100 MOST INFLUENTIAL SPORTS EDUCATORS

by Kyle Smith, Doberman On The Diamond

What is a "sports educator?" Good question. I have no idea, but apparently there are a lot of them, because something called the Institute for International Sport has just named it's "100 Most Influential Sports Educators", along with it's "15 Most Influential Sports Education Teams in America."

The thing is, the criteria is a bit, well, vague: "The core criteria for selection in each category was the effective use of sport as a means to educate.

Educate people how? On the proper way to swing a golf club? The history of water polo? It's a bit unclear. Some are obvious, like athletes who started foundations, and others are not so obvious, like philosophy professors and Vivian C. Stringer.

And selecting this list wasn't just some minor undertaking. According to the press release, the institute took three years to determine the list.

Apparently, this was quite a big deal as well. At least it was to Mike Krzyzewski, who wrote this letter in appreciation of the honor.

Without further delay, here are some of the winners, in alphabetical order. Congratualtions to them all for teaching people ... stuff.

2. Agassi, Andre, Former World No. 1 tennis player and founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation.

5. Beaney, Bill, Head Men’s Hockey Coach at Middlebury College.

7. Bettis, Jerome, Former NFL all-star, and Founder of the “Cyber Bus” program.

10. Brand, Dr. Myles, Executive Director of the NCAA.

17. Costas, Bob, Emmy award winning sportscaster, commentator and sports historian.

19. DeFord, Frank, Author and commentator and a Senior Contributing Writer at Sports Illustrated.

25. Farrey, Tom, Senior Writer with ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com.

39. Jackson, Phil, Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

43. Joyner-Kersee, Jackie, Olympic Gold Medalist and Founder of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation.

49. Krzyzewski, Mike, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Duke University.

62. Paterno, Joe, Head Football Coach at Penn State University.

64. Priest, Laurie, Chair of Physical Education and Director of Athletics at Mount Holyoke College.

67. Ridl, Jack, Sports poet and professor at Hope College.

72. Russell, Bill, NBA Hall of Fame Basketball Player, author and lecturer.

80. Stringer, Vivian, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Rutgers University.

85. Simon, Robert, Professor of Philosophy at Hamilton College.

95. Wolff, Alexander, Author and Senior Staff writer for Sports Illustrated.

98. Woods, Tiger, Professional golfer and the founder of the Tiger Woods Foundation and the Tiger Woods Learning Center.


Also, here are some of "The 15 Most Influential Sports Education Teams in America." Unfortunately, Deadspin and other blogs did not make the list. Oh, well, there's always next year.

2. ESPN “Outside the Lines” – Captain Ronnie Forchheimer – ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” is dedicated to insightful coverage of a variety of topics concerning all aspects of sports.

5. New York Times Sports Columnist/Writers – Co-Captains Thomas A. Jolly and William Pennington- A brilliant group of sports journalists who devote significant attention to a variety of sports education issues.

7. HBO Real Sports – Co-Captains Ross Greenburg and Bryant Gumbel- HBO Real Sports has earned 15 sports Emmys and has been frequently described as one of TV’s best sports programs in history.

14. USA Today Sports Columnists/Writers – Captain Monte Lorell – Wide ranging and extremely insightful coverage of sports education issues by an exceptional team of sports journalists.

15. USA Track and Field – Captain Craig Masback – USA Track and Field is the National Governing Body for track and field which administers major educational programs such as Zero Tolerance and the Be a Champion Program.