2019 Hall of Fame inductees

The WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences honored four graduates and named its Outstanding Alumnus and Distinguished Service award recipients during its 2019 Hall of Fame Ceremony, last November. The 2019 Hall of Fame inductees are Linda K. Burdette-Good, Jerry A. Koloskie, Jack J. Marucci and Barbara J. Zimmer. The College recognized Paul D. Grace with the Outstanding Alumnus and Sharon M. Sisler with the Distinguished Service awards.

2019 Inductees

Linda Burdette-Good received her BS (1971) and MS (1973) degrees from WVU. In 1975, she was hired as the second WVU gymnastics coach (1975-2011) and instructor in at CPASS. She was promoted to assistant professor and continued to teach numerous classes while serving on committees, including the promotion and tenure committee.

Burdette-Good’s teams had four national appearances and 10 conference titles, with a record of 644-263-4 (.709). She was a three-time regional Coach of the Year and was named conference Coach of the Year five times. Her teams had 13 All Americans, eight regional champions and 56 conference champions, with one gymnast named AAI Collegiate Gymnast of the Year. Burdette-Good was instrumental in the formation of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League. Her teams recorded 86 NACGC/W Scholastic, five Co-SIDA Academic and 644 EAGL Scholastic Academic Awards. She served on the NCAA women’s gymnastics committee and chaired the regional gymnastics committee. Burdette-Good was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame, WVU Cheerleader Hall of Fame, and Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame. She is a native of Parkersburg and attended Parkersburg High School.

Jerry Koloskie was born and raised in Monongah, WV, graduated from WVU with a bachelor’s degree in physical education (1980) and earned his master’s degree from Iowa State University, where he served as a football graduate athletic trainer. He was the first full-time assistant athletic trainer for the Cyclones. Koloskie spent 32 years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, serving as director of athletic training, holding several administrative roles, including deputy athletic director and interim athletic director. Koloskie was the athletic trainer for three Final Four men’s basketball teams and the1990 National Championship. He initiated and established the Nevada State Athletic Trainer’s Association and served as the first president. In 2007, Koloskie was presented the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer award by the Far West Athletic Trainer’s Association. He was elected as the first Nevada representative to the District 8 FWATA managing board and went on to become the public relations chair for District 8. He held the position of deputy director of athletics at the University at Albany in New York and retired in 2019.

Jack Marucci enters his 24th season as director of athletic training at Louisiana State University. As program director, Marucci oversees athletic training operation for all 21 varsity sports, which includes supervising a staff of 13 full-time trainers, three nutrition staff members and seven graduate assistants. Marucci served as an assistant athletic trainer at Florida State (1988-96). At LSU, Marucci has been part of two national titles in football and four SEC Championships. Marucci graduated from WVU with a bachelor’s degree in athletic training (1986) and his master’s from Alabama (1988). Off the field, Marucci has mastered the art of crafting wooden baseball bats and founded his own company, the Marucci Bat Company. The bat company, which originally started with a workshop in his backyard, now has hundreds of Major Leaguers swinging its bats, including home run champion Ryan Howard. Marucci has a son, Gino, and daughter, Sarah.

A pioneer in women’s sports, Barbara (Douglas) Zimmer began her career while a student at WVU, breaking the glass ceiling at every turn. She was hired by Betty Boyd as the first female residence hall intramural manager at Boreman Hall. A year later, she became the first female chair of the influential rec-intramural committee. While still an undergraduate student, she became the first full time coordinator of women’s intramural and co-rec sports. Zimmer graduated from WVU with her master’s degree in physical education (1978). Moving to DC, Zimmer continued to break ceilingsground, becoming the first female sports specialist for MNCPPC and PG County Boys and Girls Clubs, the first female chairman of the MRPA Sports committee and the first female commissioner of four different DC area sports organizations. She served as the first female regent on NC State’s prestigious Sports Management School as well as the first female chairman of the CPASS Visiting Committee. Zimmer became the first female executive director of Sport for Understanding, overseeing 30 international and 13 US regional offices. She was the co-founder of the FCA Volleyball Club which became the national model.

Outstanding Alumnus

Paul Grace is an innovative professional with more than thirty years of experience in professional credentialing and accreditation He is currently the president/chief executive officer of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, a position he has held since 2001. Prior to his current position, Grace was the global certification program director for the Project Management Institute. He was the first executive director for the NATA Board of Certification, a position he held for 15 years. Prior to being appointed to the administrative faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he held faculty and athletic trainer positions at the Massachusetts College of the Arts, St. Francis College and Miami-Dade Junior College. While at MIT he held appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Health Professions and Northeastern University. Grace has served as chair of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and three terms as president of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, a Washington D.C. membership association. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from WVU and is a member of the CPASS Hall of Fame.

Distinguished Service Award

Sharon Sisler graduated from WVU magna cum laude with a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Science in Community Health Education. In May 1970, she joined the WVU Human Resources unit serving primarily as a recruiter representative before joining the then School of Physical Education in 1982. The Over the next thirty-six 36 years, Sisler served the CPASS Dean’s Office in several different capacities. Sisler was responsible for the financial and support staff resources, business office operations, strategic planning, facilities management, personnel management, resource support to administrators with the Motor Development Center, Lifetime Activities, International Center for Performance Excellence, college centers and pre- and post-award support to faculty-awarded grants. Sisler was actively involved with the College Visiting Committee during her tenure. She was appointed to the first cohort of the Mountaineer Leadership Academy to promote cooperative working relationships and innovating learning programs for WVU employees. She was a recipient of the first WVU Values Coin program, commemorating the University’s 150th anniversary. Sisler retired in 2018 with 48 years of service to WVU. Sharon is married to Tim Sisler; they have two children, Jamie and Jill.