Featured Alumni

United States Sports Academy alumnus Dr. Richard Hardy’s positive interactions with athletic trainers when he played high school and collegiate sports led to his nearly 20-year career working in the field. Hardy earned his Doctor of Education degree in sports management with a sports medicine emphasis from the Academy in 2017. In 2001, he began his career working at Heartland Orthopedic Specialists in Minnesota, where he provided athletic training services and classroom instruction for the University of Minnesota Morris. He provides training services for 17 varsity sports and teaches in the school’s sports studies, biology, and athletic departments. “My first contact with an athletic trainer occurred when I played high school football,” Hardy said. “I suffered a minor injury and our school’s athletic trainer helped guide me through the rehabilitation [...]

A former Olympic and NCAA collegiate swimmer, Mark Chay has a very diverse resume in the world of international sport. The United States Sports Academy alumnus, athlete, sports business owner, administrator, coach, and national committee chair recently added another prestigious title to his resume: Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) in Singapore. Singapore’s NMP program began in 1990 as a way to ensure a wide representation of views in Parliament. The sports “fraternity” is one of seven functional groups – from service organizations to educational institutions – invited to submit candidates to speak on the various issues related to each group. Chay plans to use his time as an NMP to speak on the role of sports in bringing the world back together amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Sport brings society together,” [...]

Derrick Johnson is an experienced collegiate athletics administrator with more than 15 years working in leadership roles around the country. Johnson said his graduate education from the United States Sports Academy opened doors and informed his career path every step of the way. Johnson is the Associate Dean of Athletics at Fresno (Calif.) City College, where he oversees 23 teams across 20 sports and nearly 600 student-athletes. He earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the Academy. Johnson said his Academy degree has been invaluable and opened doors in his career that would not have been there without it. “There are a lot of schools out there that are selling degrees, but the Academy sells a real, rigorous, and valuable education,” Johnson said. “I have used [...]

The Creighton University men’s basketball team, coached by United States Sports Academy alumnus Greg McDermott, is off to a fast start and a national top 10 ranking this season. The Bluejays (10-2) are ranked eighth in this week’s Associated Press men’s basketball top 25 poll following a recent 97-79 win over St. John’s University. McDermott was the Academy’s 2014 Alumnus of the Year after leading the Bluejays to the NCAA tournament in the 2011-12 season and again in 2013-14. He was the first coach in Creighton history to win 20 or more games in each of his first three seasons there. Now in his 11th season at Creighton, McDermott is the reigning Big East Conference Coach of the Year. McDermott earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management [...]

Frank Shreve decided to pursue a career in athletic coaching as a way to give back to his community. Now, Shreve is using his graduate education from the United States Sports Academy to lead a school district athletics department in Ohio. A native of Buckhannon, W.Va., Shreve was recently hired as the director of athletics for the Grand Valley Local School District in Ravenna, Ohio. Shreve earned his Master of Sports Science dual degree in sports management and sports coaching from the Academy in 2012 while working as a soccer coach and math teacher at Fayetteville (N.C.) Academy. “I got into coaching because I wanted to give back to the community,” Shreve said. “I played soccer growing up and it impacted my life in a positive way. So I wanted [...]

Appalachian State University associate athletics director for internal operations John Welch said his master’s degree from the United States Sports Academy laid a firm foundation upon which he has built a career in higher education athletics administration. Welch earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the Academy in 2011, while he was already working within the Appalachian State athletics department. Like many Academy students, Welch took advantage of the institution’s flexible scheduling options to continue working in the field while boosting his career through education. “The Academy provided a chance for me to enroll in relevant courses taught by quality faculty and I was able to study on my own pace outside of work hours,” Welch said. “That flexibility was extremely important in my decision to [...]

Even when he was starring on the football field for the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) as a co-captain and two-time letter winner, Joseph Arnold knew his path would probably lead to a career in sport off the field. A native of Prichard, Ala., Arnold earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management with an emphasis in NCAA compliance in 2013. Today, he uses his Academy education in his work as the assistant athletics director for compliance at Dartmouth College. He was intrigued by NCAA compliance after working as an intern in the compliance office in the UAB athletics department. After his UAB graduation, he interned in the compliance office with the Southwestern Athletic Conference in Birmingham, Ala. “After UAB, while I was working in Birmingham, my brother gave [...]

Kim Ensey has known she wanted to work with young athletes since she was a teenager. Armed with her master’s degree from the United States Sports Academy, Ensey has now built a career around the sport of softball in sunny Southern California. Ensey earned her Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the Academy in 2011. She was recently hired as the head softball coach at Chino Hills (Calif.) High School. She’s also the recruiting coordinator for the So Cal Choppers club softball organization. “During my education journey, I found myself wanting to stay at the youth levels of our sport,” Ensey said. “Through my Academy courses I learned so much about management and marketing. I believe my degree has allowed me to be better prepared for the [...]

When Mike Leach was hired to be the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team, the college football world knew it was only a matter of time until the offensive mastermind’s brand of pass-heavy football made its mark on the Southeastern Conference. But few people expected it to happen so quickly. Leach, a two-time national coach of the year and former United States Sports Academy Alumnus of the Year, led the Bulldogs to a stunning 44-34 win over the defending national champion LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, La., in the first game of the season on 26 September. “Our team – offensively, defensively and on special teams – had each other's backs,” Leach told media after the win. “We had our share of adversity and slugged through it. [...]

A sports administrator with one of the most diverse resumes in the collegiate ranks, Dr. Kristene Kelly has been named the United States Sports Academy’s 2020 Alumna of the Year. Kelly, an Academy doctoral degree holder, joined the Vanderbilt University athletic department this year as the deputy athletic director for internal affairs, senior woman administrator, and member of the department’s executive team. She is also the athletic department’s liaison to the Title IX office and to the Dean of Students. A native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Kelly has worked in each of the NCAA’s three divisions and boasts one of the most diverse resumes of any college administrator as one of the few to hold the titles of sports information director, associate athletic director, senior associate athletic director, executive [...]

After serving the United States Air Force on active duty, starring on the Air Force Academy’s winningest men’s basketball team, and coaching the Academy’s preparatory team for 13 seasons, Maj. Marc Holum was recently promoted to be an assistant coach for Air Force’s men’s basketball team. A native of Hellertown, Pa., Holum is a graduate of the United States Sports Academy, having earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching in 2011. Holum was a four-year letter winner at Air Force, captaining the Falcons’ 2005-06 NCAA Tournament Team that finished 24-7, the best record in program history. Holum helped the Air Force Academy’s Preparatory School basketball team to a 268-93 record as associate head coach. He was also selected to be the head coach of the 2020 All-Air [...]

University of Wyoming Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator Dr. China Jude was recently named to the 10th annual Sports Business Journal (SBJ) Game Changers: Women in Sports Business class. Jude earned her Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in 1996 and was recognized as the institution’s distinguished Alumna of the Year in 2011. The 10th anniversary Game Changers class was announced in the SBJ print edition in August 2020 and will be featured in more detail in its 19 October edition. The class will be honored during a virtual conference on 27 October. "To be included in this outstanding group of women in sports is very humbling," said Jude.  "I want to thank the Sports Business Journal for recognizing [...]