United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

Olympic Values Education Program Offered by the Academy

The Academy became an International Olympic Committee (IOC) strategic partner, agreeing to deliver IOC’s Olympic Values Education Program (OVEP) to the world. This is an online course serving elementary and middle schools teachers, equipping them to create lessons on the five Olympic values: 1) respect for self and others, 2) fair play, 3) excellence, 4) joy in effort, and 5) balance of body, mind and will. These are universal values and not specific to sports, thus they can be taught globally and in a variety of contexts. The Academy will offer this online 2 CEU course at no charge to our alumni. This is especially exciting during this Olympic year.

Chat Online with Texas Tech Football Coach Mike Leach

To make it easier for networking Academy alumni to share ideas, the Academy has begun redesigning its alumni website. The first phase of the project debuts Wednesday 28 May from 6:00-7:00 PM CST, as Coach Mike Leach, president of the Academy’s Alumni Board and Head Football Coach at Texas Tech University, will join you in conversation via the Alumni Network Forum, a new, monthly website feature connecting alumni with the world’s sport leaders.

Coach Leach will chat with you about the ins and outs of creating the country’s best offense and welcomes alumni, students and prospects to participate. The link to the chat will come out in a future update.

Weekly Scheduled Downtime for Online Course Platform

Beginning 4 May 2008, the CMS will undergo regularly scheduled updates and maintenance from 2:00 – 3:00 A.M. CST every Sunday morning. During this period, the CMS may not be accessible.

Missing Completion Dates in Courses

Attention Professors and Students. If you don’t see a course completion date when you access your course in the gradebook, please email Ms. Piper Uhlig at piper.uhlig@ussa.edu. Professors are also invited to report missing completion dates.

Doctoral Teaching Assistants Sought

The United States Sports Academy is seeking doctoral teaching assistants. Applicants must hold an earned master’s degree and have a sports background. Additional requirements are excellent written communication skills and well-developed computer skills (to include desktop applications, and knowledge of the Web for research purposes, developed skills with SPSS a plus); prior research experience and online teaching experience is a plus. The ability to work in a fast-paced environment is a must. A teaching assistantship is a 20-hour-per-week position.

The Assistantship comes with a generous stipend, tuition-free enrollment in courses, and medical insurance. Successful candidates must be willing to relocate to the Daphne, Alabama, area. Visit http://www.ussa.edu for more information.

New Sport Journal Is Now Available

The most recent issue of The Sport Journal is now online. You may view The Sport Journal at http://www.thesportjournal.org/. This issue has nine excellent submissions which may pertain to your specific field. We encourage you to read The Sport Journal along with the other 1.5 million readers who annually log on to it. Additionally, we urge you to consider submitting an article as well. Please read “Publishing Opportunities” below.

Worldteam Launches Academy Online Journal in China

The Academy announced that on 16 April, Worldteam a sports management company in Beijing, China, hosted an official ceremony launching the Chinese-language version of the Academy publication The Sport Supplement. The Sport Supplement is published quarterly online by the Academy. The journal is designed to further knowledge about issues of sport, fitness and health for professionals in these fields.

The name of this publication is Sports Fortune and it can be found at the following link on the internet: http://www.sportsfortune.com/.

To read the spring issue of The Sport Supplement, visit http://sportsupplement.org.

Publishing Opportunities

All students are encouraged to present articles for publication in the Academy’s two online publications: The Sport Journal and the Sport Supplement. Check with your professor about this opportunity or go to the Academy website and click the link for either The Sport Journal or the Sport Supplement.

Harris Publishing's New U.S. Sports Academy Alumni Directory

The phone phase of the Harris Publishing Alumni Directory started on March 7, 2008. Harris Publishing said that the Academy should expect to receive calls from alumni and students to verify the validity of Harris Publishing. Harris is publishing a new alumni directory for the Academy. Since March 10, 2008, students and alumni have had the opportunity to call (800) 366-9892 to update all their information with Harris Publishing.

Off-Campus Master's Degree Comprehensive Examinations

The written Master of Sports Science Comprehensive Examinations are being administered will be delivered ONLINE beginning in June for the remainder of the 2007–2008 Academic Year.

There are two examination opportunities remaining, and registration for an examination must be complete at least 30 days in advance, which can be done through the Academy website at http://www.ussa.edu/pdfs/off-campus-comps-application.pdf. Master’s degree students must have completed 33 semester hours to be eligible to sit for the examination. The remaining examination periods this academic year are:

• 19 June 2008
• 21 August 2008

More information regarding the online delivery of the comprehensive examinations will be forth coming in future Academic Updates.

Dr. Enrico “Ric” Esposito, Chair of Sports Medicine, directs and coordinates the MSS Comprehensive Examinations. He can be reached at the Academy at 251-626-3303, ext. 7155, or via email at esposito@ussa.edu should you need any information or assistance.

Doctoral Comprehensive Examinations

The written and oral Doctoral Comprehensive Examinations are being administered on the Daphne campus four times during the 2007–2008 academic year. Two examination periods remain, and registration for an examination must be complete at least 30 days in advance. Doctoral students must have completed 54 semester hours, including the Mentorship course and cognate courses, in order to be eligible to sit for the examination. Please note that space is limited to the first 16 doctoral students who register for the examinations. The remaining examination periods this academic year are:

• 7-10 May 2008
• 9-11 July 2008

Outstanding Mentorship Opportunity

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is now accepting applications from eligible students for internship positions for the2008 Fall Semester. The internship sites are at Colorado Springs, Colorado, Lake Placid, New York, and Chula Vista, California.

There are several positions available from broadcasting to marketing to journalism to sports administration.

To be eligible for the USOC program, individuals must have completed at least two years of college and be enrolled in Bachelor of Master degree program at an accredited U.S. college or university with an expected graduation date no earlier than December 2008.

Applications for the 2008 Fall Semester must be received by the Manager of Intern Programs in Colorado Springs no later than June 1, 2008. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

To obtain an application form and general information on the Student Intern Program, please e-mail internprog@usoc.org. If you do not have access to e-mail, you may send a request to the address below:

Student Intern Program
U.S. Olympic Committee
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909-5760

Free Social Networking Website Promotes Top Sports Jobs

The Sport Business Education Network (SBEN) is a free resource dedicated to providing sport-specific resources and information and a central point for job seekers, professors, students, and employers to network -- potentially leading to employment! This site features hundreds of free sports job listings. You'll find constantly updated team sports jobs, coaching jobs, recreation jobs, college athletics jobs, sports internships, and graduate assistantships. Visit http://www.sben.org for more information.

APA Tip of the Week

The United States Sports Academy library has several online APA resources, which can be used as a quick reference to answer questions about APA style and formatting. To access the USSA library’s APA online resources from the USSA home page first click on the library tab. Then look under Electronic Resources and click on Electronic Reference Sources scroll down to Citation Guides and check out the many online APA resources that are available to you free of charge.

Library Tip

USSA’s preferred style is that of the American Psychological Association. The Concise Guide to APA style is available in our bookstore. There are also several sites on the library web page under “Electronic Resources”. You should then click on “Electronic Reference Sources”. Then click on “Citation Guides”. There are several versions here, as well as an abbreviated “crib sheet”.

And, as always, do not hesitate to call upon your library staff for any assistance you might need.

Do You Know?

It is the responsibility of you, the student, to check the course announcements section in each of your courses prior to starting each course. You will also want to check announcements periodically throughout the course since many professors place important information throughout the semester. This information could range from course updates to vacation announcements.