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Following an online voting period that garnered thousands of votes from all corners of the world, American figure skating superstar Nathan Chen has repeated as the United States Sports Academy’s Male Athlete of the Year. On the women’s side, American swimmer Lilly King took home the Academy’s Female Athlete of the Year honor for 2020. Chen and King both excelled in competition for the respective sports in a year marked by global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Chen won his fourth consecutive U.S. Figure Skating Championship after totaling 330.17 points and landing six quadruple jumps between two programs in Greensboro, N.C., in January 2020, then repeated the feat for his fifth consecutive U.S. title in January 2021. No American man has won as many consecutive national championships since the [...]

Esports as an industry is now over 20 years old and it has grown exponentially when compared to other generic industries, representing the sixth largest global growth at the industrial level (Eurostat, 2019; Southall, Nagel, LeGrande, & Han, 2003). There are now over 150 sports teams and counting involved in Esports, e.g., Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, FC Schalke 04, Kraft group (owners of New England Patriots) and many more are investing in Esports heavily. Esport is not systematically institutionalized, and there is ongoing coordination to create evolving governance.  There are shifting rules, and there is a power game of the “insider” and the outsiders.  The industry is rooted in innovation, business, media, and fandom as well. These phenomena will require management professionals that are innovative and focused on business [...]

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. Mekia S. Troy (Douglasville, Ga.) – Ed.D. Sports Management, Sports Leadership emphasis Dr. Priscilla A. Freeman (Covington, Ga.) – Ed.D. Sports Management, Sports Marketing emphasis Master’s Graduates Terri L. DeFour (Fairhope, Ala.) – M.S.S. Sports Exercise Science, with honors Andrew A. Ward (Ontario, Ore.) – M.S.S. Sports Management, with honors Aaron J. Ainsworth (Pensacola, Fla.) – M.S.S. Sports Coaching Alisa R. Lamar (Hoover, Ala.) – M.S.S. Sports Management Manthan M. Thaker (Palm Harbor, Fla.) – M.S.S. Sports Management Bachelor’s Graduates Jerrell W. Stephens Jr. (Belle Chasse, La.) – B.S.S. Sports Strength and Conditioning, Summa [...]

Visitors to the American Sport Art Museum & Archives (ASAMA) on the United States Sports Academy campus will now be able to see an original, one-of-a-kind piece by renowned sport artist Ernie Barnes. In 1984, Ernie Barnes was selected as the Academy’s first Sport Artist of the Year, following his work as the official Sport Artist for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.  In 2004, Barnes was again selected as the Sport Artist of the Year, making him one of only two sport artists to receive the Academy’s prestigious award twice. While visiting the Academy to accept his 2004 award, Barnes gave late Academy Founding President Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich an original, one-of-a-kind sketch titled “Study for Hurdlers” depicting a hurdler in action. The piece includes a hand written note [...]

After a lengthy career dedicated to exercise science, personal fitness, and higher education, United States Sports Academy Chair of Exercise Science Dr. Brian Wallace will retire at the end of 2020. This was Wallace’s third stint at the Academy, having previously served as the institution’s chair of sport fitness and health and also as a member of its National Faculty. He has served on numerous doctoral dissertation committees for the institution and directed the Academy’s Human Performance Lab. “I immensely enjoyed working with our Academy students and imparting the knowledge they will need to be a success in their chosen careers,” Wallace said. “Most students in these programs are highly motivated to move forward with their careers and to be the best they can be. I also enjoyed working with an [...]

As the RangerVision 2020 campaign continues to enhance the Sports & Activity Center, Parkside Athletics has launched an initiative to honor the late Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich. Rosandich was the first Director of Athletics at UW-Parkside, serving from 1969-72, and was instrumental in launching the original sport programs, creating athletics facilities including the Sports & Activity Center, and hiring head coaches. He passed away from natural causes at the age of 88 on August 29, 2020. “Tom’s tenure as the Athletic Director at Parkside was a first for both,” said Dr. Rosandich’s son Dr. T.J. Rosandich, President and CEO of the United States Sports Academy. “Just as Tom was the first AD at Parkside, it was the first time he assumed the role of a collegiate director of athletics. While he brought [...]

The United States Sports Academy held a historic “virtual” signing ceremony with the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and Jamaica Paralympic Association (JPA) on 21 December, 2020, in Daphne. The Academy will use the institution’s expertise and resources to help aide in the development of the national sport effort in the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica. Dr. Rosandich reveals the signed Protocol of Cooperation Because of Covid-19, the signing ceremony was held virtually with the Academy faculty and staff on the institution’s campus in Daphne, while the JOA and JPA partners signed in Jamaica. Representing the Jamaica Olympic Association and Jamaica Paralympic Association were President Christopher L. Samuda, Secretary General and CEO Ryan Foster, Director Yvonne Kong, and Member Relations Manager Novelette Harris. The virtual ceremony is a first [...]

Swimmers Caeleb Dressel and Kira Toussaint set world records at International Swimming League events and earned the United States Sports Academy’s Athlete of the Month honors for November. Dressel, of the United States, set world records in late November and earned MVP honors at the final International Swimming League event of the season. Dressel set a world record with a time of 49.28 seconds in the 100-meter medley on 22 November. The previous day, Dressel broke world records in the 100-meter butterfly (47.7 seconds) and 50-meter freestyle (20.16 seconds). Toussaint, of the Netherlands, set a world record in the women’s 50-meter backstroke with a time of 25.06 seconds in the International Swimming League semifinal on 14 November. Toussaint’s time broke the 2017 record of 25.67 seconds previously held by Brazil’s [...]