Lacey Doyle
The United States Sports Academy kicked off the 2021 Spring semester by admitting Freshman students into its renowned sport education degree programs for the first time in the institution’s 48-year history. After just a few weeks, the Academy’s four-year Bachelor of Sports Science (B.S.S.) degree program is receiving high marks from the first students in its inaugural Freshman class.
Founded as a graduate school of sport in 1972, the Academy admitted its first bachelor’s degree students in the Fall semester of 2004. Last year, the Academy’s application for four-year bachelor’s status was approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The landmark change meant that the institution now admits freshmen for a four-year B.S.S. degree program and teaching general educational core curriculum courses.
Lacey Doyle, the four-year B.S.S. program’s first enrollee, offered insightful feedback on her progress in her initial course designed to boost student success in the classroom. The course – SPT 100 – offers guidance on following APA style when writing papers, something that Academy students use in their coursework.
“I am very excited about my enrollment in this program,” Doyle said. “I found the most value in the APA section, because that is one of those areas that I knew I would need help with. Not only was the unit helpful, but also the advice I received will help advance my writing as I move on to my next courses.”
A resident of Belle Fourche, S.D., Doyle also said the structured style of the Academy’s B.S.S. program has helped improve her time management skills.
“The skills I think I have most improved on from the beginning of the course until now are time management and self-care,” Doyle said. “I have always known both skills are important, but I haven’t always taken the time to make them a priority. This degree is very important to me so keeping up with the things I need to do to succeed is a priority.”
As America’s only freestanding sports university, the Academy has been continually accredited by SACSCOC since 1983 and was recently reaffirmed by the accreditor in 2018. The Academy’s B.S.S. degree programs also have a programmatic accreditation. The B.S.S. in Sports Coaching through the National Council for the Accreditation of Coaching Education (NCACE) and the Sports Strength and Conditioning degree has been approved by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a part of their Education Recognized Partner (ERP) program. The B.S.S. in Sports Management is also a candidate for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Business School and Programs (ACBSP).
“Since its founding in 1972, the sole focus of the Academy has been sports and this has been the driving force behind all of the institutions sport education programs,” Academy President and CEO Dr. T.J. Rosandich said. “However, the Academy has been fielding many requests from here and abroad to build an undergraduate degree program that would allow first-time college students to pursue their aspirations for a career in sports. This new development will allow the Academy to bring these requests to reality.”
“This expansion of our bachelor’s degree program is a part of our long-term strategy to broaden our course offerings and to appeal to a wider audience of students,” Academy Provost Dr. Tomi Wahlstrom said. “Starting to teach general education core courses is a departure from our tradition to only teach sport specific courses and a significant evolutionary step in towards the future of the Academy. New high-school graduates are a new target market for us and we are very excited to be working with freshmen and sophomores.”
SACSCOC is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern United States. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices among the diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Latin America and other international sites approved by the Commission.
The mission of SACSCOC is to assure the educational quality and improve the effectiveness of its member institutions. Its vision is to serve as the premier model for shaping and ensuring the quality of higher education throughout the world.
