Latest News

Alyson Snyder is an undergrad PETE major, minoring in music performance. She has served active duty in the military for four and a half years.

Snyder serves in the WV Army National Guard with the 249th Army Band and was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant. Upon her promotion, her unit put her in charge of physical training. Snyder began competing in Army ten mile races three years ago to stay in shape and challenge herself.

Some Morgantown area families and WVU students face tough times throughout the year and especially during the holidays and cold weather. This holiday season, the CPASS Dean’s Advisory Board is coordinating a food drive to help fill the shelves of surrounding food banks. Please help by donating non-perishable food items from Monday, Nov. 16 through December 11. Bins are placed throughout the CPASS building. For more information, contact Taylor Opperhauser,  taopperhauser@mix.wvu.edu.

Please consider donating the following non-perishable items for the drive: canned beans, rice, tuna, chicken, sardines, grains, pasta, tomato paste or personal care items.

CPASS student Brady Nolan of Reader and Joy Wang of Charleston were announced as this year’s honorees during halftime of the WVU vs. Texas Tech football game on Nov. 7 at Milan Puskar Stadium. The awards are given each year as part of WVU’s Mountaineer Week festivities.

“I applied to be Mr. Mountaineer because I have respect for the award which is given to a male student who shows outstanding academic achievement and extracurricular involvement. I have represented the University in several ways throughout my undergraduate career and I thought my involvement and academic success would make me a good candidate for the award,” Nolan explained.

Numerous CPASS graduates and one doctoral student presented at the SHAPE PETE Conference in Atlanta at the end of October, including CPASS faculty Eloise Elliott, James Hannon and Stephen Harvey.

Tyler Goad, current doctoral student, discussed PETEtechnology applications. Recent doctoral program grads, Luciana Braga and Kacey DiGiacinto, presented while graduates Rachel Gurvitch, Georgia State University, Beth Hersman Khalaf, Wright State University, Tony Pritchard, Georgia Southern, and Scott Townsend and Derek   Mohr, Appalachian State University, also presented. 

Ryan Gordy, MS in PETE 2010-2012 cohort, works as a wellness instructor at Canton High School and is the Men’s Varsity Basketball Coach at Canton High School, Canton, MA. He teaches both physical education and health classes 9-12. He’s taught for seven years and coached high school basketball for 10 years, and served as the varsity coach at CHS for five years.

According to Gordy, Massachusetts has an extensive teacher certification program requiring multiple years of service, professional development, standardized testing, furthered education and positive evaluations. The state uses a tiered system consisting of three levels. Certification begins with a preliminary license, followed by an initial license and eventually ending at a professional license.

The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, in partnership with theDivision of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and the Brazilian Student Association at WVU, celebrated the spirit of sport, friendship and inclusiveness during Diversity Week 2015. The group hosted Diversity Cup 2015, a coed soccer tournament, at the student recreational fields outside the CPASS building.

Diversity Cup 2015 was won by Danone FC who defeated 6-0 Mercadinho Cidade Jardim in the final game of the 15 team double-elimination tournament. The entire event stretched across two weekends – September 27 and October 4. Teams were required to have both genders represented on the field at all times in a 5-on-5, no goalie style of play which led to incredible scoring and spectacular finishes.

Peer advisors have become a very important component within the sport and exercise psychology program. Created in the spring of 2009, peer advising offers a unique support system for SEP undergraduate students.

Peer advisors, who are typically juniors and seniors, have proven their focus on academics. They are selected due to their motivation and understanding of the major.

Zenzi Huysmans, sport and exercise psychology PhD student, recently received the Association for Applied Sport Psychology Student Diversity Conference Travel Grant. Huysmans, from Swaziland, a small country in South East Africa, is excited about the opportunity.

The grant provides racially and ethnically diverse students, with a developing interest in sport and exercise psychology, the chance to learn more about the field, develop professional connection within AASP, and also attend the annual conference in October.

Ashley Morgan, BS Sports and Exercise Psychology 2015, wanted to put her degree to good use. Once she explored her options she discovered an interest in public administration. CPASS faculty guided Morgan through her decisions to make the next step in her career.

“After a long conversation with Dr. Zizzi, he had me thinking that there might be another program out there,” Morgan said. “This is when he introduced the public administration Master’s program to me.” After meeting with several faculty members about the program, Morgan decided this was the track for her.

Matt Oelbaum remembers the lessons learned in the classroom at WVU. Not just academic knowledge, but the life lessons his teachers shared. Earlier this fall he was awarded an Emmy for his show “MLB Tonight.” He credits his professors in contributing to his accomplishments.

Oelbaum’s teacher and mentor, Dr. Floyd Jones, associate professor, sport management, motivated him and his classmates to think through their goals. Jones urged the students to develop steps and a plan to reach their ultimate objective. With this encouragement, Oelbaum set his sights on earning an Emmy.

Shane Lyons is glad to be home. After 27 years of climbing the ranks in athletic administration, he has landed at the top as the athletic director West Virginia University, the school where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sport management.

The Parkersburg, W.Va., native was named WVU’s athletic director and associate vice president in January 2015. He now oversees 18 varsity sports at WVU and has been entrusted with advancing the teams’ standings in the Big 12.

On the last day of summer, CPASS students and faculty turned out at 5:15 a.m. to support the first Morgantown Marathon. Dave Kerns, Head Football Athletic Trainer and part time CPASS faculty member, organized volunteer water stations for the two day event, September 19 – 20.

Kerns was a last minute recruit for the series of runs, including the Inaugural Mile, 8K, ½ Marathon and Full Marathon. He worked his “bye” weekend making sure that runners on Saturday and Sunday had fluids. He supplied cups, coolers and powdered Gatorade for the more than 1100 runners during the marathon. Kerns demonstrated to the students the importance of work ethics and patient-centered principles.

Welcome Byron Towner, WVU alum and West Virginia native, who serves as a clinical instructor in Coaching and Teaching Studies specializing in instructive content knowledge. After earning his Master of Science degree in physical education teacher education from WVU in 2007, Towner worked as a physical education teacher and basketball and football coach in Horry County, South Carolina for the last eight years.

Excited to return to his alma mater, Towner will lead current PETE students as they learn to properly and effectively teach sport skills. He hopes to bridge the gap between him and his students by incorporating his past experiences into the curriculum. His goal is to successfully teach his students while working toward his doctorate degree.

What makes a good sports city? What makes a good sports fan? How do sports teams reflect the cities/states they call home? CPASS Sport Management Associate Professor Dallas Branch was featured in a recent study examining 2015’s best and worst cities for sports fans. Branch provided insight on sports culture, including the effect of fantasy sports and improvements in in-home viewing and the community nature of fandom.

To find the best and worst cities for sports fans, WalletHub, a personal finance resource company, studied results from previous rankings of cities in various reports studying football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer. The sample included 341 U.S. cities, categorized from small to large according to population sizes.

Practical experience learned as the head coach of WVU club baseball, along with advice from faculty mentors, has helped an athletic coaching education graduate land a job in North Dakota. Jeff Pierce graduated this May with an emphasis in strength conditioning.

In early August 2015 he received a call from Williston State in Williston, ND to become the new assistant baseball coach and strength conditioning coordinator in the athletic department.