeff Hall return to his kicking duties after a back injury. Petty has served the football team ever since, including the SEC championship season of 1997 and the 1998 SEC and national championship season.

The Shelbyville native added UT track and field responsibilities in 1999 when he accompanied the Volunteers to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Boise, Idaho. That year, then-collegiate-record-holder Tom Pappas captured the NCAA decathlon title. Petty's association with the track and field team has been fruitful. Since 1999, Petty has worked with several Tennessee individual NCAA champions, including Pappas, Justin Gatlin, Leonard Scott, Gary Kikaya, Stephen Harris, Jabari Greer, Aries Merritt and, most recently, Rubin Williams. Additionally, Petty has been on site as an integral member of the Tennessee training staff as they earned the 2001 outdoor and 2002 indoor national titles. The Vols also have claimed SEC outdoor team titles under Petty's care in 2001, 2002, and 2007.

Since graduating from Life Chiropractic College, Petty has been in private practice at Concord Chiropractic Clinic in Farragut. He is married to a 1979 UT alumnus, the former Frances Hanks, his wife of 29 years.