Chaminade University’s athletic program is entering a new chapter this year, welcoming back familiar faces and introducing two new members to the staff. With compliance director Travis Thornberry returning to the Silverswords and athletic trainers Michele Wince and Kendall Sundberg joining the program, the athletic department is focusing on building trust and support for their athletes for this upcoming season.
With turnover in athletic staff in recent years, the addition of Thornberry, Wince, and Sundberg hopes to provide continuity and support across the program that students can rely on.
For Thornberry, returning to Chaminade after being gone since 2015 feels like returning home.
“I have always loved Chaminade University, its students, and its staff,” said Thornberry, Chaminade’s new compliance director. “Chaminade has always been a special place, but it’s the people who work and go to school here that make it special.”
Thornberry, who previously worked at Chaminade in 2013-15 before spending time at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Arkansas State, and Wofford College, returns to the university with years of compliance experience. He feels confident that the relationships he has with coaches from years prior and all the room to grow will help ground Chaminade’s athletic program with a sense of trust and respect for the student-athletes and coaches.
Thornberry will work to ensure that all coaches and athletes abide by the NCAA rules and manage everything from student-athlete eligibility and recruiting to rules education and reporting.
“I try to bend over backwards to help our students and our coaches. And I know they know that. So that’s why they respect me so much,” Thornberry said. “That’s why they wanted me to come back, it’s just mutual respect.”
For new athletic trainers Wince and Sundberg, growth in the program is something they want to bring as well. Wince, a 25-year-old originally from Philadelphia and a former Division II volleyball player at Bloomsberg University, earned her master’s degree in May 2025 in athletic training from the University of Hawaii Manoa. Wince’s background as a student-athlete will be invaluable in working with the Chaminade student-athletes.
“I think building trust, knowing that they can come to me whenever and have that trust in me, is the most important part honestly,” Wince said. “So that they know they can come to me because if they don’t trust their athletic trainer, they’re not going to come to you with injuries or outside.”
Sundberg brings a different path to her new role. She is a 29-year-old with an undergraduate degree in athletic training from Ohio University and a masters in sports science from the University of Pittsburgh. Sundberg has also worked at Converse University, a small Division II school in South Carolina, and completed an orthopedic residency in Vail, Colorado, assisting with surgeries and working alongside surgeons.
With all these experiences, Sundberg missed the energy of college athletics and being part of all the joy on the sidelines.
“I wanted to get back into athletics and work with athletes again, cause I missed that kind of fun atmosphere of games and wins and all that,” Sundberg said.
For Sundberg, being an athletic trainer means more than just treating injuries. She uses her past experiences as a way to connect and remember what it was like to balance many things at once, just like every student-athlete just walks through her door. Sundberg emphasizes compassion and a sense of understanding.
“ I’m just trying to be genuine and understanding,” she said, “giving people an open-door policy, just so they feel comfortable, so they can come to me about anything and they’re not afraid to share stuff with me, so that I can help them the best I can.”