NFF National Scholar-Athletes
A four-year starter at running back and linebacker for College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill McCartney at Colorado, Eric McCarty rushed for 503 yards and a touchdown on 124 carries and recorded 237 career tackles. His team-leading 148 tackles in 1982 are the eighth-most in a single season in school history. McCarty also ranks sixth in single-season unassisted tackles (88). An Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-Big 8 selection, he received the Denver Post Gold Helmet Award and participated in the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic. A two-time Academic All-American and four-time Academic All-Big 8 selection, McCarty compiled a 3.7 GPA as a pre-med and kinesiology student and received the Dean Jacob Van Ek Award as the team’s top scholar-athlete. He was a member of the Dean’s List, Golden Key, Volunteers for Youth, Big Brothers, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Pre-Med Society.
McCarty earned his M.D. from the University of Colorado-Denver School of Medicine in 1993 and completed his internship and residency at Vanderbilt University in 1994 and 1998, respectively. After completing an orthopedic surgery fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, he joined the staff of the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Colorado-Denver. McCarty also serves as an associate professor and the Chief of Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery.
