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Students at West Virginia University can now focus on the dynamic industries of high-performance athletics and recreational sport, creating one of the only undergraduate programs in the country specifically featuring coaching and performance science.

The Coaching and Performance Science program , housed in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences , blends sport and movement science knowledge and professional development to prepare graduates for the growing field of athletics and applied sport sciences. Students can complete extremely valuable hands on learning with faculty, WVU Athletics, WVU Medicine or a variety of sport organizations.

Improving the healthy lifestyle landscape in some West Virginia areas might sound like a tough task, but a group of passionate West Virginia University faculty and staff believe the secret lies in empowering communities and providing the support they need to take control of their own health.

Last fall, faculty from WVU Extension Service, WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences , and WVU School of Public Health and West Virginia Prevention Research Center entered into a five-year contractual partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and launched the Be Wild, Be Wonderful, Be Healthy project.

The CPASS Visiting Committee has established the Dana Brooks CPASS Scholarship in honor of Dean Dana Brooks’ upcoming retirement on June 30, 2019. This new award will benefit future students in the college and maintain the Dean’s honor in the future.

The endowment will provide scholarships for undergraduate or graduate students enrolled at WVU in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. A student who is a recipient one year is eligible for consideration in any other year, provided they continue to meet the selection criteria.

Body image among young adult female athletes has become a hot topic within the sports exercise psychology industry. Kate Fairhurst, a CPASS Ph.D. candidate, recently received the 2019 Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Research Grant to continue her research on the topic.

This grant, which is awarded to students and professionals, will support the completion of her doctoral dissertation, which involves the application of PhotoVoice approaches to explore young adult female exercisers' experiences of their body and body image while exercising in a fitness center environment.

Randy Meador, MS, ATC, was inducted into the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association (MAATA) Hall of Fame this May. Meador serves as coordinator of athletic training services for WVU intercollegiate athletic program, Head Men’s Basketball athletic trainer and clinical instructor for the CPASS athletic training curriculum program.

Meador earned his Master of Science degree in athletic training from CPASS (1985), where he then began his long career as the head athletic trainer for the WVU Men’s Basketball team.

From the court room to the ticketing office, and now armed with a new degree, Morgantown native Leighann Sainato has gained a fresh perspective in her young professional career.

Starting as a community relations intern with the West Virginia Black Bears in August 2017, Sainato worked closely with Jackie Riggleman, then the assistant general manager and a CPASS Sport Management masters graduate. Now, two years later, the Black Bears have announced the promotion of Sainato to ticket operations and public relations manager.

The Friday Adapted Physical Education Program (APE), a CPASS initiative which provides weekly developmentally appropriate physical activity programming for more than 80 school-aged children with disabilities from Monongalia County Public Schools, received a generous donation from Dustin and Damon Casseday in April.

Damon Casseday, WVU Recreation, Parks and Tourism student, and his son, Dustin, have always had a close bond. Until the age of five, Dustin was nonverbal. It wasn’t until he started in the “Son-Rise” program, designed to help Monongalian County parents encourage their children to learn, that Damon saw progress as his son exploded with excitement to learn.

West Virginia University will expand its commitment to innovative education with an active learning classroom that will support instructors and students by creating an environment that encourages engagement, collaboration and creativity.

The classroom in the Health and Education Building, valued at $67,000, will be ready by the Fall 2019 semester and will be a varied, flexible setting designed to facilitate the hands-on experimentation and problem-solving that 21st century learning demands.

Dean  Dana Brooks will retire from the  College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences June 30, 2019, after more than four decades as a passionate Mountaineer committed to promoting diversity and student success at  West Virginia University. Upon Brooks’ retirement, professor of  Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology  and interim associate dean  Jack Watson will serve as interim dean of the College.

Brooks began his WVU career as a graduate teaching assistant in the 1970s. His subsequent positions, which involved progressively increasing leadership responsibilities, included instructor, minority recruitment and retention coordinator, acting graduate coordinator, acting chairperson and associate dean.

Join us as we explore the past semester and look ahead to the New Year. Learn more about how faculty, students, staff, alumni and donors share the same passion, determination and hope to build the future of the College and offer opportunities for current and prospective students.  

Provost Joyce McConnell visited with CPASS faculty and staff this fall to discuss the future of the College. The provost explained that WVU will work toward updating the overall University strategic plan. The University’s strategic plan will play a major role in the future of the college, as it will help to identify the focus of WVU moving forward. The Provost stated that the destiny of CPASS starts with the faculty, staff, alumni and students.