Bios of America's Most Influential Sports Educators

R. Vivian Acosta, PhD., has been involved in the Title IX and gender equity issues in sport for more than thirty years. A professor emerita at the City University of New York's Brooklyn College, she has written extensively on the subject and served as a presenter at national, regional and local conferences. Dr. Acosta's well known 27 year longitudinal national study of the status of women in intercollegiate sport, conducted with co-author Linda Jean Carpenter, PhD., has been frequently cited in the media, Congress and gender equity suits.

A former president of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, Dr. Acosta served on the Board of Governors for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She received the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators' Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and in 2003 she received the Rachel Bryant Award for the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport.

Experienced as an athletic director and coach of many sports, including men's teams, Dr. Acosta earned her PhD in sport administration in 1974 from the University of Southern California.

Andre Agassi is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player who won eight Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. He is one of only five male players to have won all four Grand Slam singles events during his career. He is the only player in the open era to have won every Grand Slam singles title, to have won the Tennis Masters Cup, to have been part of a winning Davis Cup team and to have won an Olympic Gold Medal. He has won 17 ATP Masters Series tournaments, more than any other player. TENNIS Magazine has named him the 7th greatest male player from 1965 through 2005. Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006. He is married to Steffi Graf and has two children.

Andre Agassi is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public charter school for at-risk children.

Diane Alford is the Executive Director of Miracle League. The mission of Miracle League is to provide opportunities for all disabled children to play baseball regardless of their ability. Beginning in the South, there are now more than 180 Miracle League Organizations across the country and Puerto Rico serving over 25,000 children and young adults with disabilities.

The Honorable Birch Bayh was a U.S. Senator from Indiana between 1963 and 1981. He served on many committees including the Judiciary and Appropriations. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in the 1976 election.

As a senator, Bayh authored two Amendments to the Constitution – the 25th and 26th. He is also the author of Title IX to the Higher Education Act, which mandates equal opportunities for women students in sports and activities in public education.

Bill Beaney, a former college hockey player for the University of New Hampshire, has been a teacher and coach at the high school, prep school and college level. He is the head coach of the Middlebury College men's hockey, men's golf, and women's golf teams. Recognizing the power of sport as a communicator, he uses the hockey rink and the golf course as his classrooms, teaching student-athletes problem solving, decision making, and teamwork skills. In hockey, he has led Middlebury to an NCAA record five consecutive National Championships (1995-99) as well as three straight crowns from 2004-06. His 2006-07 men's golf team made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the women's golf team earned eighth place in its first NCAA tournament appearance. Beaney, not fazed by many awards and acclaims, says his success has been measured by "the quality of the young men and women I have coached and their contributions to society."

Notah Begay III is the only full-blooded American Indian to compete on the PGA Tour. He is also one of only a handful of professional golfers to record a round of 59 in a PGA tournament.

Along with his father, Notah started the Notah Begay III Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to deliver youth sports programs in Native American communities in the form of golf and soccer programs. The Soccer Program has been a huge success in getting children in activities and has grown to include approximately 180 Native American Youth. The goal of Notah's foundation is to create sustainable programs that are designed by Native Americans for Native American Youth.

Jerome Bettis, The Bus, is a former record setting NFL running back. Bettis is considered one of the best backs of his era and is fifth on the NFL's all-time rushing list. He won a Super Bowl title with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

At the age of 14 Bettis was diagnosed with asthma. Jerome is a tireless advocate for asthma awareness. He also established The Bus Stops Here Foundation in 1996 to help improve the quality of life for disadvantaged and underprivileged children. In 2002, he was named the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year for his community involvement and work by his foundation. On May 21, 2006, Bettis received an honorary Doctoral Degree from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan for providing remarkable benefits to young people. His latest innovative program, "Cyber Bus" has to date enabled some 120 Detroit middle and high school students to both build and use the latest computer technology.

Bob Bigelow is one of the foremost youth sports speakers in the country. He advocates for fully meeting the needs of children as the top priority in youth sports programs and provides new approaches for positive change in youth sports. A former NBA first round choice who played four years for the Kansas City Kings, Boston Celtics and San Diego Clippers, he has devoted several thousand hours researching and lecturing about organized youth sports and its effect on children and adults. Since 1993, he has conducted over 500 talks throughout the country. Bob has appeared on major TV shows including CNN, on local radio broadcasts and has been quoted in high profile publications, including Sports Illustrated and the New York Times. His recently published book, "Just Let the Kids Play", was extremely well received by the sports parenting community.

William Bowen served as the President of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988. He co-wrote the book "The Game of Life: College Sports and Educational Values" with James Shulman. Bowen and Shulman celebrate the benefits of collegiate sports while identifying the subtle ways in which athletic intensification can pull even prestigious institutions from their missions. By examining how athletes and other graduates view "The Game of Life" and how college shapes society's view of what its rules should be – Bowen and Shulman go far beyond sports. They tell us about higher education today: the ways in which colleges set policies, reinforce or neglect their core mission and send signals about what matters.

Dr. Myles Brand, in his first public speech in 2003 as the fourth Chief Executive Officer of the NCAA said that he would be guided by two principles: advocacy for the educational value of the intercollegiate athletics and reform to ensure that college sports are firmly embedded in the mission of higher education. Since 2003, Brand has overseen implementation of the most comprehensive academic reform effort in the 100 year history of the Association. He has also spent most of his time on the road, speaking to more than 175 audiences in 90 cities across America, celebrating student-athletes, college sports and their relevance to the university experience. As a result, he has changed conversation about how a nation regards this uniquely American enterprise. A classroom professor for more than forty years, a university president at two major institutions for more than 15 years and president of the NCAA for five years, Myles Brand is clearly one of America's most Influential Sports Educators.

Dr. Darrell Burnett, a clinical psychologist and a certified sports psychologist specializing in youth sports, has been in private practice for more than 25 years. As a member of the National Speakers Association, Dr. Burnett has addressed local, state, and national youth sport conferences, including the International Youth Sports Congress, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, and the University of Notre Dame on such topics "Teaching Sportsmanship", "The role of Parents in Youth Sports", and "Positive Coaching". He has published two youth sports articles in Chicken Soup for the Soul along with numerous magazine, newspaper, and internet articles, and a book, It's Just a Game! Also, his Positive Coaching booklet is widely used in youth baseball, soccer, and basketball coaching clinics. Dr. Burnett's involvement in the Little League Challenger Baseball Program for developmentally challenged children was recently recognized by Little League International when he received the 2007 Little League Challenger Award for his admirable work in the program. He has appeared on ESPN, CNN, Fox Sports, MSNBC, and various radio and internet media outlets to speak on the topic of youth sports. Currently, he is simultaneously working on a Sportsmanship board game and his next book, Youth Sports Philosophy 101.

Myles Campbell is a former professional baseball player who has coached some of the best high school players. Many of Myles' players have gone on to play at top caliber Division I Universities and professionally. Myles has held many nationally acclaimed Student-Athlete events in association with the Ivy League with specific emphasis on academics, athletics and service to the community. He has helped many high school student-athletes and their parents navigate the waters of college sports recruiting. Myles has developed a number of sports education programs that specifically teach character traits like commitment, persistence, courage, determination, perseverance, teamwork, discipline and others using sports as the medium. Although sports provide an obvious platform to learn character traits, unless they are specifically taught they remain a lost opportunity. In 2006, Myles' school was selected as an All-American Sportsmanship School because of his efforts.

Linda Jean Carpenter, PhD, JD, has been involved in Title IX and gender equity issues in sport for over three decades. Studies on various topics related to women in sport have characterized her research efforts with co-author Vivian Acosta. In addition to writing extensively on the subject of equality, she is a sought after speaker at national, regional and local conferences.

Dr. Carpenter is professor emerita at the City College of New York's Brooklyn College. She has received numerous awards, including the 2003 Sport and Recreation Law Association Leadership Award, the 2003 American Bar Association Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyers Award (Outstanding Academic) and the 1998 Honor Award from the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport. She is also a charter member of the North American Society for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance.

Dr. Carpenter, a member of the New York State and United States Supreme Court bars, earned her JD from Fordham University School of Law in 1981 and her PhD in sport administration in 1974 from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Jay Coakley's career as a sociologist has taken him far from the ivory towers. After completing a PhD in sociology at the University of Notre Dame, he moved to the University of Colorado in 1972 and began doing research on the play, games, and sports of young people. His studies focus on the ways that young make sense of their physical activities and integrate them into their lives, and how adults might use the perspectives of young people to organize sport programs that are exciting and contribute to positive development. He has also studied popular narratives about youth sport and personal development, parental commitment to youth sports, and most recently, changing approaches to youth sports in China. He has received many teaching, service, and professional awards, and is an internationally respected scholar, author, and journal editor. For nearly four decades he has worked with parents, coaches, and youth sport administrators to make sport participation a source of enjoyment and development for young people, and to make sports more democratic and humane for people of all ages.

Jody Conradt grew from roots nurtured by the values of a small town in Texas to become one of the giants of women's college basketball. Named as only the second woman ever inducted into the Naismith memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998, she was not only a pioneer, but a durable and dynamic leader who gave credibility and stature to her sport during 31 years as the head women's basketball coach at the University of Texas. Her 1986 team finished an unbeaten season as NCAA champions, and more than 98 per cent of her letter winners throughout her career went on to earn their college degrees. In 38 years as a head coach at the college level, Conradt's teams won 900 games and lost only 307, making her the number 2 all-time winningest coach in collegiate men's or women's basketball when she retired following the 2007 season.

Bob Costas is an American sportscaster and sports historian. Currently working for NBC, he is famous for covering the Olympics, MLB, NFL, and NBA, along with hosting his own show. The Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and author, is dedicated to the craft of writing and public service work. Costas received an Emmy for his now defunct late-night TV interview program, Later with Bob Costas. He is currently an anchor on MSNBC's InterNight. Costas is also the author of Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball. Costas hosted the 66th annual George Foster Peabody Awards in 2007. The Peabodys, the oldest awards in broadcasting, are considered among the most prestigious and selective prizes in electronic media.

Bill Curry's impressive career includes 10 years as an NFL stalwart including two All-Pro selections at center, followed by a 17-year career as head football coach at Georgia Tech, Alabama and Kentucky. He had the opportunity to study under such notable coaches as Bobby Dodd, Vince Lombardi, Don Shula and Homer Rice, but points out that it was his parents, teachers and high school coaches who were there to guide him as a young person and provide the inspiration behind his current role at the Baylor School, a college preparatory school located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hired in 2006 as the Executive Director of Leadership at Baylor, Curry serves as an exemplary and memorable role model for students. He encourages students to step outside of their comfort zones, examine their personal leadership styles, and make the most of their individual talents. Bill also serves an analyst for ESPN college football telecasts.

Frank Deford is regarded as a leading voice of sport and Americana. As an author and commentator, his work has appeared in virtually every medium. His voice can be heard every Wednesday on Morning Edition on National Public Radio. On television, he is a regular correspondent on the HBO show "RealSports With Bryant Gumbel". A Senior Contributing Writer at Sports Illustrated, he has authored 15 books, three of which have been adapted: Everybody's All-American and Alex: The Life of A Child have been made into movies, and Casey on the Loose is in the process of being turned into a Broadway musical. Deford has received myriad journalism awards -- GQ has called him "the world's greatest sports writer" -- and has been presented with an Emmy for his broadcast work. He is also chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and has taught American Studies at Princeton University, his alma mater.

Anita DeFrantz , an attorney who was the first woman to be elected vice president of the International Olympic Committee, was selected to the 1976 and 1980 Olympic rowing teams. She is currently the president of the Board of Directors of the LA84 Foundation. DeFrantz served on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Rowing Association. Her career largely reflects her desire to foster gender equality, diversity awareness and fairness in sport. She is steward of the Women's Sports Foundation, a member of the NCAA Leadership Advisory Board, and a member of the US Rowing Task Force on Access, Affordability, and Diversity. She is also president and member of the Board of Directors of Kids In Sports, Los Angeles, an organization that creates community-led after-school sports programs for youth in underserved areas of Los Angeles. She has been named one of the "100 Most Powerful People in Sports" by The Sporting News, one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in the World" by The Australian Magazine, and one of the "101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports" by Sports Illustrated.

Dr. Harry Edwards is an activist, professor, sport consultant and author. He spearheaded the movement in the late 1960s calling attention to the issue of race in sports that ultimately resulted in the organization of a black athlete boycott of the 1968 U.S. Olympic team. He is a leading authority on the intersection of sport, race, and society. A recently-retired professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley, he is credited with being the creator of the academic discipline of sports sociology. He has also worked with the MLB, NBA and the NFL to increase racial diversity in American sports and is largely responsible for the growing visibility of black coaches and players on fields and in arenas. Edwards continues to be unyielding in his efforts to further racial equality in the sports world. He has authored countless articles and published four books: The Struggle That Must Be, Sociology of Sports, Black Students, and the Revolt of the Black Athlete.

Reverend Joe Ehrmann has been involved with sports for his entire life. He was an All-American football player at Syracuse University where he also lettered in lacrosse. He also played professional football for 13 years and was selected as the Colts Man of the Year and the very first Ed Block Courage Award Winner. Joe and his wife, Paula, are co-founders of Building Men and Women for Others (BMWO). BMWO seeks to redefine and reframe the social responsibility of sports, coaches, parents and players as well as addressing issues of violence and child advocacy. Joe is also the co-founder of Baltimore's Ronald McDonald House. He has been featured on the cover of Parade Magazine, which called him "The Most Important Coach in America" because of his work to transform the culture of sports by reframing and redefining the social responsibility of coaches, parents and players.

Fred Engh is widely recognized as one of the nation's leading authorities on youth sports and the important role they play in a child's development. He is the president and CEO of the West Palm Beach-based National Alliance For Youth Sports, a nonprofit organization he founded in 1981. The Alliance's training programs, which he created for volunteer coaches, parents and administrators to enhance organized youth sports programs, are used in more than 3,000 communities nationwide, as well as on military bases worldwide. He also is the architect of "Game On! Youth Sports," a first-of-its-kind approach that is providing sports programming and equipment –at no cost – to underprivileged children throughout the world. As the father of seven he is passionate about ensuring that every child has the opportunity to participate in safe and fun-filled sports activities. He is also the author of the acclaimed book Why Johnny Hates Sports, which explores the many problems prevalent in youth sports and details what can be done to correct them.

Dave Epperson is co-founder of Parents for Good Sports, an organization that aims to counteract the sometimes negative competitive energy apparent in youth sports by implementing parent-driven, community-based educational programs. The organization promotes communication and teamwork among coaches, parents and athletes and strives to foster an understanding that there's more to sports than the scoreboard. He holds three degrees in psychology: a B.A. from Stanford University; an M.S. from Sacramento State University; and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He has published numerous books, articles, and curriculum material on the social psychology of education, higher education, women in sports, and sports parenting, and has served on the board of the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Illinois and Northwestern University.

Tom Farrey is a Senior Writer with ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com, and a regular contributor to ESPN television. He went to ESPN in 1996 from The Seattle Times, where he had covered the NFL and NBA, and served as an enterprise reporter. Farrey is also a contributor to ESPN's Outside the Lines. Outside the Lines is an Emmy Award winning television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in American sports on and off of the field of play. The show also examines the most controversial and even inspirational stories in the sports world today.

Zina Garrison For some, Zina Garrison is known for her very accomplished tennis career, which includes becoming the number one Girl's Junior Player in 1981 as well as compiling a twelve year professional tennis career, where she collected 14 career singles titles, a Gold Medal in the 1988 Olympics for doubles, along with a Bronze Medal in 1988 for singles. More recently Garrison has become a tremendous influence for hundreds of children through the Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy. This Academy has allowed Garrison to give back to her Houston community by providing opportunities for young individuals regardless of race, age, gender or economic status. Garrison makes available a cost free tennis academy that provides tennis lessons, nutritional information as well as educational programs to help with SAT/ACT tutoring, life skills and help finding the right colleges for each individual. Garrison has been able to use tennis to create a safe environment that appeals to children and helps with their athletic and academic activities.

John Gerdy is one of the most enlightened sports educators in the country. He is a former professional basketball player, as well as a former legislative assistant at the NCAA and the Associate Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. Gerdy is also a very accomplished author. His works include: Sports: The All-American Addiction, The Successful College Athletic Program: The New Standard, as well as: Sports in School: The Future of an Institution, which he helped edit. Gerdy is known for writing from the heart as well as being a person who loves sports and competition but is concerned about the lack of balance and perspective that exists at all levels. Gerdy has demonstrated that sports has become an American monster, far removed from its origins and corrupting every level of society it touches.

Dr. Dan Gould is the Vice Chairman of the Sport Science Committee and serves as the Director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Michigan State University. Previously, he was the Bank of America Excellence Professor in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Dan teaches courses in sport and exercise psychology and is heavily involved in graduate education. In 2001 he was honored with the American Psychological Association Division 47 Professional Education and Training Award. Dan is passionate about making sport a positive growth experience, having been greatly influenced by coaches after he lost his father at a young age, and after the death of his daughter, who had a very short life but one that was greatly enhanced by physical activity. Dan believes that sport can be a tremendous vehicle for enhancing international understanding and cherishes his interactions with sports persons from around the world.

Dr. Christine H.B. Grant has dedicated her 40-year professional career to teaching, coaching, umpiring, and administering sport. Dr. Grant has worked diligently to create meaningful sport experiences for young adults, including teaching high school physical education in Scotland, coaching and umpiring field hockey in Canada at the international level, and, for the majority of her career, administering women's athletics and teaching athletic administration to graduate students at the University of Iowa. While excelling at the helm of women's athletics at Iowa for nearly 30 years, Dr. Grant also became one of the country's leading spokespersons for Title IX. Her life's passion has been to increase sport participation opportunities, for it is her firm belief that the valuable physical and personal development achieved through athletics enhances a young person's overall educational experience. Dr. Grant championed the importance of remaining a classroom teacher despite the demanding jobs of running a Division I athletic program and serving as a national leader in women's sport governance and as a fervent advocate for Title IX. Dr. Grant has received countless awards—the highest honors from prestigious organizations across the country; however, her extreme humbleness and awe-inspiring work ethic have allowed her only a brief pause to enjoy these accolades as her intent focus even in retirement remains on Title IX's progress and on her responsibility to mentor future leaders in athletics and academics.

Lillian Greene-Chamberlain has been a leader in developing health education, physical fitness, recreation and sports programs nationally and internationally for more than 30 years. She was the first female national champion running 800 meters before it became an Olympic event. A gold medalist in the 400 meters at the 1959 Pan American Games, she set numerous American records. Instrumental in establishing Colorado State University's first women's track and field team, Lillian graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Sport Science. She earned an MS and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Supervision from Fordham University. In 1978, she became the first person to serve as Director of the Physical Education and Sports Program for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), headquartered in Paris, France. For a decade, she was responsible for the conception, planning, development and implementation of all projects, programs and activities related to physical education and sport in UNESCO member nations throughout the world. In 1994, she was the recipient of the National Fitness Leaders Association's Healthy American Fitness Leaders Award. On May 24, 2006, she was appointed to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Bud Greenspan has been involved with sports broadcasting, writing and directing for the past six decades. Greenspan's work has been recognized all over the world but most importantly has made him an eight time Emmy Award winning film director, writer and producer. In addition to the Emmy Award he has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Directors Guild of America in 1995. Moreover, he received the Olympic Order award in 1985, at which time International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch said, "Mr. Greenspan has been called the foremost producer, writer and director of Olympic films; more than that, he is an everlasting friend of the Olympic family," Finally, in 2004, Greenspan was inducted as a "Special Contributor" into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame; where his visual and musical The Spirit of the Olympics is on display permanently. Some of his works include The Strongest Man in the World, Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin, Play it Again, and We Wuz Robbed.

Pat Griffin is currently director of It Takes A Team! Education Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Issues in Sport, an initiative of the Women's Sports Foundation (www.ittakesateam.org). She is also Professor Emerita at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she taught in the Social Justice Education program. Griffin is a pioneer in the area of addressing homophobia in sport who began speaking out on this topic in 1982. She is one of the most recognized advocates for equality and social justice in sport in the United States. She is author of Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sport (1998), Human Kinetics and co-editor of Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (second edition 2007). She is sought out as an expert on these topics by ESPN, print and internet media. She works with the NCAA and other sports organizations to develop policies and practices that address homophobia.

Jim Haney is the Executive Director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He assumed his duties in 1992. Previously he had served as the commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Big West Conference. He was also the head basketball coach of the University of Oregon for five years.

As executive director of the NABC, Haney has created the NABC Congress for each division of NCAA Basketball to work more effectively with the NCAA, as well organizing the Student Basketball Congress to provide today's intercollegiate athlete as a voice in issues relating to the welfare of the game. His vision to further the growth and visibility of the NABC included adopting the national awareness and education program "Guardians of the Game". The goal of the program is to focus attention on the positive aspects of the game of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of their players through advocacy, leadership, service and education. During his leadership the NABC has formed its partnership with the American Cancer Society that launched the widely successful Coaches vs. Cancer program. He also oversaw the development of the One Nation, One People, One Flag initiative which has been adopted nationally from high school programs to all levels of college basketball.

The Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh was named as the president of Notre Dame University in 1952 at the age of 35. He served as president until he stepped down in June 1987. Since his retirement, he has continued as a guest lecturer at the university and written several books, including his own autobiography, "God, Country, Notre Dame," which was a national bestseller in 1990.

He was educated at Notre Dame and the Gregorian University in Rome, from which he received a bachelor of philosophy degree in 1939. In 1943, he was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross and in 1945 he received his Doctorate from the Catholic University of America. He joined the Notre Dame Department of Religion that same year.

Father Hesburgh was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor awarded by Congress, in July 2000. In 1964, President Johnson awarded Father Hesburgh the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. He has held 16 Predential appointments during his career involving a number of social issues. He has received 150 honorary degrees, the most ever awarded to one person.

In 2004, Father Hesburgh became the first recipient of the NCAA's President Gerald R. Ford Award. The award honors an individual who has provided significant leadership as an advocate for intercollegiate athletics over the course of his or her career.

Charles H. Hillman, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Psychology, Affiliate of Beckman Institute. His primary research emphasis is the study of physical activity and mental health with a focus on exercise and the aging brain. The overall goal of his research is to gain further understanding of factors that increase the heath and effective functioning of older men and women.

Dr. John Hoberman is a Professor of Germanic languages and the current chair of the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas. He is the author of numerous books and articles on sports, specifically on their cultural impact, their relationship with race and the issue of doping.

His book, "Testosterone Dreams" is a history of the use of hormone treatments for lifestyles and performance enhancement during the last century. He also wrote "Darwin's Athletes: How Sport Has Damaged Black America and Preserved the Myth of Race". This controversial book sparked much debate and overall the scholarly and critical reactions to the book were largely positive.

Terry Holland has earned his reputation as a basketball coach and athletic director. He served as head coach of Davidson University from 1969 to 1974 before moving on to coach the University of Virginia. There he became the winningest coach in UVA history. His tenure at Virginia also included a pair of Final Four appearances, a National Invitation Tournament title, Virginia's only ACC Tournament Championship and two time Atlantic Conference Coach-of-the-Year awards. He started his career as Athletics Director at Davidson and continued at the University of Virginia and East Carolina University.

One involvement that has further enhanced his legacy is his advocacy for college athletic reform. He speaks passionately about changing game schedules to protect class time, rewarding schools that recruit student-athletes who fit their overall academic profile and about making freshmen ineligible in order to get established academically.

Don Hooton's youngest son Taylor, a high school baseball player, died in July of 2003 following his secret use of anabolic steroids. Since then, Don has dedicated his life to educating others about the prevalence and dangers of performance enhancing drugs. He has formed a non-profit organization, the Taylor Hooton Foundation (www.taylorhooton.org ), the nation's first private group dedicated to educating America's youth and their adult influencers about the dangers of performance enhancing drugs. He has addressed Congress on three separate occasions, has spoken directly to over 15,000 students, parents and coaches across the country, in addition to delivering his important message via a number of national TV, radio and print media. Using all of these different means, this message has now reached tens of millions of Americans and resulted in positive steps being taken by a number of organizations, including various state legislatures, to address this important sports issue.

Phil Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association. Jackson began his NBA career as a player for the New York Knicks, and then continued his career as a coach. His coaching reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998; during his tenure in Chicago, Jackson led the team to six NBA titles. His reputation was furthered advanced when his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won three consecutive NBA titles. Jackson is known for his use of Tex Winters's triangle offense as well as his holistic approach to coaching that is influenced by Eastern Philosophy, earning him the nickname "Zen Master". He is also an author of several candid books about his teams and his basketball strategies. Jackson is also a recipient of the state of North Dakota's Roughrider Award, and leads the 2007 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Melissa Johnson was appointed in October 2003 as executive director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in the field, she is a nationally recognized visionary in physical activity, fitness and health promotion. She has served as executive director of the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and as director of operations for the National Fitness Leaders Association. She has a B.S. degree in Kinesiology from UCLA and an MS in Health/Fitness Management from American University, where she taught as an adjunct professor. Formerly a competitive gymnast, she maintains an active lifestyle as a weight trainer, cross trainer yoga and pilates enthusiast.

Stacey Johnson , a national champion and member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team, served as President of the U.S. Fencing Association from 2000-2004 when she led a successful international political campaign to garner equity for women fencers in the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. U.S. women won gold and bronze in Athens for the first time in more than 100 years. Johnson founded the San Antonio Sports Foundation's Dreams for Youth program, an Olympic sport program that develops training centers in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The program has served more than 90,000 children in seven different Olympic sports. She has served as a member of the San Antonio Sports Foundation Board (SASF) of Directors for 20 years. She currently serves as the SASF Chair of Women's Sports Foundation's Grant Committee for GoGirlGo! San Antonio where the goal is to get 100,000 sedentary girls active by 2008 through awarding more than $500,000 in grants to girl-serving agencies. She was named by the NCAA as a distinguished 2004 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award winner recognizing her outstanding contributions to sport since her college competitive days. Johnson currently holds the position of Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Palo Alto College in San Antonio, Texas.

Michael Josephson is the founder and president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, which he named for his parents. The Institute helps people make principled decisions and live with greater integrity.

Through the Institute, Mr. Josephson founded Character Counts!, the nations leading character education system that reaches over five million youngsters. His Institute promotes a common language of core values, called the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, through her athletic achievements has earned the title of the "world's greatest female athlete." Among her many notable accomplishments, she won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals over four consecutive Olympic games. She continues to hold the world record in the heptathlon. She also holds the Olympic and National records in the long jump. These accomplishments make Jackie Joyner-Kersee a hero, a humanitarian, a symbol of strength and courage and a role model for our youth.

Jackie has also stood out as a philanthropist and is dedicated to the development of young people, particularly in her hometown of East St. Louis. She established the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation in 1988 and in 1997 the Foundation joined with the East St. Louis Youth Center to form the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation of which Jackie serves as chairperson. The Center fulfills the largely unmet needs for recreation and sports venues in East St. Louis. It annually hosts a variety of events and administers programs for youth ages 6 – 18.

Dr. Ronald Kamm organized his first symposium, "Youth Sports: Character Building or Child Abuse?" at the American Psychiatric Association's Annual Convention eleven years ago. Since then, Dr. Kamm has worked tirelessly to raise Psychiatry's awareness regarding the tremendously positive or negative impact that sports participation can have on Child Development. His gathering together of experts and elite athletes on that panel helped both dramatize the problem and generate guidelines for improving the youth sports experience for children, parents and coaches alike. Dr. Kamm's perspective and advice have been frequently sought out by the TV and print media, and his many appearances have included an interview by Sam Donaldson following the Roger Clemens- Mike Piazza bat throwing incident during the 2000 World Series, and Op-Ed pieces which have appeared in the Asbury Park Press and New York Times. Kamm has also helped raise psychiatrists' and pediatricians' awareness regarding the dangers of severe weight loss and rehydration practices in wrestlers and other athletes who are involved in sports emphasizing weight limitations or aesthetics. For this work in Psychiatry in general, but in Sport Psychiatry in particular, Dr. Kamm was named a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 2005.

Bob Kanaby is the executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). He assumed the directorship of the NFHS, which is the national service and administrative organization for high school athletics and fine arts programs in speech, debate and music, after serving 13 years as executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Activities Athletic Association, (NJSIAA) and 19 years in the public schools of New Jersey. Kanaby has been the leader in the organization of the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance and the driving force behind the production of the NFHS Citizenship Through Sports and Fine Arts Curriculum. Kanaby has also been involved with the development and implementation of the Walt Disney World National Dreamers and Doers program and served three years as chairman of the Dreamers and Doers Selection Committee. Prior to beginning his high school administrative career, Kanaby served as teacher/coach, vice-principal and principal at various schools in New Jersey before becoming executive director of the New Jersey High School Athletic Association in July 1980. Kanaby serves on the Board and Executive Committee of USA Basketball as Treasurer. He also serves on the Board of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He has received the Award of Honor from the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association, its highest award, and was inducted into the charter class of the NJSIAA Hall of Fame. He also has been honored with the first-ever Ethics and Integrity Award from the Ohio High School Athletic Association, and is a member of the Jersey City University Hall of Fame.

Mary Jo Kane is a professor in the School of Kinesiology and the director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in the College Education and Human Development. The Tucker Center is the first and only university-based institute for research on girls and women in sport in the nation. Dr. Kane is also an adjunct professor with the Department of American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts. She has served as director of the School of Kinesiology since 2005.

Professor Kane received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1985 with an emphasis in leisure studies. She is an internationally recognized scholar who has published extensively on the media's stereotypic treatment of athletic females. She is also known as an expert on the passage, implementation and impact of Title IX.

In 1996, Professor Kane was awarded the first Endowed Chair related to women in sport: The Dorothy McNeill and Elbridge Ashcraft Tucker Chair for Women in Exercise Science and Sport. Dr. Kane was recently elected by her peers as a Fellow in the American Academy of Kinesiology, the highest honor in her field; she was inducted into the Academy in the fall of 2002. In spring 2003, Professor Kane received the Scholar of the Year Award from the Women's Sports Foundation. This award is given to researchers who make significant research contributions in the area of women's sports.

In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Professor Kane teaches a number of courses in the School of Kinesiology (e.g., Women in Sport & Leisure and Sport & Society) as well as conducts graduate seminars. In 2002, she was elected by her peers to serve as a member of the University Senate's Faculty Consultative Committee.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, as executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation and honorary chairperson of Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver has been a leader in the worldwide struggle to improve and enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities for more than three decades. Under Shriver's leadership, the Foundation has helped achieve many significant advances, including the establishment of the President Kennedy Committee on Mental Retardation in 1961, development of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development in 1962, the establishment of a network of university-affiliated facilities and mental retardation research centers at major medical schools across the United States in 1967, the establishment of Special Olympics in 1968, the creation of major centers for the study of medical ethics at Harvard and Georgetown Universities in 1971, the creation of the "Community of Caring" concept for the reduction of intellectual disabilities among babies of teenagers in 1981, the institution of 16 "Community of Caring" Model Centers in 1982, and the establishment of "Community of Caring" programs in 1,200 public and private schools from 1990-2006.

Billie Jean King a retired tennis icon founded the Women's Sports Foundation in 1974 to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity and, in 1987, she established WTT Charities, Inc. to promote health, fitness, education, and social change. She serves as a director on several boards including the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Women's Sports Foundation. She founded tennis clinics for underprivileged children.

Mike Krzyzewski, known worldwide as "Coach K". Presently he is the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Duke University and was recently-appointed United States National Head Coach. Krzyzewski has coached players who have produced superb graduation rates and crafted a tremendous on-court legacy. However, the Hall of Famer also sets the bar as a humanitarian of sport and an ambassador of education. Coach K is active in several service activities including: Duke Children's Hospital, Children's Miracle Network, The Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, The National Association of Basketball Coaches vs. Cancer, the Brain Tumor Center at Duke, Hoop Dreams Advisory Council and the Emily Krzyzewski Family Life Center, a community center named in honor of his late mother.

Dr. Richard Lapchick, human rights activist, pioneer for racial equality, internationally recognized expert on sports issues, scholar and author is often described as "the racial conscience of sport." He brought his commitment to equality and his belief that sport can be an effective instrument of positive social change to the University of Central Florida where he accepted an endowed chair in August 2001. He remains President and CEO of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport and helped bring the NCAS national office to UCF. Lapchick formed the Hope for Stabley Foundation, which is organizing groups of student-athletes and sports management students to go to New Orleans to work in the reconstruction efforts in the devastated Ninth Ward. He is also a board member of the Open Doors Foundation, School Sports, the Team Harmony Foundation, and the Black Coaches Association and is on the advisory boards of the Women's Sports Foundation and the Giving Back Fund. Lapchick helped found the Center for the Study of Sport in Society in 1984 at Northeastern University. The Center has attracted national attention to its pioneering efforts to ensure the education of athletes from junior high school through the professional ranks. The Center's Project TEAMWORK was called "America's most successful violence prevention program" by public opinion analyst Lou Harris.

Dr. Larry Lauer is a part time Faculty Director of Coaching and Education and Development at the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports. He has researched in aggression and violence in ice hockey, coaching development, coaching knowledge, coaching education and evaluation of coaching education program; youth sport and life skills, talent development, the role of parents in youth sport, psychological skills training. Dr. Larry Lauer has been given the following awards:

• Dissertation Award - Playing Tough and Clean Hockey: Teaching Emotional Management Skills to Reduce Aggression in Youth Ice Hockey, National Association of Sport and Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Psychology Academy, 2005.
  
  
• Susan Stout Graduate Research Fellowship, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, 2004

Guy Lewis, PhD., is an author, Fulbright Scholar and a pioneer in Sports Management programs. He was a member of the Columbia Olympic Organizing Committee. Lewis was also the Chairman of the Sport Management Section in the World University Games in 1993. He has been the Director of the International Conference on Sport Business from 1989.

As an author Dr. Lewis has written articles for many magazines including American Quarterly, Journal of Sport History and the Journal of Sport Management. His books include Youth Sports: A Search for Direction and Successful Sports Management.

Robert Michael Lipsyte was born January 16, 1938, in New York, New York. As a boy, Lipsyte played Chinese handball against the sides of brick buildings and participated in street games such as stickball, but he felt pressured by society to be good at sports. This experience later developed into a major theme in some of Lipsyte's nonfiction works such as SportsWorld and novels like Jock and Jill (1982) and his trilogy beginning with One Fat Summer (1977). The protagonist of One Fat Summer, Bobby Marks, is similar to Lipsyte: Bobby is an adolescent in the 1950s, suffering from a weight problem, who does something about it. In 1952, Lipsyte took a summer job as a lawn boy and lost forty pounds, ridding himself of at least one youthful stigma; Bobby Marks has a similar experience.

Donna Lopiano is the past Executive Director of the Women's Sports Foundation. According to The Sporting News, she is listed as one of "The 100 Most Influential People in Sports." She received her Bachelor's degree from Southern Connecticut University and her Master's and Doctoral degrees from the University of Southern California. She has been a college coach of men's and women's volleyball, and women's basketball and softball.

As an athlete, she participated in 26 national championships in four sports and was a nine time All-American at four different positions in softball, a sport in which she played on six national championship teams. She is a member of the National Sports Hall of Fame, the National Softball Hall of Fame and the Texas Women's Hall of Fame among others.

Dr. Lopiano previously served as the University of Texas Director of Women's Athletics (17 years) and the President of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. She was a member of the United States Olympic Committees Board of Directors.

Dr. John Lucas, retired professor at Penn State University, is one of the best known Olympic historians in the world. In June of 2007, he traveled to Olympia, to receive the Hellenic (Greek) Olympic Committee's highest honor, the "Pierre de Coubestur Award," for 37 years of lecturing at the International Olympic Academy (IOA). He is the author of four books, including Future of the Olympics Games (1993). His interest with the Olympics began when he qualified for the 1952 Olympic trials in Los Angeles for the 10,000 meter race. He has run the 10,000 meters at the last 12 Olympiads. His recent times? 1960 Rome, 37 minutes; 1964 Tokyo, 38:38; 1968 Mexico City, 41:55; 1972 Munich, 45:00; 1976 Montreal, 50:00; 1980 Moscow, 1 hour (Moscow authorities refused Lucas' request to run in the Olympic Stadium due to the US boycott, so he ran four times around Lenin Stadium ); 1984 Los Angeles, 63:00; 1988 Seoul, 67:15; 1992 Barcelona, 67:50; 1996 Atlanta, 68:00; 2000 Sydney, 69:30; 2004 Athens, 7l:17.

Rainer Martens is the President and Founder of Human Kinetics Publishers which is the world's largest publisher of books, journals, videos and software in the sports and fitness field. Martens has been a sports psychologist for the U.S. Ski Team and several Olympic athletes. He has written 16 books, more than 100 scholarly articles, and made more than 300 professional presentations. Martens is also known for creating the American Sport Education Program, the largest coaching education program in the United States with over 1 million coaches completing ASEP courses. He has received Distinguished Alumnus Awards from Emporia State University, University of Montana, University of Illinois, and Hutchinson High School and he has won 10 National Slow-Pitch Softball Championships, and has been selected to seven All-American teams, and one national MVP award.

Michael A. Messner is currently a professor of sociology and gender studies and the chair of University of Southern California's department of sociology. In his more than thirty years as an educator he has taught at six institutions and is an expert on the interface of the sociology of sex and gender, masculinities, and sport. He has received several educator awards from USC, including the General Educator Teaching Award in 2004, the Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2006, and the 2006 Outstanding Senior Faculty Award for Research, Teaching and Service. The author of hundreds of publications, his books, articles, essays, and research reports are highly praised in the community. Two of his four singularly-authored books have been awarded Outstanding Book Awards from the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport: Taking the Field: Women, Men, and Sports and Sports and the Problem of Masculinity. He is also the co-author of six other books, an active member in several sociological organizations, and has given myriad lectures and keynotes in academia. Not only a scholar, his service in various organizations like "Children Now" and Boston's "Men's Resource Center for Change", along with his work to provide gender equality in recreation and sport in California speak to his commitment to community outreach and social change.

Charles Mitrano, Commissioner Mitrano is nationally recognized as a leader in sportsmanship policy and educational programming in intercollegiate athletics. He created the nationally renowned "Conduct Foul Program" which he implemented in NCAA Division III and was later officially adopted by the division as part of its strategic plan. He also proposed the creation of a Division III specific Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct Committee which was later adopted by the Division III Commissioners Association who appointed Mitrano its chair. He also serves on the NCAA association-wide Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct has spoke and presented at various NCAA Conventions, NCAA Leadership Conferences, the ECAC and ACAP Conventions and many institutions and conferences. Mitrano helped create a Fan Sportsmanship program for all Division III institutions. He was the driving force in the Empire 8's successful effort to propose and advocate for the NCAA association-wide 2008 Hazing Summit to be held in conjunction with the NCAA Convention, an event Mitrano will moderate. Mitrano's innovation, passion and influence spans far beyond Empire 8 member institutions to the hundreds of Division III and collegiate institutions and high schools which have adopted his programming

Alonzo Mourning is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Miami Heat. Mourning is applauded for making a comeback after undergoing a kidney transplant and years later winning his first NBA Championship with the Heat. Mourning has founded the A