Featured Alumni

The Denver Broncos have named United States Sports Academy 2011 Alumna of the Year Dr. China Jude as their new Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – a newly created role for one of the NFL’s most storied franchises. In the role Jude – who holds an Academy Master of Sports Science degree in sports management – will work closely with football, business and community leadership on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy. She will also work directly with the human resources and community development departments, focusing on recruitment, hiring processes, overall workplace environment and external outreach. In addition to leading the organization's overall DEI strategy and representing the team as an external ambassador on social justice initiatives, Jude will guide the team's internal DEI committee as it hosts [...]

United States Sports Academy graduate Matt Lowe has an opportunity that most coaches at the collegiate level never get – to be the first coach in their program’s history. Lowe was recently hired as the first ever coach for the brand new women’s cross country team at Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, Wash. Lowe holds a Master of Sports Science (M.S.S.) degree in sports coaching from the Academy. He also had a successful collegiate running career at Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky. He recently coached cross country at Kentucky Wesleyan College, where he helped design training for long-distance runners in the steeplechase, 5k, 10k distances, and throwing events; and helped athletes achieve All-Conference Academic and Athletic honors as well as winning conference titles and breaking school and conference records. “The [...]

Graciela Steidley has more than 20 years of experience coaching softball at the high school and collegiate levels, but her bachelor’s degree from the United States Sports Academy ultimately helped her land her first collegiate head coaching position. Steidley holds a Bachelor of Sports Science degree in sports studies from the Academy. She was recently hired as the head softball coach at the University of Antelope Valley (UAV) in Lancaster, Calif. “My education with United States Sports Academy helped my career by opening doors that were not possible prior to earning my degree,” Steidley said. “Prior to applying at the Academy, I was complacent with being an assistant coach and not looking to advance my education. It wasn’t until my daughter was injured and I had to watch her dreams [...]

Sport is in Adrian Clewlow’s blood. He’s a longtime soccer player at the youth, high school, collegiate, and professional levels and the son of a professional soccer player in England. As a soccer player at the University of Richmond in the mid-1990s, Clewlow was a four-year starter and two-year captain for the Spiders. Clewlow also holds a Master of Sports Science (M.S.S.) degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy. A two-time All-South Regional All-American player for Richmond, Clewlow recently returned to the school as an assistant women’s soccer coach. A native of Dover, England, Clewlow earned his M.S.S. degree while working as associate dean of students, assistant athletic director and head boys’ soccer coach at the Winchendon School, a preparatory boarding school in Massachusetts. “While I was [...]

Grant Wilson said his Master of Sports Science (M.S.S.) degree in sports coaching from the United States Sports Academy directly led to his work as the head men’s volleyball coach at Brandon University in Manitoba. Wilson earned his M.S.S. degree from the Academy while teaching middle school in Brandon, Man., and working as an assistant coach at Brandon University. “As luck would have it, our head coach at the time decided to accept the athletic director position at the university,” Wilson said. “Having a master’s degree was a pre-requisite for the head coaching job due to the fact that there were also teaching duties assigned to the position in the Physical Education department. Having experience as an assistant, as well as the master’s degree, put me in position to land the [...]

United States Sports Academy alumnus Clayton Hamilton has worked within the University of Arkansas athletics department since 2010, serving in the role of deputy athletics director and chief financial officer. A native of Little Rock, Ark., Hamilton earned his Master of Sports Science degree in sports management from the Academy in 1997. He said the Academy’s mentorship program and faculty support system played valuable roles in helping him climb the ranks in collegiate athletics and the sport profession. “My experience with the Academy was very positive,” Hamilton said. “There was a support structure in place to help students identify their goals and develop an academic plan to position themselves well for internship and future career opportunities. “My master’s degree program from the Academy provided an important opportunity to complete an [...]

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 [...]