The arena was nearly pitch black. An orange and purple light dimly illuminated the digital bands surrounding the court. The hardwood was cleared, and all eyes were on the locker room tunnel.
The music decibels crept toward deafening. The crowd began to roar. The lights and lasers exploded, and the Phoenix Mercury raced onto the court.
Toward the back of the tunnel, Grand Canyon University student Allison Medford watched the team race by her and into the WNBA Finals.
“It was electric,” she said of the experience. “They’re just so excited to play, and they all love to play.”
Medford wasn’t just there to cheer the Mercury toward a championship. The athletic training master's student was at work as an intern.
Four hours earlier, she arrived at a nearly empty locker room.
She would arrive an hour before everyone else on her team, clean up the training room, restock the tape and "do all the random things that need to get done before game time," she said.
Michael McKenney, associate professor in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions and coordinator of clinical education, said students typically can expect a four-week immersive experience for their master of science in athletic training.
Medford had a unique experience with the Mercury. She attended all home regular-season and playoff games from April to October. Her internship wrapped up with at-home and on-the-road games for the championship series.
Interns in athletics can feel dwarfed by giants in their planned profession – Mercury players range from 5 foot 8 to more than 6-feet tall – and the 5-foot-3-inch Medford was no exception.
She also isn't the exception when it comes to GCU students serving interships with the professional sports teams in the Valley. While Medford was with the Mercury, other GCU athletic training graduate students have interned with the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Rising. GCU master's candidates work with other professional baseball teams as well, said McKenney.
“We have strong relationships with the (Los Angeles) Dodgers and the (Milwaukee) Brewers,” he said, with clinical experiences including NCAA Division 1 sports at GCU and ASU.
Athletic trainer candidates also rotate among the university’s club sports, the Lopes Orthopedic Clinic, community college programs, and several high school districts. McKenny said he believes only one other college has an on-campus orthopedic program, like GCU.
Medford’s Mercury internship was a capper for her college career ahead of her planned spring 2026 graduation.
“It was so fun,” she said. “(The experience) was super awesome and something that I had never experienced before. The team members of the Mercury, and … all of the staff are just incredible people.”
After her first days with the team, Medford found that she was treated like part of the organization. She appreciated the staff, including preceptor Jariah Fulson, the Mercury's head of athletic training. They taught her new things every day.
“The players kind of just brought me in, as well, and were just happy that I was there and weren’t afraid to ask me for things, either,” she said. “They were all very humble and very kind and … willing to get to know me and bring me in … which was super cool.”
During the summer of 2025, Medford was in the training room every day it was staffed. She was vetted by the team for all home games. When the fall semester rolled around, her clinical rotation was set to end, but the Mercury had different expectations.
Medford was asked to continue working with the team throughout the playoffs and the WNBA finals – a remarkable accomplishment for any athletic training student, McKenney said.
“Fall semester started, (and) I had to switch clinicals, technically,” Medford said. “They still wanted me to be with them. (But I) cut back my time a little bit in the fall.”
After taping and helping the Mercury’s stars get ready for the game, when they went onto the court, so did she.
“At the beginning of the season, I sat in the second row of the bench and helped hand out water bottles and make sure the water bottles were filled,” she said. “If they wanted gum, I’d give them gum in their mouth.”
She was also responsible for mouthguards.
As the season progressed, so did her responsibilities.
“Towards the second half of the season, I started moving towards helping the visiting team,” Medford said. “I started sitting on the visiting team’s bench, and anything that they needed, I would be their runner to go get things for them.”
There was greater responsibility in her role as a member of the visiting team training staff. If a player was injured, Medford assisted in getting them to the medical department integrated into the arena. Her role on both benches was to be helpful but stay out of the way.
The GCU athletic training program has been fully accredited since 2024, and the first master's cohort is graduating in 2026.
“I kind of expected to learn the basics of evaluation and treatments and rehabs … that go into athletic training and the clinical aspect,” Medford said about her expectations from the program. “I’ve learned so much more about interpersonal communication and who makes up a sports medicine team. I’ve learned a lot of that just through watching my preceptors communicate with team physicians.”
Medford aspired to a career in health care and to pursue athletics. The master's in athletic training program addressed her goals.
“I had a couple of injuries when I was younger, and my high school did not have an athletic trainer. Kids need an advocate in school for things like that,” she said. “Once I got to college and kind of understood what an athletic trainer was and what they do, I just totally started to understand that I think my injuries could have been completely prevented.”
After the Mercury, Medford heads to the rugby club, where she’ll apply what she learned from professional players to support injured students in that contact sport. She also needs to complete a capstone project and prepare for her athletic training board certifications. Then comes graduation and a career.
“I’m kind of willing to go anywhere,” she said. “I would love to work to continue with basketball, like everything that I’ve been taught over the summer. Somewhere in Division 1 athletics would be my goal, (but) I do have a heart for high school.”
Eric Jay Toll can be reached at [email protected]
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