WORKS WITH: football, men’s lacrosse, m/w golf
Anthony Erz began his tenure at the University of Pennsylvania in August 2015 and has played an integral role in the care and performance of Penn’s student-athletes. Initially joining as an Assistant Athletic Trainer, Erz was promoted to Head Football Athletic Trainer in 2016, a position he held through the 2022 season. In July 2022, Erz was elevated to Head Athletic Trainer and named Athletics Health Care Administrator, overseeing Penn’s entire athletic training program and a staff of more than a dozen full-time athletic trainers and support personnel. Currently, he works directly with the men’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s golf teams.
Throughout his career at Penn, Erz has provided exceptional care to student-athletes, managing injury prevention, immediate emergency response, rehabilitation, and return-to-play protocols. He has spearheaded several key initiatives, including coordinating pre-participation physical exams for all Penn student-athletes, implementing preventive ECG testing, leading the development and design of Penn Sports Performance’ state-of-the-art Recovery Space, and projects such as the installation of a cryochamber in Penn’s Frey Athletic Training Room. He also developed and strengthened Penn Athletics’ partnership with Good Shepherd Penn Partners Physical Therapy, creating a Physical Therapy Coordinator role that enhanced communication and collaboration between the two groups. In addition, he has built relationships and programs with local clinicians to expand care services for student-athletes, including the integration of chiropractic services and acupuncture. His dedication to holistic student-athlete care and forward-thinking approach to sports medicine have earned him recognition as a cornerstone of Penn’s Sports Performance team.
Erz serves as site co-investigator for the University of Pennsylvania’s involvement in the Ivy League-Big Ten Epidemiology of Concussion Study. Beyond Penn, he has built deep collaborations across sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and academic services, furthering the integration of health, performance, and education for student-athletes.
Before arriving at Penn, Erz gained extensive experience in collegiate athletic training. He served as a Graduate Assistant at Cornell University, where he worked with sprint football, baseball, and men’s lacrosse teams, while also supervising athletic training students from Ithaca College and SUNY Cortland. Prior to that, he was an Athletic Trainer at Holy Cross, managing field hockey, swimming and diving, women’s lacrosse (2012), and men’s lacrosse (2013), among other sports.
In addition to his responsibilities at Penn, Erz has served as a long-standing member of the medical staff at the Lake Placid Lacrosse Classic each summer since 2016. In 2017, he played a pivotal role in a life-saving effort during a cardiac emergency at the event, which became known as
“The Miracle on Grass.” https://laxallstars.com/lake-placid-lax-miracle-grass/
Erz holds a bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Lasell College, where he also excelled as a men’s lacrosse player, earning all-conference honors and Pilgrim Lacrosse League All-Academic team recognition. He later earned a master’s degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Sports Psychology from Ithaca College.
He is a Certified Athletic Trainer by the Board of Certification (BOC) and a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). His additional certifications include Basic Life Support (American Red Cross), Corrective Exercise Specialist (National Academy of Sports Medicine), and Functional Range Conditioning Mobility Specialist (FRCms).
Anthony resides in South Jersey with his wife, Anya, and their daughters, Adelyn and Alaina.
