Erik Swartz, in the UH Mānoa College of Education Department of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science (KRS), was awarded the 2025 Kenneth L. Knight Award for the Outstanding Research Manuscript by the Journal of Athletic Training, the official publication of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). He was presented with the award at the 77th NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo on July 1, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Hawaiʻi Concussion Management Awareness Program (HCAMP) Director and Gary O. Galiher Endowed Professor, Swartz is co-author of the award-winning article, “Influence of Adherence to a Helmetless-Tackling and -Blocking Training Intervention on Head-Impact Exposure Rates in Hawaiian High School Football.” Co-authors also include COE Dean Nathan Murata and HCAMP Project Manager Troy Furutani.
In the article, Swartz reports the primary results from a three-year clinical trial in Hawaiʻi on the Helmetless Tackling Training (HuTT) intervention designed to train high school football players to keep their head out of contact when tackling or blocking. His research found that players who did the HuTT training at least 60% of the intended season drill schedule had over 30% reduction in head impacts per practice or game exposure.
“Being selected as the winner of the Journal’s research article of the year is a testament to the quality, rigor, and potential impact of our research findings,” said Swartz. “It’s a testament to the hard work of the research team carrying out a longitudinal study in the local population, which involved a COVID year interruption.”
Swartz launched HuTT®808 in with partnership with the COE in 2019 through a collaboration with HCAMP. At the time, he was a professor and chair of the Department of Physical Therapy and Kinesiology at UMass Lowell before serving as Vice Dean and Ruth S. Ammon Professor at the Adelphi University School of Health Sciences.
