by Alisa Boswell

Nowadays, the question may not be what Lora Ferguson does for the Eastern New Mexico University Athletic Department.

The better question might be, what doesn’t she do?

“Day-to-day, right now, I’m the head athletic trainer; I’m also the senior women’s administrator and since we are down a compliance director, I am helping out with compliance right now,” said Ferguson. “I typically get into the office around 9-ish and start the day with checking emails. We’ve got kids coming in for (physical therapy) treatments throughout the day. My staff and myself are also tasked with teaching classes in the HPE (Health & Physical Education) department.”

Ferguson’s days also include dealing with administrative and insurance paperwork and attending all of the ENMU practices and games, both home and away.

“It’s a lot of list making and a lot of, let’s see here, which of these fires needs to be put out first,” she laughed.

Ferguson graduated with her master’s degree in 2006 and got a job with a small NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) school in Kansas. After two years, a job opening for assistant athletic trainer came up at Eastern, and Ferguson jumped on the chance to be closer to her family in the Lubbock, Texas, area.
Along with all of the usual ins and outs of her own job as head athletic trainer, Ferguson is also currently the acting compliance director.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requires all universities to have a full-time staff member who ensures that the university is following NCAA rules and regulations in regard to their athletes. This includes a variety of things from how much time athletes get off to academics and scholarships to eligibility and more.

“It’s not my first calling by any stretch,” she said, laughing. “But I at least have general knowledge, and I am willing to call and ask other people ‘what does this mean?'”

And clearly Ferguson juggling multiple balls at once has not gone unnoticed, because she was awarded with a Spirit of Eastern Award on April 12, which goes to people who go above and beyond in demonstrating a strong work ethic and commitment to ENMU and its students.

Athletic Director Greg Waggoner said Ferguson has gone way above and beyond in numerous ways the past several months, with Ferguson handling being the primary campus compliance coordinator in “championship form.”
“Lora’s role as athletic trainer is huge. Her role as SWA is huge. Lora is an extremely dedicated professional and takes her job very seriously,” Waggoner said. “She cares for the student-athletes and our department. She covers game promotions, event planning, compliance – you name it. Lora is a leader, and ENMU is fortunate to have her.”

Ferguson said in her mind, the student-athletes are “her kids.”

And her kids they are indeed as it is not unusual to hear football players walking over to Ferguson on the sidelines, asking, “Miss Lora, will you look at my finger?”

Senior and linebacker Matthew Cook is a Type 1 diabetic, who says that always having Ferguson nearby has been essential to his success as a student-athlete.

“The big thing for me is keeping track of checking (my blood sugar),” he said. “She carries my meter and brings it to me to minimize the amount of time I have to spend resting from practice, which is phenomenal; it’s a huge help to me.”

“She’s got this nose to where she can just really sniff it out when I have a problem,” he said, laughing. “She’s got a sixth sense. She’s incredible at that.”

Ferguson said her kids are what keep her going every day, including on the really rough days.

“I have seen some of those kids come in as freshman, and I just wanted to smack them upside the head,” she said with a laugh. “Then I see them grow into an adult, and they’re graduating from college and I am so proud of them. In some cases, I have seen them get married and have kids. So just seeing that whole change in someone has been very rewarding.”

In her office, Ferguson has what she calls her “inspiration wall,” which holds a variety of notes and letters student-athletes and former student- athletes have given to her.

“I am very lucky that I have gotten to be a part of these kids’ lives, and I am very lucky that I was able to have them in mine.”