Major upgrade for Anteaters’ athletics

The UC Irvine Intercollegiate Athletics program will be relocating,

remodeling, and renaming its Sports Medicine Center, announced by Bob

Chichester, UCI’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The facility will be renamed the Carlos Prietto Sports Medicine

Center, in honor of the noted Orange County orthopaedic physician,

who provided the funding to construct the new facility. “The up-grade

of our Sports Medicine Center is a great achievement, because it

positively impacts our ability to recruit high-level student-athletes

and then provide a high-level of care for them,” Chichester said. “It

is an honor to dedicate this facility to Dr. Prietto for everything

he has meant to our program and to the student-athletes.”

“This will give UCI a facility to continue providing top level

sports medicine care for its student-athletes. The facility is a

long-time coming, and we hope that the University and the community

will continue to support this vital area of the Athletics program,”

Prietto said.

Dr. Prietto has served as the UC Irvine team physician for 17

years, and has been a cornerstone of UCI’s medical care for its

student-athletes. A 1973 graduate of the UCI College of Medicine, Dr.

Prietto has cared for the Orange County community in a variety of

capacities.

He was an Associate Professor of Orthopaedics with UC Irvine, and

still works as Clinical Professor for the University. In addition to

UC Irvine, he has served as team physician for Mater Dei, Garden

Grove, and Tustin high schools.

In 2002, he formed the Orthopaedic Specialty Institute of Orange

County, a collaboration of 16 of Orange County’s finest orthopaedic

physicians. He has been honored by several publications as one of

Orange County’s finest physicians, most recently by Orange Coast

Magazine.

“Dr. Prietto is nationally recognized for his contributions to

medicine, and the new facility will allow us develop a Sports

Medicine program of similar distinction,” said Chichester.

The UCI Sports Medicine Center will remain in Crawford Hall, but

will expand from 1,500 square feet to 5,000. It will be renovated in

conjunction with the greater Crawford Hall renovation project

currently under way. ]

The entire project includes seismic and ADA up-grades to Crawford

Hall, new bleachers in the gymnasium, and a new entry way to the main

facility. The project, including the Carlos Prietto Sports Medicine

Center, is scheduled to be completed by August.