HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne announced the appointment of Anthony Pass as the department's Associate Athletic Director for Integrated Health and Sports Performance, a position that oversees all areas of student-athlete health and well-being.
"I'm excited to find someone of Anthony's pedigree and broad experience to fill this important role on our administrative team," Bourne said. "The health and well-being of our student-athletes is the top priority for the success of JMU Athletics. We've built a unique structure at James Madison, an approach that focuses on collaboration and holistic care for each individual student-athlete. This methodology requires a specific skillset to fill such a role. We're pleased to have found that in Anthony and looking forward to his leadership."
Pass most recently served as Director of Athletic Training and Sports Nutrition at Stanford since 2019. With the Cardinal, he engineered a similar process to what's already in place at JMU, establishing a centralized care system for student-athletes involving all stakeholders. For James Madison, that team includes sports medicine, strength & conditioning, sports nutrition, sports psychology and mental health, in collaboration with coaching staffs and academic services.
"I am honored to join Mr. Bourne's staff and to continue the strong tradition of athlete-centered health and performance services," Pass said. "My family and I are very excited to be a part of the JMU family."
At Stanford, Pass led a health unit responsible for 36 sport programs and 950 student-athletes, overseeing a unit of nearly 60 staff members. He increased staff retention, increased student-athlete care satisfaction rates, completed the transition to an electronic medical records system and navigated all things related to athletics activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. He attained recognition from supervisors and peers for his emphasis on unit growth, ingenuity, engagement, collaboration and partnering with various campus groups.
Prior to Stanford, Pass served as football trainer at Texas beginning in 2014 and was promoted to Assistant AD for Sports Medicine in 2016. He served as head football trainer at Texas Tech in 2013-14. That followed eight years at Florida, filling the role of head football trainer in 2005-06 and Associate Director of Sports Health from 2006 to 2013. He began his career in college athletics as head football trainer at Indiana State from 2003 to 2005, following other stints as an intern with the Buffalo Bills and assistant trainer and strength coach with the Houston Texans.
Certifications for Pass include: certified athletic trainer, strength and conditioning specialist, performance enhancement specialist, corrective exercise specialist, dry needle certification, approved preceptor and certified health care provider for CPR and AED. He has filled multiple roles on health care advisory committees or provided additional professional services on the conference and national level, including in the PAC-12, Big XII, the National Scouting Combine, and USA Baseball. He also served as a sports medicine representative on the NCAA Football Rules Committee.
Pass is a 1999 graduate of Colorado with a degree in kinesiology. He earned his master's degree in sport administration from Houston in 2001. He and his wife, Gena, have two sons, Anthony Jr. (AJ) and Noah.
