During the required annual compliance meeting for Case Western Reserve University’s fall sports, Associate Athletic Director Pat Kennedy announced that CWRU has a “fully staffed” athletic training department for the 2026-27 academic year. Instead of applause, the announcement was met with a collective sigh of relief from athletes.

As a CWRU women’s soccer player, the collective feeling among my teammates was simple: “about time.” Many of them have gone through most, if not all, of their collegiate careers without the level of support from the athletic training department that they should have received.

To be clear, this is not the fault of the athletic trainers. They are fully trained, equipped and consistently do what they can to help athletes whenever and wherever they are needed. The problem is that they have been asked to do too much with too few resources. With the number of athletes under their care, the trainers are simply overworked and overwhelmed.

At this point, at least within my team, it is accepted that this is simply what Division III athletes receive. We are told, implicitly or explicitly, that these are the resources available to us and that we should be grateful for them. But that should not be the standard.

Yes, we are not Division I athletes with NIL deals and professional aspirations. But we are still students. We are still athletes. We compete for our university, dedicate countless hours to our sports and are expected to perform at a high level while representing CWRU.

Providing student-athletes with adequate medical and athletic training resources should not be an option or a luxury. It should be a necessity.

The lack of athletic trainers at CWRU has been a topic of conversation for years. Last season, the university initially had four athletic trainers on staff. However, former CWRU athletic trainer Jason Nutter was relieved of his duties midway through the school year following a complaint from a female student-athlete, which ultimately led to the discovery of a felony criminal history.

Despite the announcement that the athletic department was “fully staffed,” five athletic trainers for 19 varsity programs leave little room for additional coverage. At that staffing level, CWRU’s athletic training department averages nearly four teams per trainer, raising questions about whether the department has enough staff to provide consistent coverage across all of its programs.

Furthermore, while the department announced having five athletic trainers, one position remains unfilled as fall athletes return to campus.

While hiring more athletic trainers is a positive step for CWRU, it is also long overdue. I have seen firsthand how the athletic department has responded to student-athlete concerns in the past. At times, it appeared that complaints were addressed as quickly as possible, rather than with a more thorough process, which ultimately contributed to an improper hire.

It is the hope of myself and many other CWRU athletes that the athletic department took the time to conduct its due diligence during the hiring process for these two new trainers. With more athletic trainers now serving CWRU’s 19 varsity programs, student-athletes hope this marks a meaningful step toward providing the level of care and support they deserve.