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The WVU Department of Campus Recreation has announced five graduate assistant positions based at the Student Recreation Center.  Positions are designed as two, one-year contracts covering the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years.

Graduate assistants will oversee administrative duties, staff supervision and project and event management. 

Since the 1970s the child obesity rate in the U.S. has nearly tripled, according to the Centers for Disease Control. As the rates climb, the importance of physical education for children becomes more and more critical.

As a teacher, Shannon Nash, physical education teacher education (BS 2009), realizes the need for leaving a lasting impression for a healthy and active lifestyle for every student.  

 A West Virginia University master’s cohort has created a fundraising effort to benefit the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN). The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences sport management on line master’s students worked together to identify the non-profit recipient of the funds, decide on a product and generate a marketing plan.

“One member of our class, Morgan Montgomery, was instrumental in securing our start-up funds. She is in Colorado, near the charity’s headquarters, and contacted them, pitched our idea and gained their support. We knew we had a financial obstacle to overcome, so Morgan was successful in getting the organization to provide us with $500 to launch the product,” said Kevin Spano, team CEO. 

WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences faculty and students attended the 33rd Annual Association for Applied Sport Psychology conference in Toronto, Canada in early October. AASP hosted an awards ceremony, announcing top performers in various categories, including numerous CPASS recipients.

Ian Connole, CPASS alumnus, received the Distinguished Applied Contribution Award for significant work that has impacted the field of sports psychology. Connole, a partner with Vision Pursue, provides a focus on improving mental skills to impact life experiences, including mindfulness for high performance individuals and organizations.

The Weight Management Program, a community-based diet and exercise program, reached 33 counties through approximately 100 fitness centers around the Mountain state.

The innovative arrangement, developed by Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) and managed by West Virginia University, was recognized nationally for the fee-for-service model housed at community-based fitness centers, designed to promote healthy living. PEIA will continue to oversee the program.

Eloise Elliott, PhD, Ware Distinguished Professor, CPASS, and William Neal, MD, School of Medicine, were invited speakers at the recent Appalachian Translational Research Network (ATRN) Summit in Lexington, KY, in September.

Their talk,  The West Virginia CARDIAC Project: Surveillance, Research, and Interventions, focused on successful community-academic research collaborations and how community partnerships are integral to the success of all three components of the Project.

It’s been eight years since Joe Mazzulla helped lead the West Virginia University Mountaineers to the NCAA Final Four, and now he’s returning to the basketball court. Except this time, he is on the sideline as head coach for the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons men’s basketball team.

Mazzulla, from Johnston R.I, spent four years playing for Coach Bob Huggins, 2007-2010. During his time at WVU, he recounts one of his favorite memories with the team.

Maryland native Erik Schwarz says his internship experiences as a West Virginia University sport management student convinced him to take the Division I Athletics path.

“I was a student football equipment manager for five years. During my last year of school, I did an internship with the football administrator. Working with the Mountaineer football team from 1988-1992 was unbelievable experience,” Schwarz explained.  

The National Athletic Trainers' Association has announced that West Virginia native Marisa Brunett will serve as its new vice president as of this summer.

Brunett has served on the NATA board since 2016. She says her new responsibilities as vice president is an honor.  

Dr. R. Scott Kretchmar, one of the top sport philosophers in the country, will visit campus on October 10, 2018 at 7 p.m. to discuss improving youth sport. The Bolton Center for Sports Ethics will host the lecture at the Evansdale Crossing building (EVC-E 414). This event is free and open to the public.

In his upcoming lecture, Kretchmar will discuss the value of youth sports.

In the world of sports teams and major events, many people forget about the office jobs that surround the team and help ensure success.

Casey Hudson, 2018 Sports Management master’s graduate, found himself learning the the behind-the-scenes business of a major league soccer team, the Columbus Crew. Hudson is currently responsible inside sales and manages around 1,000 accounts.  

A Japanese group will visit the West Virginia University campus this fall to promote cultural understanding and international learning experiences within the field of physical education teacher education.

The partnership is part of the new Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program designed as a complementary strategy to ongoing study abroad efforts within the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. While COIL projects typically develop online relationships only, this effort combines an online alliance with a physical, face-to-face meeting component.

Two fresh faces have joined the Office of Student Success at WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences this fall. Betsy Robbinsand Evan Banasick, WVU graduate student, are adding their expertise to the college.

Robbins grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, cheering on the Chicago Cubs. She earned a BA in photography and English and an MSEd in special education, both from Purdue University. After graduation, she moved to Boulder, Colorado for three years before making her next mountain move to Morgantown, West Virginia. Robbins is excited to join the Mountaineer Family.

The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, in partnership with WVU Campus Recreation, will celebrate the spirit of sport, friendship and inclusiveness by hosting the 4th Annual Diversity Cup Five vs. Five Coed Soccer Tournament.

The tournament, commemorating Diversity Week 2018, is scheduled on Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30 on the turf fields located between the CPASS building and Towers on the Evansdale Campus. Registration is free and open to all WVU undergraduate and graduate students enrolled during the fall semester.

A WVU sport and exercise graduate assistant was one of 10 people recognized by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and the AASP Foundation in their 2018 award cycle.

Sport and Exercise Psychology doctorate student Zenzi Huysmans, from the Kingdom of eSwatini in southern Africa, was awarded the Distinguished Doctoral Student Practice Award.