The Academy congratulates the following graduates who completed their degrees this month. Because of the Academy’s rolling enrollments and flexible online learning options, degrees can be conferred upon graduates throughout the academic year. Doctoral Graduates Dr. James J. Moore (Hillsboro, Kan.) – Ed.D. Sports Management, Sports Leadership specialization, with honors Dr. John T. Pagliasotti III (Weatherford, Okla.) – Ed.D. Sports Management, Sports Theory emphasis, Sports Leadership specialization, with honors Dr. Lorenzo Guess (East Lansing, Mich.) – Ed.D. Sports Management, Sports Leadership specialization

The United States Sports Academy is mourning the loss of Dr. Robert Block, the Founding Chairman of the Academy’s Board of Trustees, who passed away from natural causes on 12 October 2021 at age 93. Block played a crucial role in the founding and growth of the Academy and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the institution in 1982. In addition to being the Founding Chairman of Academy’s Board of Trustees, Block served on the board for 44 years, beginning with the Academy’s inception in 1972.  Block provided space for the Academy’s first location in Milwaukee, Wisc. Together with Founding President Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich and other founding members of the board, Block also helped recruit and select the Academy’s first National Faculty.   Block was also instrumental in the creation [...]

The United States Sports Academy recently signed a contract with the Fairhope (Ala.) Soccer Club (FSC) to sponsor that league's recreational youth and travel soccer teams. The agreement between the Daphne, Ala., based university and the local soccer organization will benefit hundreds of young athletes in Coastal Alabama. The Academy welcomed FSC president Haden Giddings, club director Declan McSheffrey, and secretary Jacque Boyer to campus for the official signing ceremony in September 2021. The FSC offers a variety of recreational programs for children ages 4-19 and offers an academy style travel program for advanced players seeking a higher level of training and competition. The club also offers camps, tournaments, and playdates throughout the year.

A well-respected law professor specializing in the investigation of corruption in sport, Richard McLaren has been named the recipient of the United States Sports Academy’s 2021 international Honorary Doctorate. Each year as part of its Awards of Sport program, the Academy presents its Honorary Doctorate to a person who has made outstanding contributions to sport and to society. McLaren earned the award because of his body of work uncovering corruption in international sport – including his leadership on the WADA Commission, which investigated allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russian sports. His 2016 McLaren Report indicated systematic state-sponsored subversion of the drug testing processes by the government of Russia before, during, and subsequent to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. McLaren’s follow up report, also in 2016, found that between 2011 and [...]

The United States Sports Academy is mourning the loss of Mohamad Tahir Bin Kamaruzaman, the former longtime Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of USSA-Malaysia, who passed away on Friday, 24 September 2021. A widely respected educator and administrator, Kamaruzaman, known to friends and colleagues as “Haji Tahir” worked as the USSA-Malaysia CAO for eight years. He was also an alumnus of the Academy, having been part of the institution’s first group of Malaysian students in the International Certification in Sports Coaching (ICSC) program through the Malaysian MSN – the country’s central sports organization – in the early 1980s. He also held a master’s degree in sports science from the University of Malaysia. Kamaruzaman played a significant role in program planning and curriculum development for USSA-Malaysia, tailoring the Academy’s programs to fit [...]

American Olympic gold medalists Kevin Durant and Sydney McLaughlin are the United States Sports Academy’s Athletes of the Month after their achievements on the world stage at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in August. . Durant earned MVP honors as Team USA won the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament at Tokyo 2020. Durant averaged 20.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists to lead the Americans to gold and scored 29 in the 83-76 finals win against France. McLaughlin broke her own world record and the Olympic record and won gold with a time of 51.46 seconds in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. McLaughlin held off compatriot Dalilah Muhammad, whose time of 51.58 would have also broken McLaughlin’s previous record of 51.90. McLaughlin was also part of the American [...]

The Academy congratulates the following graduates who completed their degrees this month. Because of the Academy’s rolling enrollments and flexible online learning options, degrees can be conferred upon graduates throughout the academic year. Master’s Graduates Wiley C. Branch (Durant, Miss.) – M.S.S. dual degree Sports Health & Fitness and Sports Medicine Derrick Burroughs (Villa Rica, Ga.) – M.S.S. Sports Management Warren A. Patterson (Malone, N.Y.) – M.S.S. Sports Coaching Bachelor’s Graduates Rafael Gutierrez (Heartland, Texas) – B.S.S. Sports Strength & Conditioning, Magna Cum Laude Frederick A. Koeller (Warrensburg, Mo.) – B.S.S. Sports Management James E. Pressler (Emmaus, Pa.) – B.S.S. Sports Management, Recreation Management emphasis