MOREHEAD, Ky. – For many Morehead State alums, they keep tabs on the Eagles from afar. For former Eagle football player and Morehead native Dr. Chris Ginter, he doesn't have to go very far to support his alma mater.
 
Ginter, a 2006 biology graduate who played wide receiver from 2002-06, is still thriving in his hometown and now runs his own practice, Commonwealth Chiropractic, located less than a mile from campus and MSU's athletic complex. Before returning to the Bluegrass, Ginter attended and graduated from the College of Chiropractic at Logan University in St. Louis, Mo.
 
Ginter practiced for nine months in Grayson and then finished up with an internship with MSU's sports medicine department where he still serves as the athletic department's chiropractor on a need-by-need basis for individual student-athletes.
 
Ginter garnered close to 400 career receiving yards as an Eagle, missing the 2005 season with an injury.
 
"I sometimes wish I could work with athletes more on a full-time basis," he said. "But you kind of need a little bit bigger town or an area with multiple high schools to do that. But I really enjoy my general practice, and I do enjoy working with the MSU athletes."
 
He also believes the stigma of seeing a chiropractor can be lessened with some simple education of ailments. Ginter believes if he can't come up with a positive solution, he always knows someone who can.
 
"I think some people are afraid to come in because they are afraid they are wasting my time, but they aren't," he pointed out. "Some people may not know if they need an orthopedist or a physical therapist or a chiropractor. I think it's gotten a lot better in the health field in the last 10 to 15 years. It's not just a money thing anymore.
 
I can help a lot of people, but there are times when they might need a physical therapist and it's not my place to try to look down on that. I can refer patients. It's not about putting down another medical profession or trying to earn more patients, it's about helping people get well. Seek your care and don't be afraid of any medical professional just because you think that person is going to think you are weak or can't tolerate pain."
 
How did his time at MSU help Ginter in life? He equates being a student-athlete to a 40-hour-a week job that's fun.
 
"You get 11 or 12 games a year, and you spend about 320 days a year working for those games. If you win them it's well worth it. If you are getting your head beat in so to say and losing, it's little more difficult. But I have some great memories."
 
Ginter also fully believes that college athletics teaches many incredible life lessons.
 
"It teaches you time management, and especially with football and going to school it teaches you how to overcome difficulties. For a long time, I thought I was a jack of all trades and a master of none.
 
I was going to school in a competitive biology department with a bunch of kids who were putting 100 percent of their time into their studies. I was putting in about 50 percent of school and 50 percent in football. It taught me a lot about time management. I was lucky enough to get to travel with the team and play quite a bit from my freshman year on. So it taught me so many valuable things, especially going into a professional school, raising a family and running a practice."
 
And speaking of family, Ginter is very close with his wife Abby, also a Morehead native. So close that she works right next door to him in her IStyle Salon business. The couple has two children.