The United States Sports Academy is taking the next steps toward earning accreditation for its sports management degree programs from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), one of the world’s leading business school accreditors. In early 2019 the Academy became a candidate for accreditation from ACBSP, a leading organization offering accreditation services to business degree programs focused on teaching and learning. Becoming a candidate starts the accreditation process, and candidates must develop an action plan for meeting ACBSP’s standards and criteria. Last year the Academy hired a consultant to help guide the institution through the accreditation process. Recently, the Academy welcomed to campus ACBSP mentor Dr. Kathleen Cornett, who advised the institution on the accreditation process and reviewed data that had been collected by Academy faculty and staff [...]

A pair of American winter sports superstars were named the United States Sports Academy’s male and female Athletes of the Month for January. Figure skater Nathan Chen and alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin took home the Academy’s top honors after stellar performances in the month. The Academy’s reigning 2019 Male Athlete of the Year, 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., on 26 January 2020. Chen is the first man to win four consecutive U.S. titles since Brian Boitano in 1988. Shiffrin recorded four World Cup podium finishes – two gold medals and two bronze medals – in January, winning the super-G and downhill races in Bulgaria and taking third place in slalom and [...]

Dr. Roch King For the 15th consecutive year the United States Sports Academy is continuing its international sports certification program to prepare students in Thailand for careers in sport. The Academy recently sent Chair of Sports Coaching Dr. Roch King and sports management instructor Jillian Rosandich to Bangkok to teach the post-secondary, non-degree programs to prepare people there for careers in coaching and related athletic professions. King taught advanced sports psychology, while Rosandich taught sports event planning. 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. Jillian [...]

The United States Sports Academy is continuing its program to train physical education teachers and coaches in the Kingdom of Bahrain to meet the needs of athletes with adaptive needs. The Academy’s initial post-secondary, non-degree certificate program in disabled and adaptive sport in Bahrain graduated 223 students in the spring of 2019. Academy instructor Marty Floyd recently returned to the island nation in the Middle East to teach the program again this year for the Bahrain Sports Federation for Disabilities (BSFD). The Adaptive Sports program is a unique course of advanced study designed for coaches and physical education teachers who have or want to have experience working with athletes with varying degrees of adaptive needs. The program has a two-pronged approach that includes working with competitive athletes and developing inclusive programs [...]

Following an online voting period that garnered thousands of votes from all corners of the world, American figure skating superstar Nathan Chen and Estonian freestyle skiing sensation Kelly Sildaru were selected as the United States Sports Academy’s 2019 Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Chen became the first American man since 1984 to win back-to-back world championships. Chen also won his third consecutive ISU Grand Prix Final and captured championships at the Internationaux de France and Skate America. He also won his third consecutive U.S. title, smashing the record for the highest margin of victory at 58.21 points. Chen started 2020 with his fourth consecutive U.S. title. At age 16 Sildaru became the youngest freestyle skiing halfpipe world champion of all time when she won gold in the event [...]

Graig Kreindler, the painter of America’s national pastime and the United States Sports Academy’s 2018 Sport Artist of the Year - Painter, is contributing 230 original portraits to a celebration of the history of professional baseball’s Negro Leagues. Kreindler is a featured artist at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Centennial Celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, in February. The celebration – which will kick off with a grand opening on 13 February 2020 – will recognize the rich history of baseball’s Negro Leagues, which provided a playing field for African American and Hispanic baseball players at a time when American society was segregated by race. Graig Kreindler The celebration and art show coincide with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Negro League by Andrew “Rube” Foster [...]

Because of his significant contributions to the growth of baseball and softball and his efforts to get both sports into the Olympics, World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fraccari has been named as the recipient of the United States Sports Academy’s 2019 Eagle Award. The Eagle Award is presented annually to a world leader in sport to recognize that individual’s contributions in promoting international harmony, peace, and goodwill through the effective use of sport. The recipient of this award must have tempered strength with keen judgment in using authority wisely as a means of bringing nations together through sport for the betterment of mankind. It is the Academy’s highest international honor. Fraccari will receive the Eagle Award at the Academy’s graduation ceremony on Thursday, 11 June 2020 on the institution’s [...]

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. Wanyi Tang (Beijing, China) – Ed.D. Sports Management, Sports Theory specialization, Sports Leadership emphasis, With Honors Dr. Chad Alan Payn (Shawnee, Okla.) – Ed.D. Sports Management, Sports Leadership emphasis Dr. Aimee Vlachos (Kennebunkport, Maine) – Ed.D. Sports Management, Sports Marketing emphasis Master’s Graduates Maya E. Brewer (San Francisco, Calif.) – M.S.S. Sports Health & Fitness, With Honors Donna S. Dixon (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) – M.S.S. Sports Management Kevin McCarty (Garden Grove, Calif.) – M.S.S. Sports Coaching Bachelor’s Graduate Jackson T. Flynn (Medford Lakes, N.J.) – B.S.S. Sports Coaching, Magna Cum Laude