Blue Turf Thinkers: Fifty years of athletic training education at Boise State

The College of Health Sciences' Athletic Training Program representatives on The Blue. Photo by Luan Teed

At each Boise State home football game, the "Blue Turf Thinkers" series honors outstanding groups and initiatives on the world-renowned Blue Turf. The Oct. 31 game's "Blue Turf Thinkers" featured the College of Health Sciences' Athletic Training Program.

On game days, athletic trainers are used to focusing more on athletes than themselves. But this fall, the spotlight is on the Athletic Training Program as it marks a half-century of teaching, training and turning out top-notch professionals.

The gridiron connection is a natural; Boise State Athletics has helped to shape the Athletic Training Program from the beginning. Students benefit from classes and clinical rotations connected to the powerhouse sports program, and faculty members and administrators freely collaborate, sharing ideas and resources that have, among other things, led to plum jobs and assignments for graduates across the globe.

What is athletic training?

Athletic trainers are a recognized healthcare profession that focuses on the prevention and treatment of injuries and conditions in athletes, advocating for the athlete's overall well-being.

"Prevention is the core of the profession," said Dave Hammons, director of the Athletic Training Program and associate professor in the School of Kinesiology. "We're trained to prevent, obviously, musculoskeletal injuries - sprains, strains and fractures for instance - but we're also trained to prevent specific conditions and injuries from maybe occurring, like concussions, eating disorders and mental health problems."

Athletic trainers also evaluate injuries, specifically muscular or skeletal injuries, and then to develop a rehabilitation or recovery plan for the patient.

An essential part of the work is collaborating with the sports medicine team.

"The athletic trainer is the gatekeeper to coaches, doctors, physical therapists, dietitians, sports psychologists - and parents at the high school level," Hammons said. "Athetic trainers are the lynchpin of communication."

While in the past athletic trainers worked almost exclusively for college and professional sports teams, they're now hired by hospitals and outpatient clinics, working alongside sports medicine physicians and orthopedic surgeons. They're also a fixture at rodeos, Ironman competitions and a myriad of other competitive events.

Increasingly, they also are going to work for big companies in industrial settings; Boeing and Amazon are just two of the companies that have hired Boise State grads. The military also has seen the value of staff athletic trainers who can be at the ready to treat personnel.

"They have found that the return on investment is really remarkable," Hammons said. "By preventing major injuries and repetitive stress injuries in warehouse and manufacturing settings, athletic trainers are decreasing the amount of money that companies spend on worker's compensation and improving employee retention."

Student success remains the focus

Athletic Trainer Shastina Williams (right) provides training advice to an athlete. Photo by Torin Alm

Boise State's program boasts a 95% job placement rate at graduation, and hit 100% this past spring. The students who have not secured positions in the field at graduation, for the most part, have opted to go on to medical school, physician assistant programs or other additional healthcare schooling, Hammons said. The first-time board of certification pass rate among graduates is 90.5%; the national average is 70.5%.

From the beginning, the program has been flexible, responsive and focused on ensuring participants can jump into professional settings, Hammons said.

"Overall, it's just our progressive nature from day one of the program, and going back and reassessing to make sure students not only understand the material, but know how to apply it."

Shastina Williams - a double Bronco who graduated with a kinesiology degree in 2020 and a Master's in Athletic Training in 2026, and now works as an athletic trainer for Boise State's football team - appreciated the hands-on guidance she received from the Athletic Training Program.

"We start clinicals day one of the program, and I think it's a really special experience to be able to do that as a student," Williams said.

She added that her professors in the College of Health Sciences cared deeply about her growth and her future.

"They're very concerned about the why and supporting everyone in their why," Williams said. "And then after graduation, I've had professors keep in touch, checking in. 'How's the career search going? How's the job hunt? How's post grad life?'"

"We're never going to lose sight of our history in athletic training," Hammons said. "That's one thing that's central to me as the program director, along with working with Athletics. They respect the academic side, too, and really take ownership in mentoring future athletic trainers. That is really important to me, and it has been with the previous program directors."

And because students benefit from program affiliations with about 40 clinical sites around the Treasure Valley, Athletic Training Program participants often need no introduction; they may have worked with young athletes in sports programs and later see them as patients in a clinic or professional sports setting. The effect also can ripple out more broadly, as grads take positions outside the Gem State.

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