Oct. 18, 2007

The Institute for International Sport has named the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators, which includes many with connections to UMass. Faculty Athletics Representaive Glenn Wong, a professor in the Isenberg School of Management's Department of Sport Management is on the list as are Pat Griffin, a Professor Emerita and Dr. Harold Vanderzwaag, the first Head of the Department of Sport Studies at UMass.

When Institute for International Sport Executive Director, Dan Doyle, administered a series of "coach and athlete" surveys for his forthcoming book, The Encyclopedia of Sport Parenting, a common theme among both present and former surveyed athletes emerged. Many pointed to the profound impact of the sports experience in shaping their views and practices regarding teamwork, self discipline, fair play, diversity- and a term Doyle employs throughout the book - competitive self restraint. Many also pointed to former coaches and athletic administrators as key mentors in their lives.

As a result, Doyle had the Institute embark upon a three year project - the selection of two categories of distinguished sports educators:

The 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America.

The Fifteen Most Influential Sports Education "Teams" in America. The core criteria for selection in each category was the effective use of sport as a means to educate.

"In America and in many other countries, we honor elite athletes, winning coaches, wealthy team owners and media moguls. We praise sports educators yet we really do not honor them in a manner befitting their admirable impact on society," said Doyle. "This project is aimed at honoring individuals and organizations who have creatively and effectively used sport in the very best way - as a means to educate and shape positive values," he concluded.

From the time the Institute announced the project in 2004, the organization received over 1500 nominations for individuals and "teams". After reducing the list to 200 individual finalists and 30 "team" finalists, the Institute appointed a final selection committee made up of coaches, athletic administrators, journalists and academicians. David Bloss, former Sports Editor of the Providence Journal, chaired the committee.

Here are the ones with connections to UMass.

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.

Dr. Harold Vanderzwaag began his career in Physical Education and made the transition to Sport Management. He is generally considered to be one of the pioneers in the Sports Studies field. In 1974, Professor Vaderzwaag was appointed as the first Head of the Department of Sport Studies at the University of Massachusetts. He remained in the position until he retired in 1993. He then became a Professor Emeritus and Associatate Department Head. Dr. Vanderzwaag is the coauthor of six books and numerous articles. He is the past president of the Philosophhical Society for the Study of Sport and the former author of the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport.

Glenn Wong is a professor in the Isenberg School of Management's Department of Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts. A nationally prominent educator in the field of legal issues in sports, he is the author of over 100 articles in leading law and business journals and several influential volumes, including Law and the Business of the Sports Industries and Essentials of Sports Law, which will appear in its fourth edition in 2008. That year will also see the publication of his new book, Sport Management Careers. His teaching and research are informed by his professional experience in industry. He is a member of the American Bar Association's Labor Arbitration Panel and a member of the Arbitration Panel of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport. He has also served as an arbitrator in Major League Baseball salary arbitration cases and represented the Boston Red Sox in arbitration cases. In November 2006, Professor Wong was honored with the Guy M. Lewis Academic Achievement Award at the International Conference on Sport and Entertainment Business. "Glenn Wong is the leader in sports law textbooks in academia and his books are the standard for the Industry," proclaimed the award's citation. He has a J.D. degree from Boston College Law School and a B.S. degree from Brandeis University.