Dr. Scott Spann was born into a Marine Corps family and raised primarily in South Carolina. He attended high school in Jacksonville, Florida, pursuing his dream of making the Olympic swimming team. He began college at Auburn University on a swimming scholarship, where he achieved accolades such as SEC Swimmer of the Year, Auburn Athlete of the Year, and winner of three individual NCAA titles. After his sophomore year, he transferred to the University of Texas (UT) in 1978 to follow his coach, Eddie Reese. Following a redshirt year, Dr. Spann led UT to its first NCAA top-10 finish and later captained the team to its first National Championship, earning four NCAA titles in individual and relay events. Dr. Spann was a world-class swimmer who broke five world records during his collegiate career. Although the 1980 Olympic boycott prevented him from competing, he was inducted into the UT Hall of Honor in 1998.

After graduating college, Dr. Spann expanded his legacy with children, Austin, Alexi, and Scott Jr., all of whom attended UT on swimming scholarships. Alexi and Scott Jr. became Pan American medalists, making the family the only father-daughter-son trio to achieve this distinction.

Dr. Spann earned his medical degree from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, where he was elected president of the State Student Section of the American Medical Association. He completed his orthopedic residency at the Ochsner Foundation in New Orleans while serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, retiring with an honorable discharge as a Major. Following residency, he pursued a combined orthopedic and neurosurgical fellowship in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in spinal surgery.

Dr. Spann began his medical career in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he was elected Chairman of Orthopedics at the largest hospital system in East Tennessee. He was later recruited by Frank Noyes to establish the Spine Care Institute in Cincinnati, where he participated in FDA trials for innovative spinal products.