Dan Springer, MA-Ed., LAT, ATC, discovered his passion for athletic training when he was a young kid.

“I’ve always been around athletics. My dad was a radio sideline reporter and morning sports anchor and is now a beat reporter with the Cincinnati Enquirer,” Springer said. His mother also provided influence being a pharmacist, combining the sport and medicine aspects of the two professions.

Growing up playing in youth sports, Springer’s passion for the profession grew entering his freshman year of high school. Being team manager for his high school’s football team, he would assist in practices, cover statistical analysis, game prep and more.

He also honed his administrative skills working as a pharmacy tech at the age of 16, becoming a supervisor at 18. Working in the industry for about seven years was solid preparation for athletic training as he learned how to dose medication properly and how different medications interact.

Springer began his professional athletic training career assisting the University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team during his undergraduate years, when he completed his Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training degree and graduated in 2010.

After graduation, Springer moved to Birmingham, working two seasons with the Blazers football team as he completed his graduate program. He received his Master in Arts and Education - Health Education degree in 2012. He was then hired full-time as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Blazers.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Springer returned home to work with the UC Bearcats as Associate Athletic Trainer after the termination of UAB’s football program.

“My experience here at UAB propelled me enough to be able to be successful at Cincinnati,” he said. ”They [Cincinnati] saw a lot of success at my time there, so I was able to bring a lot of what they taught me back to UAB.” He would work for the Bearcats’ program for roughly two years until he received the call that UAB football would return.

UAB Director of Sports Medicine Mike Jones called Springer asking if he would return and become head athletic trainer for the renewed UAB Blazers’ football program. Springer accepted and returned to Birmingham in February 2016.

“With Coach Bill Clark being our football coach and bringing the program back from the dead, he instilled pillars to success in the program and sports medicine was one of those pillars,” Springer said.

In 2022, Springer became Head Athletic Trainer over the UAB Department of Athletics, assisting in athletic training leadership with current Director of Sports Medicine Bryan Koch, and serving on the Department's Mental Health Committee and Concussion Committee.

“In 2016, the NCAA released a document that was enlightening the sports medicine world that mental health needs to be a priority for sports medicine and in their institutions,” he said. “So we took that document and developed basic screening questions to add to our pre-participation exams for our athletes. With that, we developed an athlete mental health team that involves academics, sports medicine providers and the Student Counseling and Wellness Center.”