David Ray England, 69, of Fayetteville, passed November 4, 2025. Born February 19, 1956, in Fort Hood, Texas, England moved to Clarksville, Ark., with his family, where he graduated from Clarksville High School. He came to Fayetteville to attend the University of Arkansas and fulfill his dream to be an athletics trainer for the Razorbacks.
Over the course of more than four decades, he stood at the forefront of student-athlete care, championing the health, safety, and well-being of thousands of Razorbacks and leaving an enduring legacy of service and impact.
A 1980 graduate of the University of Arkansas, with a bachelor’s of science degree in education, England worked as a student and graduate assistant athletic trainer for the Hogs. England worked the 1976 Cotton Bowl and the 1978 Orange Bowl football games as a student athletic trainer. He was a graduate assistant for Dean Weber in 1980-81, and went with the Hogs to the 1980 Hall of Fame Bowl. He also worked with baseball as a student and graduate assistant.
After spending some time in professional baseball within the St. Louis Cardinals organization, he worked his way up to the position of head athletic trainer for the Arkansas Travelers, the Cardinals’ Double-A team in Little Rock.
In January 1984, England rejoined the Razorbacks as an assistant athletics trainer and earned a promotion to head athletics trainer in 1989. England served as the head athletics trainer for men’s basketball from 1984-2019. He also worked with baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s golf and the Razorback spirit squads.
While working with Razorback basketball, England was part of 19 NCAA tournaments and three NITs. He made three trips to the Final Four and worked with the 1994 NCAA champions and the 1995 national runner-up. He returned to the College World Series with Razorback baseball in 1985 and 1987.
While working with football, he worked the Liberty and Cotton bowls twice, along with trips to the Orange, Holiday and Hall of Fame bowls.
In 2019, England was named the director of sports medicine for Razorback Athletics. He played a pivotal role in guiding Razorback Athletics through the challenges of practice and competition during the COVID-19 pandemic. England retired from Razorback Athletics in 2021.
One of the founding members of the Arkansas Athletic Trainers’ Association (AATA) in 1987, England was inducted into the AATA Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 2016, he was recognized by the Southeastern Conference with the Chris Patrick Award, an honor handed out annually to the most outstanding athletic trainer in the SEC. In 2004, England received the District 6 Athletic Trainer Service Award from the National Athletic Trainers Association. He was honored in 2000 as the Arkansas Athletic Trainers’ Association Trainer of the Year.
He was preceded in death by his father, Herman Ray England.
He is survived by wife, Heather England; daughters, Jennifer Worthy (Josh) and Alyson Passmore (Kevin); his mother, Bernie Brooks England; brothers, Mark England (Lori) and Greg England (Mandy); and grandchildren, Ellison Worthy and Sadie Grace Worthy. His third grandchild, Rowan Marie Passmore, is due in December.
The family requests memorial tributes be made to First Tee of Northwest Arkansas, the Springdale Public Schools Education Foundation or the Razorback Foundation.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 1 p.m., at Bud Walton Arena, on the campus of the University of Arkansas. http://www.heritageofnwa.com.