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1 7 F O O T B A L L ME D I A G U I D E
Ben Hilgart enters his second season as associate AD for strength and
conditioning at Virginia Tech. He works directly with head coach Justin Fuente
and the football program after joining the Hokies in January 2016.
Named a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate
Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association – the highest given in the
profession – Hilgart owns an impressive resume. He has trained numerous
players who have gone on to play in the NFL during his previous stints at New
Mexico, Arizona State, Ohio State and UTEP. In his seven years at Arizona
State, 10 players earned first-team all-conference recognition, including tight
end Zach Miller, who would go on to earn All-America honors in 2006.
Hilgart oversees the Hokies’ entire football strength and conditioning
program, which includes all phases of strength, conditioning, rehabilitation,
and injury prevention.
Before coming to Tech, Hilgart spent four seasons at New Mexico, including
the past two as the director of athletic performance. He was in charge of the
entire athletics performance initiative for the Lobos and he was also responsible
for a redesign of the Athletic Performance Center, revamping the area into one
of the top performance centers in the West.
Prior to working at New Mexico, Hilgart spent seven years at Arizona State,
which included the final four seasons as the head sports performance coach. He
worked directly with the Sun Devils’ football program in addition to overseeing
the sports performance programs for all 20 of Arizona State’s sports.
Before arriving at Arizona State, Hilgart spent two seasons at Ohio State.
He started as the assistant strength and conditioning coach before being
promoted to associate strength and conditioning coach. He also spent two
years at UTEP as the graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach. He
served as the head strength coach and assistant defensive line coach at his
alma mater, Western Illinois, in 2001.
Hilgart was a two-year letterman at Western Illinois, earning his bachelor’s
degree in physical education in 2001, and he earned his master’s degree in
kinesiology from UTEP in 2003. Hilgart also once served as the head strength
coach at Deer Valley High School in Glendale, Arizona.
Hilgart and wife Jamie have two daughters, Riley and Reagan.
ANTHONY
CROSBY
SENIOR
DIRECTOR,
FOOTBALL
Anthony Crosby is in
his second season as a
member of the Virginia
Tech strength and conditioning staff. Crosby came
to Blacksburg from Ole Miss, where he spent four
seasons as the assistant strength and conditioning
coach for football and served in a similar role to his
current one.
Prior to working at Ole Miss, the Lafayette,
Louisiana native spent two seasons working with
the football program at Boston College, where he
assisted with program design, freshman and transfer
orientation, and the designing of injured player
rehabilitation workouts.
Before achieving a full-time position, Crosby
worked internships at Arizona State and LSU, where
he helped with the football programs along with
Olympic sports such as baseball, volleyball, softball,
track and field and wrestling.
Crosby played football at Louisiana Tech and
graduated with a degree in kinesiology in 2008. He
and his wife Colby have a son, Brody.
JARRET T
FERGUSON
SENIOR
DIRECTOR,
FOOTBALL
Former football player
Jarrett
Ferguson
is
entering his 11th season
with the Virginia Tech athletics department – all with
strength and conditioning – and currently serves as
the senior director of strength and conditioning for
football. He helps design and implement the strength
and conditioning programs for the squad.
In May 2017 he was named a Master Strength and
Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and
Conditioning Coaches Association, his profession’s
highest honor.
The Goodview, Virginia native came to Tech from
the University of North Carolina, where he served as an
assistant strength and conditioning coach for the 2005
season. Prior to his stint with the Tar Heels, he worked
as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in
the strength and conditioning department at Ohio
University under former Tech assistant Sonny Sano. In
2003-04, Ferguson worked as an intern at Tech.
Ferguson graduated from Tech in 2002 with a
degree in physical education and he got a master’s
degree in health promotions from Tech a year later.
A seventh-round pick of Buffalo in the 2002 NFL
Draft, he and wife Kimberly live in Christiansburg
with their children Jaelynn, Addison, Chloe, Jarrett,
Jr. and Lorelai.
RYAN
SHUMAN
ASSOCIATE
DIRECTOR,
FOOTBALL
Ryan Shuman enters
his fifth season as a
member of the Virginia
Tech strength and conditioning staff, working
under the direction of Ben Hilgart, associate AD for
strength and conditioning.
He graduated from Virginia Tech in 2008 after
serving as a three-year starter for the Hokies. He
started at left guard as a redshirt freshman before
being moved to center for his final two seasons.
A former graduate assistant in the strength and
conditioning department, he received his master’s
degree in curriculum and instruction in 2012 and
moved into a full-time role with the strength and
conditioning department shortly thereafter.
The Fork Union, Virginia native attended Fork
Union High School. His father serves as the head
football coach of the Fork Union postgraduate team.
Shuman and his wife Meredith live in Salem.
A S SOC I A T E A T H L E T I C S D I R E C T OR F OR S T R E NG T H & COND I T I ON I NG
BEN HILGART
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING