Mahomes credits WCU alumna for healed ankle

WEST CHESTER —The 2023 Super Bowl will be another nail-biter as two of today’s best quarterbacks in the NFL — Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes — compete in Arizona on Sunday, February 12, a matchup that might not have been possible without the work of a West Chester University graduate.

The historic match-up is happening in large part thanks to the professional healing skills of WCU Athletic Training alumna Julie Frymyer. Following the recent AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Mahomes, who was suffering from a painful high-ankle sprain but still managed to cinch a win for the Chiefs, tweeted, “Julie WAS the reason I was the guy I was on the field today! It takes everyone but she led the charge all week!!! Now let’s get Super Bowl ready!!”

As risk mitigators, athletic trainers, who are just as concerned as coaches about winning, are the unsung heroes and the glue behind the games. With a feature in The Wall Street Journal, a mention on “Good Morning America” and other shout-outs, Julie Frymyer is bringing the importance of athletic training front and center. Athletic trainers across the nation are sharing high-fives.

“I had the pleasure of supervising Julie with our intercollegiate football team when she was a junior and senior in our athletic training program,” said Scott Heinerichs, dean of the College of Health Sciences and professor of athletic training. “When she entered our undergraduate athletic training program, we knew Julie would do great

“She was highly motivated and in early 2000 when the opportunity to work as a female in the NFL was not even discussed, she had that as her goal and continued to pursue it following her graduation. All of us at West Chester University are very proud of Julie and the tremendous impact she is making in the field as well as on the field.”

With the largest program in the country, West Chester University’s rigorous athletic training program boasts more than 1,500 graduates. In addition to the Kansas City Chiefs, WCU athletic trainers dominate such national teams as the Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders, and the Baltimore Orioles. Numerous alumni are also former athletic trainers for the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, and the Philadelphia Phillies.