The United States Sports Academy is mourning the loss of its beloved Founding President, Trustee, and longtime global sport education leader Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich, who passed away from natural causes on Saturday, 29 August 2020 at age 88.
A native of Sheboygan Falls, Wisc., Rosandich served as the Academy’s president and chief executive officer for 43 years until 2015, when his son, Dr. T.J. Rosandich, was named president and CEO. Rosandich’s enduring legacy is that the Academy continues to thrive and serve the profession as an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission Sports University created to serve the nation and world with programs in instruction, research, and service.
Rosandich founded the Academy in 1972 in response to a poor performance by the United States Olympic team in the 1972 Munich Games. Research suggested that American athletes were lacking quality coaching and training, which Rosandich believed could best be remedied through education.
Rosandich relocated the Academy to Alabama in 1976 as the only free-standing and accredited sports university in the United States. Over the past 45 years, the Academy has conferred thousands of sport-specific degrees to its students and has enriched the lives of countless more through its education and outreach programs that have been delivered in some 67 countries around the world. The Academy now offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs as well as a wide array of non-degree sport education programs.
The Academy campus, located in Daphne, Ala., which has won architectural awards for its beauty, also houses the American Sport Art Museum and Archives (ASAMA). Founded in 1984 by Rosandich, ASAMA embodies the enduring connection between sports and art. Through tireless effort, Rosandich built the collection into a world-recognized museum housing more than 1,700 pieces in all mediums. It is thought to be the largest museum of the sport genre in the world and is open free-of-charge as a public service to the community.
Rosandich brought to the Academy a storied career in sport. He starred in football and track and field at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he graduated with a degree in physical education and history in 1954. His alma mater has recognized his contributions by his induction into the UW-La Crosse Athletic Wall of Fame in 1983, naming him the Maurice O. Graff Distinguished Alumnus in 1989, and honoring him annually by presenting the Rosandich Thesis Award, which recognizes the student with the best master’s degree thesis of the year. Rosandich went on to earn a master’s degree in sport administration from the National School of Sport at the University of Indonesia and a Ph.D. in research at Union Graduate School in Ohio.
Following graduation from UW-La Crosse, Rosandich began a 20-year career of service in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, where he coached numerous world record and Olympic track and field athletes. He was the founder and director of the inaugural Marine Corps Schools Relays in Quantico, Va., and was named the All-Marine Track and Field Coach, All-Marine Cross Country Coach and All-Service Coach in 1956 in which capacity he coached the military track and field athletes in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.
Between 1956 and 1976, Rosandich coached in some 50 countries preparing national teams for international games as part of the U.S. State Department’s “U.S. Ambassadors of Sport” program. In this role, Rosandich was charged with using sport to elevate America’s relationship with nations around the world.
Before founding the Academy, he also served as director of athletics at the University of Wisconsin system at Parkside and Milwaukee. His substantial contributions to track and field earned him induction in the Helms Track and Field Hall of Fame. He has also been active in professional organizations such as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
Though fully engaged in building the Academy into America’s premier school of sports, Rosandich still found the time to contribute to the profession in many ways, including serving as a supporter, leader and advocate for the global advancement of sport, earning numerous national and international honors. For his work in the Olympic Movement, Rosandich was awarded the highest International Olympic Committee honor, The Olympic Order, in 1997.
Rosandich’s impact in Southwest Alabama has transcended sport and education and has included initiatives such as the creation of “Operation Bounce-back”, the first cardiac rehabilitation program in Mobile. Through the Academy’s outreach programs, the institution is the only enterprise in the area that has brought six foreign heads of State to the Port City.
Rosandich also created the Academy’s Awards of Sport program, which each year serves as “A Tribute to the Artist and the Athlete.” The Academy presents the awards to pay tribute to those who have made significant contributions to sport, in categories as diverse as the artist and the athlete in several different arenas of sport.
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Tom Rosandich on Saturday. He certainly played a big role in my life and I want to send my condolences to all his family members. He was a visionary in sport education who went on to establish an academic presence in Alabama and around the world. I have many fond memories of my time there and interactions with him.
Worst news ever! :-(
I want to share my condolences with the Rosandich family as well. My five year stint with the Academy during the initial accreditation period was filled with proud accomplishment and unique opportunity while sharing in a great vision in sport education led by Dr. Rosandich. I wish the family, and the Academy, the best. Dave Voskuil
Tom Rosandich was a brilliant leader, visionary, innovator, entrepreneur, not withstanding, a “world class” educator within the global sporting landscape.
A true friend, as well as a relationship wizard, whereby his extraordinary network served his beloved Academy, as well as the serious aspirations of all of his colleagues and students for almost a half a century. Simply put, clearly a GIANT! Tom, RIP, you will indeed be sorely missed, but never forgotten. God bless a great leader!
Tom Rosandich was indeed a giant within the global sports community, and perhaps yet a far better friend. Rest In Peace!
Dr. Rosandich provided me the opportunity to work overseas 35 years ago. I am still international and remain grateful for the life-enhancing experiences extended to me by the Academy. My education and interactions with students and faculty at the Sports Academy helped shaped my professional and personal life. Condolences to the extended Sports Academy family on the loss of this Giant.
I was honored not only to obtain my Masters at the Academy but more
Importantly the people I met while attending made an incredible and lasting impact on my life. I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the Rosandich family and to continue to be In awe of the legacy and impact that Dr Rosandich had on so many people here and across the world.