Mission
Serving as a catalyst to advance athletic training education through the promotion of quality improvement, innovation, diversity, and best practices for student recruitment.
Foundation Board Members
- Eric Sauers, PhD, AT, FNATA
- Chris Ingersoll, PhD, ATC
- Ellis Mair, EdM, ATC
- Corey Oshikoya, Med, ATC
- Kysha Harriell, PhD, LAT, ATC, FNAP
- Jennifer Howard, PhD, LAT, ATC
- Karlita Warren, PhD, ATC
Purpose
- Develop and implement an awards program recognizing continuous improvement and innovation within accredited programs.
- Develop and implement an awards program recognizing diversity initiatives within accredited programs.
- Support student and trainee recruitment for accredited programs.
CAATE Mission
Serving the public and profession by establishing and ensuring compliance with accreditation standards that facilitate quality outcomes, continuous improvement, innovation and diversity to enhance athletic training education.
Vision
Advancing clinical practice and improving health care outcomes through promotion of excellence in athletic training education.
Values
- Accountability
- Transparency
- Integrity
- Excellence
- Leadership
- Collaborative
Webinar Series
Recruitment and Admissions in AT Education
Creating a Winning Recruitment Strategy
2025 Award Recipients
2026 Award Recipients
The CAATE Foundation’s mission is to serve as a catalyst to advance athletic training education through the promotion of quality improvement, innovation, diversity, and best practices for student recruitment. In support of its mission, the CAATE Foundation has developed an awards program to recognize programs for innovation and quality improvement in athletic training education. Applications are now being accepted until April 10, 2026.
Innovation Award: Recognizes a program’s use of strategic and intentional processes for identifying, implementing, and measuring new initiatives that advance program quality and/or learner achievement.
Quality Improvement Award: Recognizes a program’s use of a structured, data-driven process to evaluate systems and outcomes that include identifying areas for improvement, selecting and implementing measurable changes, and analyzing changes to ensure progression toward established quality improvement project benchmarks.
Award Identification and Recognition Procedures:
- The CAATE Foundation will seek submissions for the Innovation and Quality Improvement Awards on an annual basis.
- The CAATE Foundation will select one winner in each category—Innovation and Quality Improvement—for both professional programs and residency/fellowship programs. Additionally, there will be no limit on the number of honorable mentions awarded. The winners will be featured in a CAATE Town Hall, and summaries of their work will be posted on the CAATE website.
- Programs must be in good standing with the CAATE in order to submit an application.
- If noteworthy processes are identified through the Comprehensive Programmatic Review Process, the Annual Report review, or the quality improvement process, the program will be encouraged to apply.
Submission Categories: Applications addressing the CAATE core competencies are encouraged but not required. The CAATE Foundation further encourages applications that aim to address innovation and quality improvement in a variety of contexts, such as faculty development; preceptor development; social determinants of health; diversity, equity, and inclusion; assessment of student learning; clinical education; program marketing and recruitment; alumni engagement; and faculty and preceptor scholarship.
Questions? If you have any questions or need assistance determining the appropriate category for your project, please email a brief project description to support@caate.net. A Foundation Board member will review your submission.
Innovation Self-Nomination Applications
- Open: January 20, 2026
- Due: April 10, 2026
- Application Link
- Self-nominations are narrative-based. Data will be highlighted in collaboration with the CAATE Education Committee when winners and other nominees are highlighted.
- Applications will be scored based on the following dimensions:
- Impact: Measurable and tangible results of the innovation in improving the program. How significantly has it contributed to the overall success or improvement of the program?
- Creativity in Problem Solving: The originality of the approach used to address the problem. Does the innovation demonstrate a fresh, novel perspective or an unexpected solution that goes beyond conventional methods?
- Replicability and Scalability: The potential for the innovation to be adapted or scaled to different contexts or settings. Can it be effectively implemented elsewhere with similar results? This dimension will be used in the event of a tie.
Quality Improvement Self-Nomination Applications
- Open: January 20, 2026
- Due: April 10, 2026
- Application Link
- Self-nominations are narrative-based.
- Applications will be scored based on the following dimensions:
- Impact: Measurable and tangible results of the quality improvement project in improving the program. How significantly has it contributed to the overall success or improvement of the program?
- Replicability and Scalability: The potential for the quality improvement project to be easily adapted or scaled to different contexts or settings. Can it be effectively implemented elsewhere with similar results? This dimension will be used in the event of a tie.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why is the CAATE developing a Foundation?
The Foundation is being developed to support accredited programs in ways that an accrediting body cannot. The CAATE Board of Commissioners considered the current and desired state of accredited programs and decided that additional support for program enrollment, quality improvement and innovation in athletic training education, and supporting diversity within our student populations is needed.
How will the CAATE Foundation support accredited programs?
The CAATE Foundation will support accredited programs in three focus areas:
- Student & Trainee Recruitment – The CAATE Foundation will develop educational programming that supports best practices in graduate school and residency program enrollment. In addition, we are providing funding to support two annual scholarships with the expectation that the funds will increase over time. The CAATE Foundation will seek partnerships to raise awareness of the athletic training profession. We also anticipate increasing funding for ATCAS application waivers.
- Quality Improvement & Innovation – The CAATE Foundation will support the development of a recognition program to highlight leading practices in quality improvement and innovation in athletic training education.
- Diversity – The CAATE Foundation will support the development of a recognition program to highlight leading practices in efforts to increase the diversity of students enrolled in athletic training programs.
How will the CAATE Foundation be funded?
The CAATE Foundation’s scope is intentionally limited, requiring limited funding. We are currently planning to use ATCAS revenue to support the funding needs.
How will the CAATE Foundation work with other athletic training and healthcare organizations?
The CAATE Foundation will seek partnerships with other athletic training and healthcare organizations to further its mission and support accredited programs.
How can I get involved with the CAATE Foundation? How can I support its work?
We will be recruiting members of the CAATE Foundation Advisory Board during the spring volunteer recruitment process.