George Curtis Tribute

George Curtis, who spent 20 years as BYU’s head athletic trainer, passed away early Wednesday, Oct. 30 after a lengthy illness. Curtis came to BYU in 1985 after serving as the head trainer for the Los Angeles Express of the USFL. He graduated from Southern Utah in 1971 and was named the Outstanding Football Athletic Trainer of the Year by the All-American Football Foundation in 1999.

Curtis retired from BYU in 2005 and was inducted into the BYU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. Curtis is survived by his wife, Jan, and their seven children. He was preceded in death by a daughter.  

To the thousands of athletes Curtis took care of, he was much more than just a trainer. He dedicated his life to every athlete he served and left an immense legacy. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m., Friday, Nov. 8 at the Latter-day Saint Stake Center at 1050 North 600 West in Orem.

Below are some tributes from those who were mentored by and worked closely with Curtis during his time at BYU.

"George Curtis—or “Georgie Boy” as I like to refer to him—means so much to me and multitudes of others, from BYU athletes to neighbors, ward members or an acquaintance. He was a friend to all. I first meet George in 1987 as a student when I entered the BYU Sports Medicine program. We quickly became the best of friends and would lift weights, play racquetball, tennis, basketball, enjoy horseback riding, bailing & stacking hay. His sense of humor and whit were infectious and created a fun atmosphere for the staff and athletes. He is known for all the practical jokes he would pull. He kept you on your toes and head on a swivel. He took me under his wing and mentored me as a student athletic trainer and got me my first job at Snow College. I had the pleasure to return to BYU on his staff for 10 years and saw him treat all with love and respect. He is notorious in our profession as being the best host in the country when a team would visit. He would supply everything a team needed. He is known as an innovator from being the first in the country to have the offensive line wear protective knee braces. Now practically all college teams use them to protect their athletes. George loved and lived the gospel of Jesus Christ. He shared the gospel to many athletes and friends. He used affectionate terms as pencil neck and chicken legs to get athletes training harder. He would have a group of football players workout every morning at 6 a.m. to help achieve their goals and NFL professional careers. I know you will not be resting in peace. You will be on the go just like you lived life to the fullest. Love you my brother Georgie Boy!"

— Steve Pincock, Head Athletic Trainer, BYU Football

"George is one of my heroes. He was a mentor, a leader, an innovator and a friend to me as well as so many others. One of the things I admired most about George was his ability to make a connection with people. He made everyone feel special as soon as he met them.  He took young men and women that were “his” athletes in the training room and took time to get to know them, to make them feel at home, even when so many were far from home.  He invested time and love into those relationships and they became more than just another athlete at BYU. He shared his life and his love with them. His family shared him with them and everyone became someone special through their association with him. He laughed with everyone! His sense of humor was one of a kind and it drew people to him.  He was tender and caring and even when he had to give someone some “tough love” as he called it, they never walked away feeling like they’d failed—just that they needed to do better. I hope that as I work in this profession to be able to influence people the way he did. I hope that I can love the way he did. He was amazing and he will be truly missed."

— Jeff Hurst, Head Athletic Trainer—BYU Women’s Basketball

"Never too busy to genuinely care what is going on in your life. As a first year graduate assistant (with two small kids) working long hours doing any extra stuff I could to leave a good impression for George, I remember him pulling me into his office asking how the family was doing and teaching me a lesson I have always tried to remember.  “You will eventually change jobs, be fired or hopefully retire one day, but you will always have your family.  Do not neglect your family.”  He sent me home that day early to be with my wife and two girls. That was George in a nutshell. He cared about everyone. As athletic trainers we work long days with ever changing schedules, but knowing that George cherished family and was “Uncle George” to my children he instilled this lesson into my life at the perfect time. George I love you and thank you for everything." (No more foot wedges needed for you, and yes I saw a lot of them but never wanted to say anything)

— Robert Ramos, Head Athletic Trainer—BYU Men’s Basketball

Early in my education and career as an athletic trainer, George Curtis was a larger than life presence in the athletic training room here at BYU. I admired his ability to connect with his athletes. He was simple and direct and did not mince words which helped engender trust within his athletes, colleagues and student trainers as well. It was a quality I really wanted to develop in myself as an athletic trainer. George had a great sense of humor and a genuine love for what he did as an athletic trainer. One special experience for me was as a recently certified athletic trainer. I had an athlete that suffered a serious injury that required hospitalization and surgery. As a young athletic trainer I was questioning everything I did and wondering if I screwed up somewhere and caused this young athlete greater trauma. George took the time to sit down and meet with me and listen, advise, and reassure me in a time of uncertainty and doubt that I had done all that I could, given the circumstances, and to use this as a learning experience. That has stuck with me to this day. George’s influence on so many athletic trainers runs very deep. He will be missed.

— Dan Graham, Head Athletic Trainer—Women's Volleyball and Women's Golf

George Curtis was a great man and a great friend. I will always be grateful for his example in the gospel, as an athletic trainer and as a one of a kind mentor. He cared about people and made sure we, as his staff, knew what was most important in life. He hired me, taught me, mentored me and was an awesome support to me always!

— Chris Linde, Head Athletic Trainer—Women's Volleyball and Women's Golf

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During the fall of 2010, I had the pleasure of interviewing nearly 60 former players, coaches and administrators for a historical book on BYU football entitled “What It Means To Be A Cougar.” Among those I interviewed was hall of fame trainer George Curtis. I’m not sure he wanted the attention the book might bring, but I sensed he was grateful that I wanted to include his story. 

George was a legend at BYU and throughout the country. His dedicated service and love for BYU student-athletes is legendary. I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to work with him for many years. On behalf of BYU Athletics, we express our love and condolences to his wife Jan and the Curtis family. Below is an excerpt from my book with George sharing his experiences at BYU in his own words.

— Duff Tittle, Associate Athletic Director—Communications

George Curtis

I attended Snow College and BYU and then graduated from Southern Utah University in 1971. I was at BYU in the summer of 1970 to take a sports medicine class from Dr. Rulon Francis. 

I had decided I was going into athletic training, so I thought it would be neat to meet Rod Kimball the head athletic trainer at BYU. It was a great experience. Rod told me to write down a list of goals—things I want to do in the profession. The following summer, I came back to Provo to visit Rod. I had a list of about 10-12 items.

Sure enough Rod remembered me and asked if I had made a list. I told him I had, and then I rehearsed my list with him. The list had things like work as a high school trainer, work at a junior college, work the Olympics, write a book, and work in pro football.

Rod told me that I really didn't want to work in pro football. That it wasn't the best place for an active LDS guy. I quickly told him that I wasn't planning on finishing my career in pro football. He asked where I wanted to end up. I sheepishly told him it was his job I wanted. He grabbed my shoulder and with a smile he said, “Well good, someone’s got to have it.”

In March 1985, I got a call from Dr. Clayne Jensen about a job at BYU. I had been with the L.A. Express of the USFL for the previous two years as the head athletic trainer. One of those years I was also the head strength and conditioning coach. I was planning on returning to professional football.

I asked Dr. Jensen what the job entailed and he said he wasn’t sure yet. I came to Provo shortly after the phone call and again two more times over the next couple months looking for answers. Finally, in June Dr. Jensen told me that the job was for the head trainer position. He wanted to offer me the position, but was wrestling with what to do with Marv Roberson and Ollie Julkunen, two excellent trainers who were currently on staff.  So I asked if I could have permission to talk with them and see if they could support me in this move.
 
Clayne said, “Yes.” So I drove over to Marv's home I told him I had just been offered the head job and asked him if he could support me and any changes I was going make. If he could, I wanted him to stay on the staff, but if he couldn’t then I would go back and tell Dr. Jensen I’m withdrawing my name. Marv said he would welcome the help. So I went to see Ollie and went over the same stuff with him. He gave me the same answer, so I went back to Dr. Jensen and told him I would take the job. I felt that I was prepared and sort of destined for the job at BYU.

I met LaVell Edwards in the spring 1971. When I was finishing up my degree at Southern Utah I was assigned to Skyline High School for my student teaching. LaVell was an assistant football coach at BYU at the time. Ken Schmidt was the head football coach at Skyline. LaVell would come by to recruit some of our players. I had a chance to talk to Coach Edwards often, and I developed a great amount of respect for him during that time. 

A year later I was working at Santa Ana Community College when I learned that LaVell had been named head coach at the Y. I called him that very day and volunteered to help with recruiting in anyway I could. 

When I came to the Y in July of 1985, I was so excited. Not only to be at BYU but also to work with a living legend in LaVell Edwards was a real pleasure. He always treated me with respect and kindness. 

My favorite LaVell story is one a lot people wouldn't know.  We were playing at home. I think it was against San Diego State. We played the first half of the game about as poorly as we could and were losing quite badly at halftime. 

LaVell was always straightforward with what he told the players before we headed back onto the field for the second half. But he wouldn’t yell, because he would treat everyone like the adults he expected them to be. This time before we left the locker room I guess he’d had it. He laid into the boys pretty good, but he was dead on with every word he said—and everyone knew it too. 

His voice was loud and it was clear. He knew exactly what he was saying. He told the team that we were going to get the second-half kickoff and go down and score. Then we were going stop them defensively and score again. That’s exactly what happened. It was truly amazing. He got everyone to believe and perform. He didn’t use a single swear word and no one was singled out or demeaned. It was one of the most inspiring moments I’ve ever been involved with in sports.  We came out in the second half and won quite handily.

Another amazing individual at BYU was Brother J—Floyd Johnson. He was a living legend long before I came to the Y. Brother J was the real deal. I would often visit him in the equipment room and find him with his scriptures opened teaching the gospel to someone, or giving council to help a young person. He touched a lot of lives.

My favorite memory as the BYU football trainer was the 1996 football season. There was so much talent on that team—guys like Steve Sarkisian, Chad Lewis, Itula Mili and others. Beyond the talent, I think it was the atmosphere that was so great. It started on the first road trip when K.O. Kealaluhi showed up with his ukulele. He would play and sing and get everyone else to join in. It was a pleasant change of pace, because normally plane trips and bus rides to and from games were quiet as a tomb. Not every kid can get up for a game the same way. That team was special. They won 14 games, including a victory over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.

I have a lot of great memories of my time at BYU. Some of my favorite experiences were the times I spent with the students. Whether it was teaching our student athletic trainers or sharing the gospel with amazing athletes like Ty Detmer, Moe Elewonibi, Garth Fennegan, Brian McDonald, Curtis Brown, Jamal Willis, Eddie Sampson, and Ford Poston, just to name a few. 

BYU is a special place because of the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was so nice to be a part of the religious atmosphere at BYU and to be associated with the Church, even in a small way. Romans 1:16 tells us that we should not be ashamed of the gospel. I learned that lesson at BYU. I also learned the importance of trust. 

I loved the family atmosphere at BYU. My family benefited so much by being around the university and all the amazing student-athletes. My wife Jan and I have six girls and two boys. All of my children—except for our fifth child Kara Lee, who passed away in 1982—have attended the Y. Three of my girls competed on athletic teams at BYU.

The student-athletes at BYU are remarkable because of their maturity level. Many of them are married, most have been on missions, and some even have kids. I loved when they would bring their kids by the training room and they would call me Uncle George. To me it was a sign respect.

To be a Cougar means that I’m a part of a close-knit family. A family of people who believe in similar principles, like the golden rule, and keeping the Sabbath Day holy. The university is truly a band of brothers and sisters linked together in love, cooperation, and consideration.

I lived a charmed life. At least that's the way I feel about it. Working at BYU was a dream come true. I have been truly blessed and lucky. I don't think I ever felt like I “had” to go work. I loved being at the Y.