Pat Richards

Pat Richards is entering his fourth season as Clemson’s Director of Football Athletic Training in 2025.

Prior to joining Clemson, Richards most recently served as Associate Director of Sports Medicine at the University of Houston for the Cougars’ 12-2 season and No. 17 final national ranking. His professional experience began as an athletic training intern with the Dallas Cowboys during the 2012 NFL season. In the years to follow, he served as a graduate assistant at Utah (2013-14), as an athletic training intern at Louisville (2015), as an associate athletic trainer at Mississippi State (2016-18) and as the associate director of sports medicine at Louisiana (2019-20) prior to his role at Houston.

Richards earned his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from TCU in 2013 before earning a master’s degree in exercise and sport science from the University of Utah in 2015.

Upon his hire, Richards became only the fourth person to formally serve as Clemson Football’s head athletic trainer since 1948. Clemson Athletic Hall of Famer Herman McGee held the role from 1948-57 amidst his 46 total years of service at Clemson. Though there was no designated head trainer in 1958, legendary long-time Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves trainer Dave Pursley temporarily assisted in that capacity alongside McGee during Clemson’s 1958 ACC title season while also assisting MLB farm clubs. Fred Hoover, a Clemson Athletic Hall of Famer, led football training efforts as head athletic trainer from 1959-98. Danny Poole served as Clemson’s Director of Sports Medicine across the 1999-2021 football seasons after joining the university in 1984.

A native of Dallas, Texas, Richards is married to his wife, Stephanie, and has a son, Dallas, and a daughter, Paige.