ProTect Athletics launches first Director of Athletic Safety cohort

ProTect Athletics and ProTrain College launched the first instructor-led cohort for the Director of Athletic Safety credential, a new certification aimed at sport safety professionals. The July 13 virtual class drew more than 40 NFL equipment managers and members of the College Football Equipment Managers Society, with the program now positioning toward NCCA accreditation.

Why it matters: - ProTect Athletics is trying to create a new professional lane for sport safety workers who sit alongside athletic trainers but focus on root causes, hazard prevention and operational safety. - The company says the Director of Athletic Safety credential is the nation’s first professional safety certification built specifically for the sport safety ecosystem. - If adopted broadly, the credential could give equipment managers and other sport safety staff a formal standard for training, documentation and risk management.

What happened: - ProTect Athletics and ProTrain College launched the first instructor-led cohort of the Director of Athletic Safety, or DAS, credential. - The virtual cohort met July 13, 2026, and was led by Jerry D. Fife, M.Ed., chief operating officer and co-founder of ProTect Athletics. - The inaugural class included more than 40 members of NFL teams in the Professional Football Equipment Managers Society, plus representation from the College Football Equipment Managers Society. - ProTect Athletics and ProTrain College announced the launch July 31, 2026, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The details: - DAS is a five-course professional certification pathway developed by ProTect Athletics and delivered through ProTrain College. - ProTrain College provides CEU credits that could transfer into academic courses. - The curriculum includes Athletic Safety & Risk Management, Anatomy & Physiology for the Sport Safety Professional, Kinesiology, Biomechanics & Ergonomics for the Sport Safety Professional, Risk, Hazard, Job Safety & Root Cause Analysis, and Driving Effective Change in Sport Safety. - Course 1 covers role accountability, risk frameworks, OSHA compliance, emergency response and safety culture. - Course 2 covers 11 body systems across 12 modules focused on incident reports and medical referrals. - Course 3 focuses on movement forces, structure risks and injury prevention. - Course 4 covers Job Hazard Analysis, 5 Whys Root Cause Analysis, OSHA compliance and defensible documentation. - Course 5 is the capstone and focuses on stakeholder communication, policy development and regulatory engagement. - The DAS is designed to work alongside Certified Athletic Trainers. - Athletic Trainers focus on clinical treatment and medical response, while DAS focuses on systemic safety issues, protocol gaps and environmental hazards. - The credential is currently being mapped toward formal accreditation through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

Between the lines: - The launch targets a niche but influential audience: NFL and college football equipment managers who already deal with high-stakes player safety decisions. - The first cohort’s makeup signals that ProTect Athletics is using established sports operations professionals to validate the credential early. - ProTrain College framed the program as a blend of academic rigor and career utility, which may help the credential gain acceptance beyond a single employer or league. - PFEMS leaders and equipment managers described the training as a step toward formal recognition for a role that has long lacked a football-specific credential.

What's next: - ProTect Athletics and ProTrain College are offering custom training sequences and future cohort dates. - More information is available through ProTrain College and ProTect Athletics. - The next major milestone will be progress toward NCCA accreditation, which could strengthen the credential’s standing in the market.

The bottom line: - ProTect Athletics is trying to formalize sport safety as a credentialed profession, starting with the people who manage equipment and safety inside football programs.