UTICA, NY - A familiar face will be taking up the mantle of head athletic trainer heading into the 2026-27 academic year at Utica University!
Dawn Corbin, who has dedicated over 17 years of her career to helping Pioneer athletes compete at the highest level, has accepted the role of Head Athletic Trainer following the departure of former office head Dan Senif. Corbin will now lead the department, organizing coverage and treatment of Utica's ever-growing roster of student-athletes. One of her first tasks was hiring another assistant athletic trainer, something she accomplished recently with the hiring of former Utica student athlete Samantha Buley to the role of Assistant Athletic Trainer.
Corbin graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in athletic training. She also studied at the University of Virginia, where she achieved a masters of education with a focus on kinesiology. Following her graduation from Charlottesville, Corbin served as an intern athletic trainer at Shippensburg University for one year from 2005-2006. Corbin then spent three years an athletic trainer at Shorter University before joining the Pioneer staff in August of 2009. Since then, Corbin has been committed to securing the safety of all Utica athletes while helping them to achieve the highest level of success possible.
Corbin is very excited at the opportunity to lead a department in which she's spent the majority of her career, noting; "I've had the pleasure of being involved in the growth of this athletic department over the past 17 years. With the backing of the amazing Athletic Training staff here at Utica, I have no doubt that we will continue to make positive changes that support our athletes in being successful both on and off the field."
Her passion for the profession was on full display during Utica's "Behind the Benches" feature series in Spring of 2025, as she said, "For me, athletic training is more than just the medical profession. More than just the long hours and weekends. It's building relationships, gaining the trust of my athletes, watching them develop and succeed not only as an athlete, but as a person too. Other medical fields aren't lucky enough to get to know their patients that well. It makes watching them win on the field, in the athletic training room, and in life, truly rewarding."
Corbin will continue to provide primary athletic training coverage for the football and basketball teams, in addition to her new role. With the addition of Buley to the staff, Corbin will enter 2026-2027 with four assistant athletic trainers on staff in Joann Zazula, Gwen Murphy, Jessie Foote, and the aforementioned Buley.
