Dr. Brandon Spradley The United States Sports Academy is continuing its important work to educate Mobile, Ala., high school athletes about sport-related concussion issues. This summer, Academy Chair of Sports Management Dr. Brandon Spradley and doctoral student and lecturer Robert Herron are visiting high schools in the Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) to inform and educate athletes, athletic trainers, and coaches about sport-related concussions. Since 2016, the Academy has worked with the University of South Alabama (USA) Department of Neurology and the Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) under the Concussion Awareness Program (CAP), funded in part by a grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to USA. Under the program directed by USA, the University and the Academy developed procedures for use by the school [...]

The United States Sports Academy has announced its Athlete of the Month ballot for June and public voting is in progress. Following the selection committee’s meeting, 12 candidates – six male and six female – from six countries comprise the list. Each month, the public is invited to participate in the Academy’s worldwide Athlete of the Month program by nominating athletes and then voting online during the first week of every month. The online votes are used to guide the Academy selection committee in choosing the male and female monthly winners, who then become eligible for selection to the prestigious Athlete of the Year ballot. A worldwide public vote on the annual ballot is used to guide the committee in making the final selection. Everyone is encouraged to cast a [...]

Dr. Vandy Pacetti-Donelson United States Sports Academy library director Dr. Vandy Pacetti-Donelson recently made a presentation at an international library conference in Florence, Italy. Pacetti-Donelson presented a bibliometric study at the 2019 Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML) conference that demonstrates a method to identify scientific specialties in conference proceedings. Bibliometrics is the analyses of patterns of information related to usage data, impact, or publication data in print or electronic format. Her research demonstrated that the nature of scientific specialties can be identified in knowledge domains outside of the traditional publication records and proposed a methodology to collate data and complete an analysis without traditional database usage. Pacetti-Donelson earned her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Southern Mississippi and her doctoral degree from [...]

The United States Sports Academy is continuing its longstanding international certification program in Thailand with a handful of instructors teaching the institution’s post-secondary, non-degree programs in that country this summer. This is the 14th consecutive year that the Academy has taught its international certification program to provide advanced sport education to prepare students in Thailand for careers in sport. The Academy teaches the International Certification in Sports Coaching (ICSC) program in Thailand, which includes a wide range of coaching and related administrative skills, and the International Certification in Sports Management (ICSM), a program that includes management topics such as sports event planning, marketing and public relations, and facilities. In June, the Academy has sent instructors Dr. Mike Hahesy, Dr. Dave Shrock, and Dr. Christopher Rampacek to Bangkok on teaching assignments. [...]

Artist Tafa presents a portrait memorializing New York National Guard Private Emmanuel Mensah. United States Sports Academy 2010 Sport Artist of the Year Tafa was recently commissioned to pay tribute to a hero who gave his life rescuing people from a fire in the Bronx. Tafa, a native of Ghana, created a portrait memorializing New York National Guard Private Emmanuel Mensah, 28, who died in December of 2017 while attempting to rescue people stranded inside of a burning apartment building. The late soldier was one of 13 people who were killed in the fire. The artist presented the portrait to Mensah’s family during a street naming ceremony in his honor. The street, 2363 Prospects Avenue in Bronx in New York City, was renamed Private First Class Emmanuel Mensah [...]

Academy 2019 Sport Artist of the Year Steven Lester in his Atlanta Studio. After four decades of leadership in the commercial creative field, Atlanta’s Steven Lester fully embraced his passion for painting and quickly gained notoriety for what he calls “representational expressionism.” Because Lester’s action sports themes resonate with vibrant life and elicit a visceral, emotional response, he has been named the United States Sports Academy’s 2019 Sport Artist of the Year. Lester will be awarded the honor at the Academy’s Awards of Sport event and reception on Thursday, November 14, 2019 on the Academy campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of the Academy’s 35th Annual Awards of Sport program, a celebration of sport and art and a “Tribute to the [...]

United States Sports Academy doctoral students Jillian Rosandich and Robert Herron recently represented the institution at the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) Conference in New Orleans, La. Herron and Rosandich, who also serve as teaching assistants on the Academy campus in Daphne, Ala., attended the conference both for professional development and also to present a paper they co-authored with the Academy’s Chair of Sport Management Dr. Brandon Spradley. The paper encompassed research on data obtained from Likert scales; possible Likert-alternatives, such as visual analog scales; and also focused on the gaps that can exist in data derived from Likert scale responses. Highlights from the weekend, aside from the honor that came from presenting their research, included an inspiring keynote address from Earle F. Zeigler Award recipient, Dr. Jennifer [...]

The United States Sports Academy has announced its Athlete of the Month ballot for May and public voting is in progress. Following the selection committee’s meeting, 12 candidates – six male and six female – from eight countries comprise the list. Each month, the public is invited to participate in the Academy’s worldwide Athlete of the Month program by nominating athletes and then voting online during the first week of every month. The online votes are used to guide the Academy selection committee in choosing the male and female monthly winners, who then become eligible for selection to the prestigious Athlete of the Year ballot. A worldwide public vote on the annual ballot is used to guide the committee in making the final selection. Everyone is encouraged to cast a [...]