FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – April 11, 2024 – The Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation is excited to announce that Minnesota State-Moorhead athletic trainer Keith Wiedrich has been named this year’s recipient of the Fred Zamberletti Award. Wiedrich will be recognized during this summer’s Minnesota Football Honors television show. 

“Keith Wiedrich has carved out a long and impactful career in athletic training. For years, he has helped athletes stay healthy, rehab and achieve their optimal performance on the field,” said Todd Fultz, President of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation. “We are very excited to honor Keith during the Minnesota Football Honors television show.” 

Keith Wiedrich has been an athletic trainer and adjunct instructor at Minnesota State University-Moorhead since 1994 as a member of Sanford Health (formerly Meritcare). Wiedrich earned a Master of Arts Degree in Athletic Training from Western Michigan in 1994 and Bachelor’s Degrees in Athletic Training and Physical Education from North Dakota State University in 1989.

He spent the summer of 2005 working at the United State Olympic training center in Chula Vista, California. He was Co-Head Athletic Trainer at Kalamazoo College in 1993-94 and Head Athletic Trainer at Mayville State University from 1990-93. In 1996, he started as an item writer for the Board of Certification Examination Development Committee. From 2008-2013, he was the sub-committee co-chair of the Item Writing Committee for the BOC Certification Exam. He has served as BOC Exam Development item writer trainer and mentor since 2016. In June of 2010, Wiedrich was the recipient of the Dan Libera Service Award from the Board of Certification at the National Athletic Trainers Association convention in Philadelphia.

Keith holds certifications in Athletic Training from the BOC, Strength and Conditioning from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and is licensed as an athletic trainer in Minnesota and North Dakota. He is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association, Minnesota Athletic Trainers Association and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

The Fred Zamberletti Award honors the late Fred Zamberletti, the Minnesota Vikings’ first head athletic trainer. While working for the organization, Zamberletti became an athletic training pioneer. After his long career as the Vikings’ head athletic trainer, he was named the team’s coordinator for medical services (1998-2001) and senior consultant/team historian (2002-2018). 

Previous Fred Zamberletti Award winners: 

• 2009: Gary Smith 

• 2010: Jim Marshall

• 2011: Gordy Graham 

• 2012: Gary Reinholtz

• 2013: Scott Westermann

• 2014: Chuck Barta

• 2015: Roger Casey

• 2016: Missy Strauch

• 2017: Terry Carlyle

• 2018: Joel Krekelberg

• 2019: Eric Sugarman

• 2021: Doug Nelson

• 2022: Scott Bierscheid

• 2023: Karen Karlson

Minnesota Football Honors is hosting a show to honor this year’s high school, college and Minnesota Vikings award winners. An official broadcast date will be announced later this summer on www.minnesotafootballhonors.com.

To view a statewide map of past and present Minnesota Football Honors Award Winners, visit this site. 

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About the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation:

The Minnesota Chapter of The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to promote amateur football’s ability to develop leadership, sportsmanship, competitive spirit and academic excellence in Minnesota’s young people. The Minnesota Chapter recognizes legendary football icons, college football Hall of Famers and Minnesota’s top high school and college football scholar-athletes. For more information, visit www.nffmn.org, or Facebook (@MNFootballHonors) and Twitter (@NFFMN).

Contact:

Todd Fultz, President - Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation

Phone: (612)-325-5500

Media Contact:

Daniel House, Director of Media Relations and Content

Minnesota Chapter of The National Football Foundation

Email: daniel@nffmn.org