Featured Alumni

Where Are the Academy's Alumni
:: News and Career Moves

Featured Alumni

Dr. Michael 'Mickey' D. Kerr Sr.

Dr. Mickey Kerr has gone from building baseball teams as a college coach to building a Sports Management program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas.

Kerr became a college head baseball coach at the age of 23 and served as a Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball coach for eight years until 2001. Then he earned his doctorate in Sports Management from the United States Sports Academy and transitioned from the dugout to the classroom.

Read more about Dr. Michael 'Mickey' D. Kerr Sr. »

Dexter Tenison

Dexter Tenison, who earned a United States Sports Academy master’s degree in Sports Studies in 2009, is one of the featured authors in a new best-selling book “The Wellness Code: Your Ultimate Guide to Health, Fitness and Nutrition.”

Tenison contributed a chapter on nutrition, “Eight Tips to Help You Improve and Keep Your Nutritional Habits,” to the book. John Spencer Ellis brought together more than two-dozen leading authorities, including Tenison, to share their advice about developing healthy bodies and healthy minds.

Read more about Dexter Tenison »

Dr. Fred Cromartie

Dr. Fred Cromartie has spent the past 18 years at the United States Sports Academy as a student, admissions counselor, professor and department head, including Student Services, Academic Affairs and Sports Management.

Currently, Cromartie teaches undergraduate, master’s and doctoral courses and serves as the Director of Doctoral Studies and. In that position, he supervises one of the world’s largest doctoral programs in sports education with more than 180 students. Cromartie has also taught oversees in Bahrain and Malaysia for the Academy.

Read more about Dr. Fred Cromartie »

Dr. Dave Shrock

For the first time in his 37 year career, Dave Shrock was chosen by USA Track and Field to coach the men’s distance athletes at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Shrock, who earned his doctorate in Sports Management in 2009 from the Academy and serves as a national faculty member, calls the March 9-11 event simply “awesome.” The 57-year-old Modesto Junior College coach served on a 10 person USATF staff which directed the world’s best women’s and men’s track and field athletes in an important lead-up to the 2012 London Olympic Games in August.

Read more about Dr. Dave Shrock »

Dr. Roy Patton

Dr. Roy Patton picked up where he left off 15 years ago in the South Alabama region—winning soccer games as a head coach and elevating the sport in the area.

Patton, who earned his doctorate from the Academy in 2002, completed his first year as the head coach of the University of Mobile men’s soccer team by guiding them to a No. 4 ranking in the country. The Rams reached the Round of 16 at the 2011 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s Soccer National Championships.

Read more about Dr. Roy Patton »

Ryan Capretta

Hundreds of draft choices are attending the National Football League (NFL) Scouting Combine in February, and Ryan Capretta helped train 12 of them who hoped to increase their prospects. They came to the veteran strength and conditioning coach because of Capretta’s record of success that includes training more than 20 first round draft picks, 30 NFL Pro Bowl selections and four Super Bowl most valuable players.

Read more about Ryan Capretta »

Greg McDermott

His men’s basketball team appears a shoe-in for its first NCAA Division I tournament in five years. His son, Doug, is among the NCAA leaders in scoring and is mentioned as a contender for college player of the year.

Creighton University basketball coach Greg McDermott says this season has been a “wonderful experience.” McDermott, a 1994 graduate of the United States Sports Academy, took over the Bluejays’ program in Omaha, Neb., last year.

Read more about Greg McDermott »

Derek Demperio

Derek Demperio has always wanted to work in the sports industry in a position helping to run the team. But rather than wait for the job he wanted, he created it.

The 32-year-old Demperio founded the Onondaga Community College Ogres football team this season and serves as its general manager. The college, which sits in the large shadow of Syracuse University, didn’t have a team.

Read more about Derek Demperio »

Steven DeCou

Two weeks into his new job of establishing the men’s soccer program at Georgia Gwinnett College from scratch, Steven DeCou is slightly busy.

He must assemble a team and has three recruits, so far. Then, there’s hiring an assistant coach and completing an 18-game schedule for the Lawrenceville, Ga., university.

Read more about Steven DeCou »

Mark Janas

The idea for entrepreneur Mark Janas’ latest technology company evolved from a paper he had to write for one of his doctoral classes.

The idea? Create a service that allows sports fans to keep track of scores and news on their favorite teams in youth, high school, college or amateur ranks through their mobile phones.

Read more about Mark Janas »
Alumni Briefs

Bruce Shearer

1983: M.S.S. Sports Coaching

Shearer is the Burlington-Edison High School girls’ basketball coach and in his first season guided the team to a fourth place finish in the Class 2A state playoffs in Washington.

David Roger Pierce

1989: M.S.S. Sport Management

Pierce is currently an assistant professor and Undergraduate Sport Management Coordinator at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis.

Mike Sports

1989: M.S.S. Sport Management

Sports is currently the defensive coordinator at Keller Central High School in Keller, Texas.

James (Jim) Dugoni

1990: M.S.S. Sports Management

Dugoni is the University of the Pacific associate director of athletics in Stockton, Calif.

Carolyn Schwartze

1990: M.S.S. Sports Fitness and Health

Schwartze is a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer and works at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Mo.

Trina Cox

1992: M.S.S. Sports Medicine

Cox is the assistant director at Hampshire Wellness & Fitness in Romney, W. Va.

Paul Herschell

2000: M.S.S. Sports Management

Herschell is the co-owner and executive vice president of Sports + Lifestyle Unlimited in Portland, Ore.

Dr. Troy Strieby

2001: D.S.M. Sports Management

Strieby is the vice president of recreation for the Maryland Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD) and an associate professor at Frostburg State University (Frostburg, Md.)

Ryan Hess

2004: M.S.S. Sports Management

Hess is the business manager for the Seabury Center and Department of Athletics at Berea College, Ky.

Christopher Hickey

2004: M.S.S. Sports Studies

Hickey is the executive director at the National Council for Accreditation of Coaching Education (NCACE).

Bert Rogers

2007: M.S.S. Sports Coaching

Rogers works as the head coach for men’s and women’s track and field at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.

Ashley (Hayden) Walden

Current: B.S.S. Sports Management

Walden, who has been a United States luge team member since 1996, recently announced her retirement from competition. She competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and earned silver medals in the 2004 and 2005 World Championship team events.

Jeff Sheldon

2003: M.S.S. Sports Management and Sports Fitness and Health Dual

Sheldon is the owner of Health Hut, a health, nutrition and fitness store that has been located in Spanish Fort, Ala., since 2009.

Steven DeCou

1997: M.S.S. Sports Medicine

DeCou is the new Georgia Gwinnett College (Lawrenceville, Ga.) men’s soccer coach after spending the past five years as the assistant director of athletics and soccer coach at Belhaven University in Jackson, Miss.

Jennifer Saylor

2001: M.S.S. Sports Management and Sports Coaching Dual

Saylor is the Lake Forest College (Lake Forest, Ill.) Lady Foresters head volleyball coach and recently was named the Midwest Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year.

Eryck Avila

2005: M.S.S. Sports Coaching

Avila, who has played in four World Cup Qualifiers for the Puerto Rican national soccer team, is the head trainer for Avila Creative Soccer (Austin, Texas).

Joseph Palmer

1985: M.S.S. Sports Medicine

Palmer is the clinical coordinator in Kinesiotherapy at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C.

Chris Nemith

1990: M.S.S. Sports Fitness and Health

Nemith has served as the Gulf Breeze head football coach for the past seven seasons (Gulf Breeze, Fla.).

Steve Little

1998: M.S.S. Sports Medicine

Little, who teaches Health and Physical Education at Olentangy High School in Columbus, Ohio, was recently selected as a Class of 2012 Hall of Fame inductee by the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Bonnie Tiel

2004: DSM Sports Management

Tiell is the dean of Graduate Studies at Tiffin University (Tiffin, Ohio) and recently presented at the World Olympians Association in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Jeremy Lichtig

2011: M.S.S. Sports Medicine / Sports Management Dual

Lichtig is the new head coach of the Centenary College Gents Lacrosse team. He will guide the team as it transitions from a club team to the NCAA Division III classification in 2012-13 (Hackettstown, N.J.).

China Jude

2011: M.S.S. Sports Management

Jude is the assistant vice president of athletics at Queens College of The City University of New York in Flushing, N.Y.

Eric Nesbitt

2011: M.S.S. Sports Management

Nesbitt is a physical education instructor for the Rock Island School District #41 (Rock Island, Ill.).

Kendall Phillips

2005: M.S.S. Sports Management

Phillips is the Youth Sports/Health & Wellness Director for the Mays Family YMCA (San Antonio, Texas).

Brock Cole

2005: M.S.S. Sports Management

Cole is currently the District Manager at Jason’s Fitness with locations in Foley and Mobile, Ala.

Ryan Capretta

1984: M.S.S. Sports Management

Capretta, who is beginning his fifth season as the strength and conditioning coach for the Pepperdine University men’s and women’s basketball teams, attended a five-day summit at ADIDAS headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany as a member of the ADIDAS strength and performance advisory board.

Paul 'P.J.' Wendell

2004: M.S.S. Sports Studies

Wendell announced he will run as a Republican for the District 18 seat for the County Legislature in New York (Jamestown, N.Y.). He is currently a volunteer firefighter for the Lakewood Volunteer Fire Company, physical education teacher and Falconer Central School varsity wrestling coach.

Kurt Ross Mattison

1987: M.S.S. Sports Health and Fitness

Mattison is currently the owner and director of training for Momentum Sport Fitness (Eau Claire,Wis.).

James Vilade

2003: M.S.S. Sports Management

Vilade, the Dallas Patriots and Premier Baseball Academy executive vice president and Florida Marlins Dallas-Fort Worth scout, was inducted Oct. 16 into the University of Dallas Athletics Hall of Fame (Frisco, Texas).

Jay Mehrhoff

2001: Ed.D. Sports Management

Mehrhoff, who is an associate professor and Director of Athletics at East Central College in Union, Mo., was recently named 2010-11 Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year for the NACDA Central Region for Junior Colleges.

Michael John Wilson

1986: M.S.S. Sports Management

Wilson has been the assistant athletic director at Wisconsin Lutheran College (Milwaukee, Wis.) since 2005.

Vicki Tolan

1988: M.S.S. Sports Coaching

Tolan, an Alta Loma Junior High School athletic director, physical education teacher and coach, was named the California Governor’s P.E. Teacher of the Year for 2011 (Alta Loma, Calif.).

Denny Williams

1984: M.S.S. Sports Management

Williams is the new assistant athletic director for facilities and operations at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Ind.

Garret Williamson

M.S.S. Sports Fitness and Health (did not graduate)

Williamson qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in the triathlon and competed in the International Triathlon Union World Championships held Sept. 10 in Beijing, China.

Larry Anderson

1984: M.S.S. in Sports Management

Anderson was appointed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich to the Southern State Community College Board of Trustees (Seaman, Ohio).

Wes Yourth

2006: M.S.S. in Sports Studies

Yourth is serving as the Supervisor for Athletic Facilities and Operations at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

Travis Rogers

1984: B.S.S. in Sports Coaching

Rogers is the new assistant men’s basketball coach for the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark., after spending last season as the student assistant coach.

Shawn C. Parks

2004: M.S.S. in Sports Management

Shawn is the varsity boys’ basketball head coach at Jefferson County High School in Louisville, Ga.

DeRick Dunnigan

2001: M.S.S. in Sports Management

Dunnigan is the new Dacula High School athletic director in Gwinnett County, Ga.

Robert Brewer

2004: M.S.S. in Sports Studies

I have recently changed positions to Head Coach of the Iolani Swim Club and owner of Hawaii Tour of Champions.

Dr. Kevin R. Linam

1999: Ed.D. in Sports Management

Linam, who is entering his 28th year teaching and coaching, recently began teaching middle school science at Belsaw School in Mt. Vernon, Ala.

Dr. Linda C. Hilgenbrinck

1984: M.S.S. in Fitness and Health

Hilgenbrinck is an Adapted Physical Education Specialist in the Denton Independent School District in Denton, Texas. She is being honored as the TAHPERD Teacher of the Year, Physical Education Adapted at this year’s convention in December in Dallas.

Zac Adams

2010: B.S.S in Sports Coaching

Adams is serving in the newly added position of Director of Operations for the swimming and diving team at Florida State University (Tallahassee, Fla.).

Erick Schwarz

1998: M.S.S. in Sports Management

Schwarz is an associate professor of sport business and chair of the Department of Sport Business & International Tourism in the School of Business at Saint Leo University (St. Petersburg, Fla.).

Roger Lefebvre

2001: M.S.S. in Sports Coaching

Lefebvre is the boys’ head basketball coach at Cactus High School in Glendale, Ariz., and an adjunct faculty member in the physical education program for Ottawa University’s branch in Phoenix.

Jo Nixon

Current Student: M.S.S. in Sports Management

Nixon is the new assistant coach of the defensive secondary for the football program at Arkansas Tech (Russellville, Ark.).

Casey Gantt

Current Student: M.S.S. in Sports Management

Gantt is the new assistant coach for men’s and women’s cross country and track & field at Ohio Northern University (Ada, Ohio).

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