Latest News

The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Office of Research is hosting a fall 2015 speaker series to highlight research-related resources and advice for faculty and graduate assistants.

In the first of two presentations, Joy Edwards, Conflict of Interest in Research officer with the West Virginia University Office of Research Integrity and Compliance, will speak about research compliance and faculty responsibility, October 9, 3 p.m. in room 102, CPASSbuilding.

The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, in partnership with the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and the Brazilian Student Association at WVU, will celebrate the spirit of sport, friendship and inclusiveness during Diversity Week 2015 by sponsoring the Diversity Cup – Five vs. Five Coed Soccer Tournament.

This tournament will take place on Sunday, September 27 and Monday, September 28 on the recreational grass fields located in front of the CPASS building and Towers on the Evansdale Campus. Registration is free and open to all WVU undergraduate and graduate students.  Click here to register

Tobin Richardson joined CPASS this summer as a teaching assistant professor and will oversee the CPASS Living-Learning Community. While earning three degrees from Ball State University, Richardson coached intramural sports and served as a doctoral assistant. From Hartford City, Indiana, his dream was always to teach. Richardson is new to Morgantown. 

Richardson works primarily with freshman CPASS students teaching first-year seminar and special topics classes. His desire to teach has led him to WVU where he hopes to instill success in his students by utilizing the living-learning method while incorporating team activities into the classroom.

What started as a class project has expanded a CPASS graduate’s efforts in helping young athletes to excel.

Ethan Brown, a May 2015 B.S., Athletic Coaching Education graduate, developed sport-specific instruction related to skill techniques to help players succeed. He had to first convince the athletes’ parents to support the training, though.

A position as a graduate assistant has led an ACE alum to a permanent role with the WVU Men’s basketball team. Jay Kuntz spent seven years with the WVU basketball program and has recently accepted the coordinator of player development position. Kuntz graduated in 2014 with a master’s degree in athletic coaching education.

Kuntz continued his career as a graduate assistant with the Mountaineer basketball team, even after earning his degree, with Coach Huggins serving as his mentor.

A CPASS Athletic Coaching Education graduate has created a workout facility that offers area residents the same personal strength training that college, professional and Olympic athletes experience.

Viking Performance Training founder Jerry Handley’s interest in physical training was never tied to his participation in a sport, instead, he became intrigued by the science and passion that establishes the drive to succeed. According to Handley, a former West Virginia University conditioning coach, this makes Morgantown-based VPT unique to other gyms and weight lifting facilities.

Remarkable effort and determination have paid dividends for two College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences students. Nicole Young and Elizabeth Janeiro were chosen for the 2015 class of McNair Scholars as members of an elite program that began at WVU in 1999.

A federally-funded TRIO program, McNair Scholars helps high-achieving first-generation and underrepresented students prepare for graduate school. McNair Scholars serves students through financial assistance, academic guidance and counseling and undergraduate research opportunities.

This fall, two College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences graduates will join the WVU 2015 Sports Hall of Fame induction class.

On September 26, prior to the West Virginia-Maryland football game, WVU Sports will recognize six honorees for their extraordinary contributions made both as student-athletes and in their careers.

A team of students at Fairmont State University, led by CPASS grad Dr. Amy Sidwell, was one of ten nationwide winners of the 2014 Ford Community College Challenge. The students’ plan, titled ‘Bridging the Gap: Sustainable Nutrition through Community Revitalization,” stems from sharing knowledge and creating a partnership between Fairmont State University, advisors and the community.

Each winning team was awarded a grant of $25,000 to support their work. The Bridging the Gap project reclaimed tennis courts that were no longer in use and turned them into the Fairmont Community Garden.  Dr. Amy Sidwell, assistant professor, Health and Physical Education, FSU, created the project along with her students.

West Virginia University’s Gonzalo Bravo, associate professor of sport management, CPASS, will speak before the Sport Committee of the House of Representatives within the Brazil Ministry of Sports on June 23, 2015 in the city capital of Brasilia, in Brazil.

Since being selected as the host of the two largest sporting events in the world, the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian government is currently examining the present and future impact of sport in its country. To further explore national systems, the Brazil House of Representatives has invited sports authorities and experts to evaluate the development of a future Brazil sport system.

Three Olympians will visit the West Virginia University campus next week as part of the 2015 National Coaching Conference hosted by the WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.

Edward Etzel, 1984 Rifle and gold medalist and West Virginia University faculty member, Melinda Rhoads, 1984 Team Handball and 4th place in the Games and Clarissa Chun, 2008 and 2012 wrestling and bronze medalist in London, will attend the opening reception of the conference June 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. in Hall B at the Waterfront Place Hotel.

With the recent hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Soccer and the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, scholars around the world have focused their attention on Brazil.

This past spring semester five College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences students were enrolled in the special topic course Sport in Brazil. Gonzalo Bravo, associate professor in CPASS sport management, served as the architect behind this course as well as the lead-faculty of the Brazil study abroad trip this summer.

Faculty members in the West Virginia University College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences were recently recognized for outstanding teaching, research and service for the 2014-15 academic year.

Samuel Zizzi, professor, sport exercise psychology, was recognized as teacher of the year. Zizzi was recognized as a research Fellow by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology in 2012. In addition, he is a manuscript reviewer for a variety of journals in the fields of SEP and public health. His research pursuits span both sport and exercise psychology.

College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences graduate students have been immersed in a unique sports marketing experience as interns for the West Virginia Black Bears, a minor league baseball team.

A collaboration between Rich Baseball Operations and the WVU graduate sports management students began in September 2014. Rich Baseball Operations approached CPASS professor Dr. Dallas Branch to partner with his sports marketing class to execute a “Name the Team” fan contest.

In recognition of their exceptional community service, the undergraduate Sport and Exercise Psychology Club has received the Student Organization of the Year award from the Center for Service and Learning. The group was honored at the Excellence in Civic Engagement Award ceremony held on April 15.

“Being involved in community service is one of the core missions of the SEP club. This award recognizes the club and its members for their efforts in giving back to West Virginia University and the Morgantown community,” said Dr. Damien Clement,CPASS associate professor.