The basketball teams still need to play their way in, but School of Medicine physicians already know they’ll be on hand for the NCAA basketball tournament’s regional championship this weekend in St. Louis.
The sports medicine specialists in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery will coordinate care at the NCAA Division I Men’s Midwest Regional March 23-25 at the Edward Jones Dome.
“The NCAA basketball tournament is one of the premier events on the national sports calendar, and it’s very exciting to be a part of it,” said Matthew J. Matava, M.D., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and a sports medicine physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
The NCAA Midwest Regional is hosted by the St. Louis-based Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). After the regional concludes this weekend, the WUSTL sports medicine specialists will continue to work with the conference, providing care for the MVC’s annual “Arch Madness” tournament at Scottrade Center and future NCAA basketball tournaments hosted by the conference in St. Louis, including the Women’s Final Four in 2009 and another Midwest Regional in 2010.
“We are very pleased that physicians from one of the leading health-care institutions in the nation will provide medical support services for student-athletes competing in the NCAA and conference tournaments,” said Doug Elgin, commissioner of the MVC.
Sports medicine specialists from WUSTL have provided medical care at Super Bowls, Stanley Cup playoff games and for other special events in St. Louis, including the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. WUSTL physicians provide medical care for the St. Louis Rams and the St. Louis Blues.
Matava is head team physician for the Rams, assistant team physician for the Blues and head team physician for WUSTL’s Department of Athletics. He will be joined this weekend by colleagues Rick W. Wright, M.D., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, head team physician for the Blues and assistant team physician for the Rams, and sports medicine specialists Mark E. Halstead, M.D., instructor in pediatrics and in orthopaedic surgery, and Brian Gruber, M.D.