Shaped by their Notre Dame education, physicians who were once student athletes themselves now care for some of the same teams on which they played. As they guide today’s players to health, these doctors bring a unique understanding of what it takes to balance demanding academic workloads with competitive athletic schedules.
During the 1979 Cotton Bowl Classic, temperatures dropped to an icy 22 degrees and wind speeds rose to 30 mph. As Joe Montana’s body temperature dipped to 96 degrees, the quarterback was battling hypothermia. Team orthopedic physician Dr. Les Bodnar warmed his body with chicken soup and covered him with warm blankets. He recovered and got back in the game. Notre Dame came from behind to win 35–34 against the Houston Cougars.
Today, the orthopedic physicians of South Bend Orthopaedics continue the vital work of their founders, Dr. Les Bodnar and Dr. Marlin Troyer, in supporting Notre Dame student athletes in all varsity and non-varsity sports from football, basketball, hockey, volleyball and baseball to golf, diving, fencing, rugby and other sports. For over 75 years, these experienced orthopedic physicians—many of them Notre Dame alumni—have cared for student athletes as well as the local community.
An Education that Endures
Each physician who is an alumnus is proud of the formative role their Notre Dame education played in their career and approach to care. Led by the vision of Fr. Moreau who wrote, “The mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart,” Notre Dame educates the whole person—mind, body and spirit. The rigorous intellectual training develops critical thinking; the moral and spiritual formation cultivates character, compassion and faith; and the development of physical and emotional well-being supports each student’s health and resilience. Physicians who were student athletes at Notre Dame remember how they learned to balance demanding academic learning with competitive collegiate athletics, community service and the life of faith in their residence halls.
“The emphasis on caring for the whole person—mind, body and spirit—stuck with me long after graduation,” says Dr. William Warrender, who played center field on the Notre Dame baseball team, coached by Dave Schrage. “In orthopedic surgery, that translates to remembering you aren’t just treating a hand or an injury; you’re taking care of an individual whose livelihood, passions, and everyday life depend on getting back to normal.” Warrender is a double board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the comprehensive treatment of patients with hand, wrist and elbow conditions.
As an undergraduate science major at Notre Dame, Dr. James Flynn was a student manager for the football team and spent many hours with the team on the practice field and with the coaches in the football office. He now assesses and treats foot and ankle injuries of Notre Dame student athletes.
During his undergraduate career, Dr. Sam Fuller boxed in the annual charity Bengal Bouts tournament, originally organized by legendary football coach Knute Rockne. Not only does the tournament raise funds for the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh, but it is an example of the vibrant campus life at Notre Dame that reinforces the connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind. Today, Dr. Fuller is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon with additional subspecialty Certification in Surgery of the Hand. Whether caring for student athletes with hand injuries, patients in the operating room or those with severe injuries in the emergency department, he combines his expertise in orthopedic hand surgery with advanced reconstructive plastic surgery to restore both the function and appearance of the hand, face and other parts of the body. As one of the most versatile surgeons, he is also guiding patients on their journey to restore confidence after pregnancy and childbirth.
As a science pre-professional studies major and offensive lineman on the Notre Dame football team, Dr. Thomas Bemenderfer’s coach called him a role model for other players because of his work ethic and exemplary study habits. As he looks back on those days, he says that playing football taught him that success is rarely achieved by a single individual. “It comes from a team committed to the same goal. I’ve carried that philosophy into orthopaedics. Great patient care requires clear communication and trust among surgeons, therapists, athletic trainers, and every member of the care team,” he says. “Everyone has a role, everyone has to be accountable, and everyone has to be committed to the patient. Just like football, when we communicate, trust each other, and do our individual jobs well, the entire team succeeds… and patients feel cared for.” Today, Dr. Bemenderfer specializes in foot and ankle trauma, degenerative arthritis and deformity correction.
Shared Values
A fundamental pillar of Notre Dame’s holistic education is solidarity with the global and local community and a genuine concern for the common good. This is reflected in service-learning, partnerships with nonprofit organizations and community engagement. SBO physicians continue to live out their values by supporting local nonprofit organizations at significantly higher levels than their peers.
Since it began in 1986, students and alumni physicians have volunteered at the Sister Maura Brannick Health Center, a volunteer-powered primary care clinic downtown South Bend that provides free or income-based healthcare. In the early days, Dr. Bodnar volunteered and served on the board of the clinic.
During his senior year, Dr. James Flynn committed to serving in the Tom Dooley position at the Sister Maura Brannick Health Clinic. During his full year of service at the Clinic, his calling into medicine solidified. As he served and advocated for local people with healthcare needs in our community, he became confident in his decision to care for those who needed him. He says, “It was a great experience. My time there was one of the most formative experiences before entering medical school.” As a foot and ankle surgeon today, he continues to volunteer at the Clinic as time permits and offers free foot exams and shoes at the Center for the Homeless annually, in collaboration with a nonprofit agency led by Notre Dame alumni.
Over his career, Dr. Mike Yergler has consistently championed the mission of the Center for the Homeless. For two decades, he served as the orthopedic team physician for Men’s and Women’s Basketball while also covering the orthopedic care of Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Volleyball, Fencing and Olympic Sports. He recalls many moments that stand out with the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams—seven Final Fours, WBB’s 2017 National Championship and MBB’s 2016 ACC Championship. But some of his most gratifying moments came later. “Having [players] come home for games at Notre Dame after they’ve graduated and saying ‘hi’ and ‘thank you for everything’ I did for them is very rewarding,” he says. Dr. Yergler follows in the footsteps of his father, Dr. Willard Yergler, who was an honorary member of the Notre Dame Monogram Club and served as the orthopedic surgeon for the Notre Dame football team for 36 years, spanning 430 consecutive games.
A four-year monogram winner at Notre Dame, Dr. Brian Ratigan was a linebacker for Coach Lou Holtz. On a daily basis, Dr. Ratigan lives by the values of love, trust and commitment that Coach Holtz instilled in him. He remembers the day his freshman year when Lou told the team, “You give me four years, and I’ll give you forty.” Looking back on his lifelong loyalty, Dr. Ratigan says, “Lou lived up to that promise.” Stressing that Holtz exemplified the values he taught, Dr. Ratigan explains that to Coach Holtz, commitment was not just about showing up — it was about consistent, selfless dedication to high standards, to the group, and to personal growth. You may have been fortunate to hear Holtz talk about how commitment can be measured by the response to three questions: “Can I trust you? Do you care about me? Are you committed to excellence?” As one reads Dr. Ratigan’s five-star reviews, it’s clear to see that he learned from one of the best coaches of all time.
Today, Dr. Ratigan is the Director of Orthopedic Care for Notre Dame Athletics and the head orthopedic physician for Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Track, and Baseball. His daughter, Kelly, plays on the Women’s Basketball team and his son, Austin, is a freshman on the Football team. He specializes in sports medicine with an interest in arthroscopic and reconstructive surgery of the shoulder and knee.
As a Bengal Bouts captain and past champion, Dr. Chris Balint learned the values of resilience and dedication in the boxing ring. The proud 1990 alumnus has a lifelong dedication to the community that shaped every step of his personal and professional journey. For the past 23 years he has served as a team physician and consulting physician for Notre Dame Athletics, spending 17 of those years as the Orthopedic Team Physician for the Football Team, where he serves with Dr. Brian Ratigan. “Serving as a team Orthopedic Surgeon with Dr. Brian Ratigan for every home and away game for the last 17 years—over 200 Notre Dame football games—has been one of the greatest honors of my career,” he says. Delivering immediate on-field evaluation, acute trauma care and sideline medical management allows Dr. Balint to pass on appropriate clinical decision making to his patients on an everyday basis. “I remain committed to protecting the health, performance and well-being of these remarkable athletes while proudly serving the South Bend and Notre Dame communities,” he says. This year, his son who is attending Notre Dame is competing in Bengal Bouts, so the tradition continues.
During his undergraduate days at Notre Dame, Dr. Jeffrey Biever played intramural football, basketball, baseball and Bookstore Basketball, a competition that raises funds to provide the children of Jamaica the opportunity to learn values such as teamwork, dedication and sportsmanship, building camaraderie as they learn the fundamentals of the sport. Today, Dr. Biever is a podiatrist who treats the foot and ankle.
For the fiftieth anniversary of Logan Center, Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, the notable 35-year president of the University, emphasized that the true measure of a community lies in how it treats its most vulnerable members. Over the generations, the physicians of South Bend Orthopaedics have consistently supported the important work of Logan Center, caring for people with developmental disabilities. For some physicians, such as Dr. Henry Kim, it is a personal mission.
Dr. Kim grew up in South Bend and followed in the footsteps of his beloved father, who was also a physician. After graduating from Stanford University and Yale University School of Medicine, he served as a team physician for the New York Yankees, New York Knicks, New York Liberty and New York Empire State Games before returning to South Bend. He is a consulting orthopedic team physician for Notre Dame Athletics and specializes in sports medicine and joint replacement. “This is my hometown,” he says. “I feel that it is a wonderful place in which to live and work. I feel a great responsibility and a unique, shared connection to the people of Michiana. It is an honor and privilege to play a role in the health and well-being of people’s lives.”
Guiding the Next Generation
South Bend Orthopaedics physicians are honored to care for student athletes and the community alike. They are grateful for their undergraduate experiences at Notre Dame and other leading universities and have chosen to give back to the University by devoting their time and talents to student athletes, Notre Dame Athletic teams and the mentorship of young, pre-med alumni through the Todd Graham Fellowship program. “When a student can shadow a physician or do research for an organization like South Bend Orthopaedics, it increases their focus in achieving their career path,” says Dr. Jeffrey Biever.
Team physician for Volleyball and Rowing, Dr. Tyler McGregor has extensive sports medicine experience. As captain of the varsity hockey team at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., he was voted third team All-American and won the National Sportsmanship award for NCAA Division I hockey. Having played hockey, baseball, soccer, golf and rugby in college, and completed an Ironman triathlon, Dr. McGregor is uniquely prepared to treat sports injuries.
Sports Medicine Physician Dr. P.J. Warmoth says, “The satisfying moment of caring for a student athlete is seeing them use their competitive drive to focus on their rehabilitation.” He compares the treatment of a student athlete to a roller coaster journey that starts with the breaking news of a significant injury with prolonged downtime. “The exciting part,” he explains, “is when they hit all their milestones and can truly appreciate how much their hard work impacted their recovery. The highlight of it all for me is being along for the journey and releasing them back to their sport, knowing they have the confidence to compete again.”
As the Team Physician for Hockey and Lacrosse, Dr. James Sieradzki recognizes that balancing the demands of a Division 1 sport with a rigorous academic schedule requires focus, discipline, hard work, and meticulous time management. Injuries and medical treatment can make this balance even more difficult,” he says. “We work closely with our student athletes to make sure they have the resources necessary for seamless recovery after injury or surgery. Surgeries are timed to be the least disruptive to academic and athletic schedules. Athletes participate in on-campus rehabilitation programs that we oversee and have follow-up visits on campus to limit disruptions. We keep a close eye on their recovery with regular follow-up visits and close contact with the athletic trainers. Although difficult, the vast majority of our student athletes overcome this adversity with a new perspective on life [and] their education, and can return to athletics at the highest level.”
For over 75 years, South Bend Orthopaedics has been proud to support the Fighting Irish. Student athletes benefit from each physician’s expertise and decades of experience treating the musculoskeletal system—bones, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Team physicians at South Bend Orthopaedics are fellowship-trained, board-certified, and their advanced training gives them the knowledge to accurately evaluate, diagnose and care for injuries. They treat a wide range of sports-related injuries from ACL and meniscus tears, sprains, strains, stress fractures, dislocations, tendonitis, hand and wrist pain, rotator cuff and overuse injuries. The same care they give to elite student athletes is available to our community.