TTUHSC MAT Students Receive Coveted NFL Internships

• By School of Health Professions
• September 16, 2025
• Education

Jill Manners, ScD, LAT, ATC, PT, NREMT, COMT, FNAP, is giving us a closer look into the NFL internship opportunities that some of the MAT students are experiencing over the summer. There are 32 professional football teams, each taking only a couple of Athletic Training students from programs across the country.

Manners is the Program Director of the Master of Athletic Training (MAT) Program at TTUHSC. She received her bachelor’s degree in athletic training and exercise science at Ithaca College in New York and her advanced master's degree in athletic training at West Virginia University. She also received her physical therapy degree at Western Carolina University and her doctorate of science at TTUHSC. 

There are seven TTUHSC MAT students working with the NFL this summer. Manners notes that number is likely one of the highest coming out of any program. Currently, Manners says there will be students working with the following teams: Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals. 

Starting their second year of the program, students will go to their respective teams to work pre-season football camps and several will stay on until the beginning of the season before coming back to begin clinicals and classes on campus. 

Most of these sites are not official clinical education sites, so students are the ones obtaining these internships for themselves. However, faculty contacts and the reputation of the TTUHSC program are beneficial in helping students make connections with these teams. 

Most of these teams that are taking students this summer have taken TTUHSC students in the past. “These teams have hundreds of applicants each year,” she says. “So, if they choose to take one of our students, it's because of the reputation of the program, the quality of the students, and the job that our students have done in the past.”

While students may not continue on to work for the same teams post-graduation, many do continue working for high-level football programs or other high-level sports organizations. Manners believes the program prepares students to be amazing athletic trainers, and the experience gained during these internships is invaluable for their future careers. 

However, these opportunities don’t just end at football. The program also has students working for MLS clubs this summer and others looking at baseball organizations. “We give our students exceptional clinical opportunities at a wide variety of clinical experiences that prepare them for the next level,” Manners says. “Although I will never guarantee professional internships, we work hard to make sure that students get the opportunities that they're looking for.” From her perspective, with over 30 years of clinical and leadership experience in the industry, Manners recognizes the TTUHSC MAT program as “exceptional” – with outstanding learning opportunities, amazing laboratories and facilities, and faculty who have all practiced clinically – which she says is a big step above what many other programs offer.