Northern Illinois University Athletics

One of the longest-standing members of the NIU staff is assistant athletic director for health care administration Phil Voorhis, who begins his 36th year with Huskie Athletics in 2025. Voorhis has spent the last 31 seasons leading the NIU sports medicine operation. He directs a staff of 14 full-time athletic trainers who provide medical care for each of NIU’s 17 sports programs. Voorhis works directly with the Huskie men's and women's golf teams.

He originally came to NIU in August 1989 as a graduate assistant athletic trainer. Three years later, Voorhis was promoted to the full-time staff with oversight of football, men's basketball and cheerleading, and in September 1994, he became the Huskies' head athletic trainer.

In addition to his work with Huskie student-athletes, Voorhis has been an advocate for preventative medical care and safety on campus. Through his efforts, defibrillators were added to all university police vehicles and at all major campus athletics venues. He instituted a CPR certification requirement for all NIU Athletics staff and is active with the local chapter of the American Red Cross, working with that organization's Disaster Team and as an instructor.

In 1997, he was presented with the Clifford Danielson Award as the athletics staff member who makes a significant contribution to the local community, and he received a Special Recognition Award from the NIU Division of Student Affairs in 2001. He serves as a guest lecturer in athletic training curriculum courses each semester and teaches several first aid and emergency preparation courses on the NIU campus.

A certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (N.A.T.A.), Voorhis is also an active participant in the Great Lakes and Illinois Athletic Trainers Associations. He is a past president of the IATA after a term as regional representative to that group's Board of Directors and has given numerous speeches to such groups as the Illinois State Bar Association, the GLATA Winter Symposium and the N.AT.A.

A native of Piqua, Ohio, Voorhis began his career as a student trainer in Oxford, Ohio at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio) University. During his undergraduate days, he served internships with New Miami High School as well as the Piqua Medical Center. He also assisted with the Miami summer sports camps and worked with the MU recreational program.

Voorhis received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Miami in 1989 and earned his master's degree in exercise physiology from NIU in 1994. He and his wife, the former Jana Garman of Covington, Ohio, have three daughters, Victoria, Daphne and Madeline.