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There is a growing crisis in intercollegiate athletics, and it goes far deeper than competition and the rising cost to develop a roster. 

According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, college athletics is struggling with a labor crisis that began, in essence, with the “Great Resignation” in the post-COVID-19 pandemic. Today, colleges and universities are finding it more difficult to recruit, hire and retain athletic training professionals. 

Cedarville University allied health faculty and students are involved in combatting this crisis. In 2012, the Ohio Athletic Trainers’ Association (OATA), with the help of Cedarville’s Dr. Genna Fusco, launched a student senate to organize educational initiatives and help develop the next generation of athletic training leaders. 

Currently an assistant professor of athletic training at Cedarville University, Fusco helped to establish the inaugural OATA student senate while an undergraduate at Heidelberg University. At the time, she served as the Ohio student representative to the regional Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association (GLATA). 

Alongside fellow students, Fusco helped bring to life the concept of the OATA student senate — a body that now provides professional development and networking opportunities for Master of Athletic Training (MAT) students across Ohio. The application to serve on the senate is open to any master’s-level athletic training student in the state. 

Fusco served as the first vice chair of the student senate and later transitioned into the chair position, now known as the president. 

Today, one of her own students, Kyler Conn, a second-year MAT student at Cedarville University, serves as president of the same senate Fusco helped launch. Conn’s responsibilities include reviewing applications, managing senate roles, initiating communication with external stakeholders and ensuring all team members have the tools they need to succeed. He also attends OATA executive committee meetings as a student liaison. 

“I’ve appreciated this opportunity because it has helped me grow as a leader — balancing responsibilities and staying connected with the team,” said Conn, a Jeffersonville, Ohio, native. “Anything that pushes you out of your comfort zone is good to do.” 

Cedarville students have continued to take on leadership within the organization. Reghan Mulder of Waukesha, Wisconsin, a first-year MAT student, currently serves as the treasurer/sponsorship and donations coordinator, and Kara Hodson, a second-year MAT student from Mount Morris, Illinois, served as Student Education Program (SEP) coordinator until January. 

Hodson’s position, also originally developed by Fusco and her colleagues, involves planning educational events for students throughout the academic year. This past fall, the senate hosted a quiz bowl to test athletic training knowledge in a fun, competitive setting. At the upcoming OATA annual meeting in May, the SEP coordinator is tasked with bringing in a student-focused speaker. 

“Meeting students from other schools and seeing how their programs work helps us collaborate to advance the athletic training profession,” said Hodson. “It ended up being even more beneficial than I expected.” 

Thanks to the leadership of faculty like Fusco and the ongoing involvement of Cedarville MAT students, the OATA student senate continues to thrive as a statewide resource for growth, collaboration and professional development. 

Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate programs across arts, sciences, and professional fields. With 6,384 students, it ranks among Ohio’s largest private universities and is recognized by The Wall Street Journal as being among the nation’s top three evangelical universities. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics, and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.