Veteran educator, administrator, coach and United States Sports Academy alumnus Ray Canady Jr. has been named the athletic director at Irmo High School in Columbia, S.C. Canady earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the Academy in 2004. He had served as the assistant athletic director at Irmo High School since 2017 and has worked as a social studies teacher there since 1994. He has also coached varsity baseball, junior varsity football and varsity football quarterbacks in his time at Irmo. “Irmo is home to me, and I’m so proud to serve in the role of athletic director,” said Canady. “With a new head football coach and years of athletic excellence to build on, it’s a great time to be a yellow jacket. We’re excited to [...]

Anthony Anderson continues to rise up through the ranks of collegiate basketball coaching with the help of his master’s degree from the United States Sports Academy. Anderson was recently named assistant head coach and director of player development for the women’s basketball program at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching with an emphasis in NCAA compliance in 2013. “Anthony has worked very hard in his career to recruit and coach his way up the ladder,” UTEP head women’s basketball coach Kevin Baker said. “He is becoming known as one of the best and brightest young coaches in the country. Anthony is a relentless recruiter and has a proven track record of signing high quality players. He will be [...]

United States Sports Academy doctoral program alumnus Dr. John Lesaine has made his mark in the classroom and on the basketball court and is now being recognized for helping others in his home state of South Carolina. Lesaine was named as one of the Top 20 Under 40 by the South Carolina Black Pages, a business directory and reference guide. The honor is given each year to 20 men and women under age 40 who have achieved personal and professional success, have a record of community service and have given back to others through their time, talents, and donations. Lesaine is the assistant dean for student success and persistence at Newberry College in Newberry, S.C. He earned his Doctor of Education degree in Sports Management from the Academy in 2015. [...]

United States Sports Academy master’s degree graduate Terlynn Olds has been named the associate athletic director of internal operations and senior woman administrator at University of Alaska Fairbanks. A native of Ruston, La., Olds earned her Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching from the Academy in 2002. She has more than 21 years of experience in collegiate athletics, specifically in the facilitation and oversight of athletic programs, policies and initiatives. She also has experience in senior leadership positions that have served more than 1,500 student-athletes across multiple teams and NCAA divisions. Olds joined the Alaska Nanooks after serving as the deputy director of athletics and business manager at Grambling State University, an NCAA Division I program located in Grambling, Louisiana. She oversaw each of Grambling’s 15 varsity athletic [...]

United States Sports Academy alumna and national faculty member Dr. Bonnie Tiell took part in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week as a panelist for the Women in Sports and Events (WISE) “Women’s Dugout” event in Cleveland, Ohio. The “Women’s Dugout” event was held as a gathering for women early in their sport careers and veteran women executives to meet at MLB’s All-Star Game in July in Cleveland. Tiell was part of a panel of former WISE Cleveland Women of the Year honorees. Dr. Bonnie Tiell, third from left, participates in the Women in Sports and Events (WISE) Women’s Dugout panel in Cleveland, Ohio. Tiell is a professor of sports management at Tiffin (Ohio) University. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in sports management and human resources from [...]

United States Sports Academy doctoral degree program alumnus Dr. Alan Ledford was recently named to the Clinton County (Ohio) Sports Hall of Fame. Ledford is the program director and assistant professor in the sport management department at Wilmington (Ohio) College. Ledford earned his Doctor of Education degree in sports management from the Academy in 2016. Ledford credited his Academy degree with helping him land his job at Wilmington. He said the Academy’s flexible online learning option were beneficial to him as a student. “After completing my doctoral degree, I was able to interview and earn my current job at Wilmington College,” Ledford said. “The Academy is great place for a self-starter student. The classes are enjoyable and the biggest positive is that the courses can be self-directed, meaning you can [...]

The United States Sports Academy’s 2004 Alumnus of the Year Dennis Lindsey was recently promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations for the NBA’s Utah Jazz franchise. Lindsey previously served as the team’s general manager since 2012. He earned his Master of Sport Science degree in sports management from the Academy in 1994. In his new role Lindsey will oversee the Jazz basketball operations staff and develop and maintain the organization’s long-term strategic vision. Lindsey has served as the Utah Jazz general manager for the past seven years, assembling teams that have reached the NBA Playoffs for the last three years and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals in 2017 and 2018. Lindsey finished as the runner-up in the voting for the 2018 NBA Executive of the Year. His [...]

When Dr. Angel Mejico graduated from her United States Sports Academy doctoral degree program, one of her instructors gave her a piece of advice that has stuck with her ever since. “He told me, ‘take everything you learned here and go do something great with it,’” Mejico said, and she did just that. While working as a visual arts teacher at El Cerrito Middle School in California’s Corona-Norco Unified School District, Mejico founded an art academy and annual art expo which has gained notoriety around the state. Because of her efforts in the classroom and school district, Mejico was named one of California’s five Teachers of the Year in 2019. Mejico earned her Doctor of Education degree in sports management with a sports leadership emphasis from the Academy in 2016. [...]

When Dusty Gunn started his master’s degree program at the United States Sports Academy, he always had the goal of becoming an athletic director at a prestigious institution in the back of his mind. Now, after spending time as a coach, teacher, healthcare administrator and non-profit director, Gunn has been hired as the Director of Athletics at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Tenn. The school has an extensive and notable history, having first opened in 1876 and being recognized as the first school in the Chattanooga area to be racially integrated in 1954. Gunn earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports coaching from the Academy in 2008. “When I started my master’s program at the Academy, this was always the goal,” Gunn said. “I knew that one [...]

Entrepreneur and health coach Cindy Hodo said her master’s degree from the United States Sports Academy has been beneficial to her career along every step of the way. Hodo is the owner and founding partner of Quest Group, a boutique advertising agency and health and wellness coaching business based in Birmingham, Ala. She earned her Master of Sports Science degree in sports management in 1989 while she worked in marketing for the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. “The people at the Senior Bowl encouraged me to pursue a master’s degree at the Academy and I was able to do that while still working full time,” Hodo said. “Getting my master’s degree from the Academy was hugely beneficial to my career then, and it still resonates today.” After earning her master’s [...]

After working for six years in an assistant professor role at Bowie State University, Academy graduate Dr. Joseph Spears has been rewarded with a promotion and granted tenure. Spears, who lives in Maryland, was awarded tenure and promoted to the rank of associate professor of sports management at Bowie (Md.) State University, where he also serves as NCAA faculty athletic representative. Spears earned his Doctor of Education degree in sports management from the Academy in 2011. He holds master’s degrees in higher education from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md., and in divinity from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va. Spears earned a bachelor’s degree at Logos Christian College in Jacksonville, Fla. With a background in religious studies, Spears said he chose to study at the Academy to blend his [...]

Faculty and staff at the United States Sports Academy are preparing to serve as part of the 2019 Crawfish Relay organized by Academy alumnus Anthony D’Onofrio. D’Onofrio is the director of the graduate athletic administration program at Endicott College in Boston, Mass. He is also the owner and director of the Crawfish Relay, a 200-mile running and cycling relay that begins in New Orleans, La., and ends at the historic Flora-Bama at the Alabama-Florida state line on the Gulf Coast. D’Onofrio earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management in 1997. D’Onofrio has worked in athletics administration, sports management, event organization and marketing since earning his Academy degree. “The biggest thing that my Academy education did for my career was that it helped me to build my professional [...]