ADRIAN, Mich. -- Adrian College Athletic Training alumni and staff has developed quite a presence in the NFL. Even though the Adrian College athletic training education program has been accredited for fewer than 20 years, the NFL has been quick to hire its graduates.

Adrian College's athletic training program is led by Academic Program Director Dr. Tina Claiborne and the Athletic Department's head athletic trainer, Jamie Fetter. Jamie started the NFL trend as an intern with the Detroit Lions more than a decade ago. Now a game-day NFL ATC spotter, Jamie developed a relationship with the Lions' athletic training staff that became the catalyst for this professional football evolution.

Trevor Lopez ('13) and Anthony Rossi ('15) were the first Bulldog alumni to work as interns for the Lions. Both Lopez and Rossi were members of Adrian's string of ACHA Division III national championship ice hockey teams in 2014-2016. Rossi went on to work as an athletic trainer at Adrian College and is now the men's lacrosse athletic trainer at the University of Michigan.

Spencer Dennison ('16) was the next alumnus to land an internship with the Lions. Spencer was a two-sport athlete at Adrian College, playing both football and basketball. Following his Lion's internship, Spencer spent a couple of seasons as an athletic trainer at IMG Academy in Florida and now has the distinction of being the first alumnus to become an NFL employee. Spencer has just started his eighth season as an assistant athletic trainer with the Detroit Lions and has certainly contributed to the success of the program's more recent alumni.

Keenan Robinson ('02) has made a career in the sport of swimming but recently transitioned to the NFL. Keenan started his profession as the swimming athletic trainer at the University of Michigan during the Bob Bowman/Michael Phelps era. When Phelps left Michigan, Keenan followed him, eventually becoming the director of sports medicine and science for USA Swimming. After several Olympic appearances with USA Swimming as an athletic trainer, Keenan moved to professional football and is now the manager of player recovery with the Cleveland Browns. Keenan was inducted into the Adrian College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2025.

This season, AC alumni have a significant presence in the NFL. In addition to Spencer and Keenan, twin brothers Cody Schramm (left) and Hunter Schramm (right), 2024 graduates of the athletic training program, both broke into the NFL this year. Cody is a seasonal intern with the Lions, and Hunter is a seasonal intern with the Colts. The Schramm brothers played baseball for the Bulldogs under Athletic Director and baseball coach Craig Rainey as did Datron Davis ('26), a four-year pitcher for Bulldog's baseball.  Datron spent a preseason with the Detroit Lions.

This past summer, athletic training student Shanelle Woods ('28) interned with the Cleveland Browns and earned a Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society and NFL Foundation Ethnic Minority Scholarship. She played a season on the AC club volleyball team. Shanelle was not the first woman from this program to have a stint in the NFL; Casey (Josz) Eros ('23), Mackenna Crowley ('23) and Destiny Rogers ('21) are former summer interns with the Lions. Destiny is now an assistant athletic trainer and instructor for AC Athletic Training and was a standout player for Adrian's NCAA Division III softball program.

Adrian College is the only small private institution in Michigan to offer an MS in Athletic Training. The Bulldogs can also boast of having the state's first five-year MS in Athletic Training and now the first and only four-year MS in Athletic Training in the country!

Program Director Claiborne said, "I am proud that our students can be both Adrian College athletes and athletic training students who have the potential to become athletic trainers at the highest levels of sport. Adrian College is the only school in Michigan where students can reasonably be both athletes and athletic training students."  In addition to the four year and five year MS, Adrian's Athletic Training Program also has a two-year post-baccalaureate MS in Athletic Training offering three paths to the athletic training profession.