292 New Athletic Trainer Jobs — Monday, August 24, 2026 - ARE NURSES COMING FOR THE SIDELINE?

292 new athletic trainer jobs added to the board this week. That is one of the biggest editions of AT Finder we’ve put together all year.

But there’s some important context behind that number. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been putting a lot of work into improving how AT Finder sources and curates jobs. I’ve expanded where I’m looking, tightened up the process I use to find postings, and worked on catching jobs that previously might have slipped through the cracks. And I think we’re starting to see the results.

So 292 does not mean 292 athletic trainer jobs suddenly hit the market this week. Much of this increase is because AT Finder is getting better at finding the jobs that are already out there that I previously missed.

The goal has never been to rely on the same handful of major job boards and call it a day. I want AT Finder to provide the most comprehensive picture of the athletic training job market as I can reasonably build, whether a position is sitting on a university HR page, a school district website, a hospital system career page, a professional team's website, a corporate careers page, or somewhere else entirely.

There are probably still jobs I'm missing. But I'm finding more of them. And that's good for everyone using this platform. ATs see the whole picture with eyes wide open. And employers are already starting to reach out to see how they stack up with the rest of the market. That is good for the profession as a whole.

There is also a very real stat in this week's data:

138 of the 292 jobs — 47.3% — are in the secondary school setting. Nearly half the jobs added. This is absolutely a sampling bias, but the fact that that many high school jobs are sitting open is telling.

Collegiate accounted for 47 openings, while industrial and clinic/hospital-outreach each added 26. Professional sports contributed another 23.

That makes sense for late August.

Schools are opening. Fall sports are underway. And districts that still haven't filled their athletic training positions are making another push.

Let’s get into the picks.

Athletic Trainer (8 Hours)  |  Centennial School District 28J

Portland, OR  |  $33.18–$45.93/hr ($69,014–$95,534 Annually)

Full-time, 240-day contract. Oregon PERS retirement confirmed — a defined benefit pension that adds substantial long-term value beyond the hourly rate. Full medical, dental, and vision coverage confirmed. The converted ceiling at $95,534 is the strongest secondary school salary on the board this week. Portland runs roughly 15–20% above the national average on cost of living — manageable in context. The 8-hour daily structure provides schedule predictability uncommon in secondary school AT roles. Ask how many sports teams fall under this position and whether event coverage extends beyond the standard school day hours.

about shift structure, solo versus team coverage at this facility, and the RSU vesting schedule.

Athletic Trainer  |  MaineHealth - Maine Mariners (ECHL)

Portland, ME  |  $61,256–$82,867 (Annual)

One of the more distinctive settings on the board this week — the Maine Mariners are an ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins, placing this role in the professional hockey pipeline. The scope extends beyond the hockey team to include coverage for local collegiate and youth sports programs. Student loan assistance, paid parental leave, and professional development support all confirmed. The optional Orthopedic Technologist Certification pathway opens surgical assisting opportunities within the MaineHealth system. Portland, Maine runs close to the national average on cost of living. Ask how travel to Canada is handled and what the off-season schedule looks like.

Athletic Trainer  |  Cornell University

Ithaca, NY  |  $66,192–$67,683 (Annual, 11-Month)

Division I athletics at an Ivy League institution — 11-month position with a preceptor role guiding athletic training students alongside primary clinical coverage across 37 intercollegiate sports. The salary range is the honest note here: $66,192–$67,683 is a narrow band for a D-I Ivy League AT role, and Ithaca runs above the national average on cost of living. The reason to apply is the institutional platform, the interdisciplinary model, and the professional development environment. No retirement disclosure listed — ask specifically, as Cornell’s benefits package typically includes a strong retirement component. Master’s degree and BOC certification required.

Athletic Coordinator/Trainer  |  Niskayuna Central School District

Niskayuna, NY  |  $65,000–$75,000 (Annual, 12-Month)

A 12-month role combining clinical athletic training with district-wide wellness coordination — managing medical supplies, supervising coach certification, and administering health initiatives alongside traditional AT duties. Full-time, year-round stability with a defined salary range. Niskayuna is in Schenectady County in the Capital Region of New York — cost of living runs close to the national average. No retirement disclosure listed for a public school district — ask specifically about New York State Teachers Retirement System eligibility, which would add meaningful long-term value. BOC certification and New York licensure required.

National Team Associate Athletic Trainer  |  USA Boxing

Colorado Springs, CO  |  $60,000–$62,500 (Annual)

National governing body work covering USA Boxing High Performance teams — Olympic and Paralympic athlete care, international competition travel, and anti-doping representation within the USOPC Sports Medicine network. The salary range is narrow and modest relative to the scope, and international travel is extensive. What this role offers is a credential and a career path that very few AT positions can match. Three years of continuous BOC certification and a minimum of two years of elite combat sports, NCAA, or professional sports experience required. Colorado Springs runs close to the national average on cost of living. Ask about how weekly hours are managed during heavy international travel periods.

Worth Calling Out This Week

Assistant Director for Sports Medicine  |  University of Detroit Mercy

Detroit, MI  |  $55,000 (Annual)

The University of Detroit Mercy is a Division I program competing in the Horizon League. This is the Assistant Director of Sports Medicine position — primary oversight of Women’s Basketball, supervisory administrative responsibilities, and reporting to the Director of Sports Medicine.

The salary is $55,000 flat. No bonus disclosed. No retirement disclosed.

An Assistant Director title at a D-I program with supervisory scope should not be recruiting at $55,000. The title demands compensation that reflects the administrative responsibility it carries. Detroit runs above the national average on cost of living. Master’s degree and BOC certification required. If the administrative scope of an assistant director role appeals to you, your experience is worth more than this posting suggests.

What's Worth Noting This Week:

Before I get going, I want to qualify this section by saying that I recognize this is not the opinion of all nurses, nor am I trying to create an unnecessary divide between nursing and athletic training. Nurses are highly skilled healthcare professionals, and there are many settings where our professions work extremely well together. My concern is specifically with the idea that one profession can be used as a substitute for the other simply because coverage is difficult to find. This is a scope, training, and staffing discussion — not a nurse-versus-athletic-trainer discussion.

A post from Arturo Garza, an occupational health nurse at Ford Motor Company, has been making the rounds on LinkedIn for the past two weeks, and he doubled down again this week: athletic trainer coverage is hard to find, so perhaps it is time to consider registered nurses for sideline medical staffing.

I disagree.

Nursing and athletic training are both healthcare professions, but they are not interchangeable.

Registered nurses are educated and trained for patient care in healthcare environments. Athletic trainers are educated and trained for the prevention, evaluation, immediate management, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses in physically active populations.

There is overlap. Both professions assess patients, recognize emergencies, communicate with physicians, and make clinical decisions.

But overlapping skills do not mean interchangeable roles.

A registered nurse may be excellent at wound care, emergency response, patient assessment, and monitoring vital signs. That does not mean the nurse has been trained to perform a sports-specific musculoskeletal evaluation, make return-to-play decisions, tape or brace an injury, or manage the progression of an injured athlete back to participation.

Likewise, an athletic trainer having strong emergency care and musculoskeletal skills does not make that athletic trainer a substitute for a registered nurse in an inpatient unit.

There may absolutely be a role for nurses at large sporting events. Spectator care, public health emergencies, mass-participation events, and broader medical teams may benefit from athletic trainers, nurses, physicians, paramedics, and other healthcare professionals working together.

That is interdisciplinary healthcare.

It is different from using one profession as a substitute for another.

And before we start redefining who should provide sideline coverage, I think we should look harder at why some athletic trainer coverage is difficult to fill in the first place.

In many cases, what gets described as a coverage shortage is really an offer problem.

If an organization needs a licensed healthcare professional to take responsibility for athlete safety on a Friday night but is offering $35 an hour for a short, unpredictable shift, expanding the list of credentials it will accept does not fix the underlying issue.

Compensation matters.

Hours matter.

Working conditions matter.

The attractiveness of the opportunity matters.

Before changing the credential, improve the offer.

To illustrate why I think credential substitution is an absurd argument, here is the same argument with the professions reversed.

When Hospital Medical Coverage Is Hard to Find, Consider Expanding the Team

Hospitals continue to face staffing shortages.

Registered nurses are in high demand. Overnight shifts can be difficult to fill. Emergency departments are busy.

So perhaps hospitals should start using athletic trainers instead.

Athletic trainers are healthcare professionals. They assess patients, document findings, communicate with physicians, recognize emergencies, and understand anatomy, injury evaluation, and rehabilitation.

Many already work in hospitals and orthopedic clinics.

So if a hospital can't find enough nurses for their inpatient units, why not hire athletic trainers? 

Obviously, an athletic trainer wouldn't replace a nurse. They would simply practice "within their scope" while helping meet the needs of the patients.

A patient lying bedridden in the ICU may eventually need a gait assessment during their recovery.

Athletic trainers are trained to assess gait.

Does that make an athletic trainer an appropriate substitute for the ICU nurse?

Of course not.

The comparison is absurd.

And that is exactly the point.

A hospital does not simply need a healthcare professional.

It needs a healthcare professional whose education, clinical training, and scope of practice match the job.

Nobody would respond to a nursing shortage by saying:

"We can't find enough nurses, but athletic trainers are healthcare professionals too."

An athletic trainer may possess individual skills that could be useful to a hospital patient.

That still does not make the athletic trainer a nurse.

The same logic applies on the sideline.

A nurse may possess individual skills that are useful at a sporting event.

That does not make the nurse an athletic trainer.

Matching one skill to one potential need is not the same thing as matching the professional to the job.

There are plenty of settings where nurses and athletic trainers should work together.

That's interdisciplinary healthcare.

But using one profession to replace another because the professional you actually need is difficult to recruit is something different.

If a hospital needs a nurse, hire a nurse.

If an athletic event needs an athletic trainer, hire an athletic trainer.

And if you can't find one, examine the offer before you redefine the job.

Scope of practice isn't professional gatekeeping. It's how we make sure patients and athletes receive care from professionals trained for the job they're being asked to do.

The AT Finder Talent Network is free for athletic trainers and always will be. Create your profile at atcfinder.app.

Until next week — stop looking, start finding.