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When an injured athlete returns to the playing field, the fans applaud and the athlete raises a hand in acknowledgement. But there is a team of people on the sidelines whose knowledge and training made the comeback possible—the athletic trainers.

"We are down on the sidelines doing whatever it takes to get athletes back on the playing field and keeping them there," said Marsha Grant-Ford of Health Professions, Physical Education, Recreation and Leisure Studies. Grant-Ford, who in 1975 became the first African-American woman in the United States to become a certified athletic trainer, is one of several faculty involved in creating the University's new bachelor of science degree program in athletic training.

Head Athletic Trainer John Davis, center, shows senior Alessandra Swartz what to do to help football player Rob Cannizzaro, a junior history major, get back on the field.

The program, approved by the Board of Trustees in September, is expected to begin next fall. It will be the first B.S. program in athletic training in New Jersey.

John Davis, Montclair State's head athletic director for 17 years, is glad to see the program finally arrive. "I have pushed for this for many years and I'm glad its time has come," he said. "This is naturally the next step for the University to take based on the strength of the physical education and athletic programs offered here."

Davis said athletic training, which provides health and sports medicine care to injured athletes, is a field that attracts people with backgrounds in anatomy, physiology and nutrition, but differs from the field of physical therapy.

Grant-Ford agrees. "The difference between my job and a physical therapist’s is that I deal with the management, rehabilitation and prevention of athletic illnesses among the physically active population," she explained.

In the mid-1980s, when the American Medical Association recognized athletic training as an allied health profession, reforms in the structure of educational programs began. Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, students no longer will be allowed take the National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification (NATABOC) exam from a school not accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Now, students from any major can take the exam after completing an accredited athletic training education program and doing 800 hours of clinical education, or by working more internship hours--as many as 1,500 according to Grant-Ford--and taking fewer courses. Under the new standards, the internship program will be eliminated and students can take the test only after graduating from an accredited program.

The new B.S. program is under review by the New Jersey President's Council. The University will then be visited by the Joint Review Committee on Athletic Training (JRC-AT), a division of the CAAHEP. Dave Middlemas, director of athletic training education, was instrumental in developing the curriculum for the new program. He joined Montclair State last year, bringing more than 22 years' experience in athletic training education.

"Dave has put together a fantastic program designed to continue the long tradition of athletic greatness at Montclair State," said Grant-Ford.

"At Montclair State, students have provided health care to athletes on our intercollegiate teams as well as at Division I universities such as Notre Dame, Columbia and UCLA," Davis said. Others have worked with professional teams. "I have been lucky enough to establish a relationship with the New York Giants, who have allowed a Montclair State student to work with them once or twice a week for the past 12 years."

Middlemas said once the new program is offered, he hopes to expand opportunities for students to work in other professional arenas such as baseball and women’s basketball. "The field has grown remarkably in the last 30 years," Middlemas said. "This major marks huge advancements in professional athletic training education for us. Soon students will have the ability to pursue a full athletic training degree in a state-of-the-art setting. Reform has been a good thing and I want to get the word out about it because it's made things better."