The NFL has expanded a program for minorities and women in sports medicine, aiming to increase diversity among athletic trainers and medical staff across the league in line with similar initiatives for coaches and the front office.

The league announced Monday at the spring owners meetings in Minnesota an expansion of the pool to match diverse students from 19 medical schools with NFL clubs.

The NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative began last year with 14 medical students from historically Black colleges and universities completing one-month clinical rotations among eight NFL teams, in partnership with the NFL Physicians Society and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society. Medical students interested in primary care sports medicine and orthopedic surgery were selected for the pilot program, and this year the number of participants has been more than doubled.

Read the full story in the Associated Press here.