sport management

Justin Bour’s next home run? Earning a degree

Colleen Rich — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 16:38:52 +0000

Justin Bour’s next home run? Earning a degree Colleen Rich Wed, 07/26/2023 - 12:38

For Justin Bour, returning to ��AV to complete his degree more than 14 years after leaving to pursue a career in professional baseball, is the fulfillment of a promise—one he made to himself.

Justin Bour, who played for the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Angels. Photo by Cato Cataldo/Miami Marlins

“I promised myself as soon as I was drafted that no matter how long I played, whatever money I made, the first thing I’d do when I was done was to go back and finish my degree,” Bour said. “It was just always something I felt I needed to do.”

Bour, a first baseman and one of Mason’s most prodigious power hitters, who had three 20-home run seasons in a six-year major league career, is closing in on that goal. He needs just two classes and an internship to earn his sport management degree.

Bour, 35, will be the fourth member of his family with a Mason degree, joining his father Jim (BS Law Enforcement ’79), mother Tracey (BSN ’81), and brother Jason (BS Information Systems and Operations Management ’12), who also played at Mason as a catcher from 2006-07.

“I have been impressed with how thoughtful, methodical and consistent Justin has been in his pursuit of a college degree,” said Craig Esherick, sport management’s academic program coordinator. “It’s not an easy transition from professional ballplayer to college student, but he has as bright future as a leader in the sports industry as he did as a baseball player, when he entered the major leagues more than a decade ago.”

It’s a two-way street, Bour said, noting that the “person-to-person contacts at Mason are unrivaled.”

“The involvement of alumni and the people who work on campus will go above and beyond to help you reach your goals,” he said. “Mason, from my experience, is one of the most family-oriented places I’ve ever been to.”

Bour will be the fourth person in his family to earn a Mason degree. Photo by Cristian Torres/ Office of University Branding

Bour, who played for the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels from 2014 to 2019, and then in Japan, South Korea, and Mexico, retired in February. His best years were with the Marlins, with 23 home runs in 2015, and 25 in 2017. He also hit 20 in 2018, 19 for the Marlins and one for Philadelphia.

All that after a three-year Mason career, which ended in 2009, when he was drafted in the 25th round by the Chicago Cubs. His 46 career home runs are tied for second all-time at Mason. His 187 runs batted in are third.

His most memorable game at Mason? March 6, 2007, when he hit three home runs, including two grand slams, and drove in nine runs in a 28-1 victory over Coppin State.

“But in typical baseball fashion, in the next series, my first game, I went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts,” Bour said. “So baseball is very humbling. It always has been and always will be.”

To an extent, so was his transition from pro athlete to student.

Getting used to online classes was a challenge, Bour said. But the online flexibility is a plus for the family that lives in Ashburn, Virginia, as Bour can watch his son, Jimmy, who turns 4 in August, while Jimmy’s mom and Bour’s wife, Hayley Milon, works as a reporter for DC News Now.

“Retiring from sports is such a bizarre experience,” Milon said. “A lot of guys finish playing and it’s like, ‘Now what?’ So while I’m insanely proud and in awe of what Justin did playing-wise, I’m even prouder of him wanting to establish life goals and continue striving.”

Bour said he doesn’t know exactly where his degree will take him, though coaching is definitely an option. And his internship at a training facility called c5T Elite Sports will include coaching, giving private lessons, and learning how to manage a small business.

“I just hope it sets a good example,” Bour said of gaining his degree. “I want my son to realize how important that it was to me and how I could have taken the easy route and not done it. I believe more is going to come from me finishing than if not.”

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Margaret T. Jones honored for her editorial efforts by the National Strength and Conditioning Association

John Hollis — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 14:26:13 +0000

Margaret T. Jones honored for her editorial efforts by the National Strength and Conditioning Association John Hollis Tue, 07/26/2022 - 10:26

Margaret T. Jones was honored by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Photo provided

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) has honored ��AV’s Margaret T. Jones with an Editorial Excellence Award for her invaluable contributions to the organization’s journal.

Jones, a professor of sport management within Mason’s College of Education and Human Development, Beck Foundation Faculty Fellow, and the director of the Patriot Performance Laboratory in the Frank Pettrone Center for Sports Performance, is one of two recipients of the NSCA’s The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR) Editorial Excellence Awards for 2022. She and colleague Michael Deschenes, professor and chair of kinesiology at the College of William and Mary, were formally recognized at the NSCA National Conference in New Orleans in July.

Jones has served as a senior associate editor for the journal since 2017, and plays a key role in reading and evaluating many prospective articles.

“It feels great,” Jones said of the honor. “It’s always nice to get a little recognition. Sometimes when we do the work, we do it quietly, we do it in the background. It’s good to know that our editor-in-chief recognizes it.”

Jones, whose previous work experience includes 15 years as the director for strength and conditioning for intercollegiate athletics at Springfield (Mass.) College, has worked for the journal for 25 years.

“Dr. Michael Deschenes and Dr. Margaret Jones have demonstrated a commitment to editorial excellence and their exceptional hard work and dedication have greatly contributed to the journal’s success,” said Nicholas Ratamess, the JSCR’s editor-in-chief.

An active member of the NSCA since 1995, Jones received the NSCA Educator of the Year Award in 2008 and became a Fellow of the NSCA in 2012. In 2016, she was the recipient of the NSCA’s Senior Investigator Grant in support of her work with cluster resistive exercise in resistance-trained women athletes. In addition to her role with the JSCR, Jones also currently serves as the associate editor-in-chief for the Strength and Conditioning Journal.

“This award means a lot to me because I was a practitioner in this field,” she said. “It feels good to be able to help provide evidence-based, noteworthy research to practitioners, strength and sport coaches, athletic trainers and others. I feel strongly about getting applied research out there where people can see it.”

Founded in 1978, NSCA, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the strength and conditioning and related sport science professions, has more than 60,000 members and certified professionals throughout the world.

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Mason’s Dacheka Kolcum has a special place in her heart for her native Haiti

John Hollis — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 17:33:02 +0000

Mason’s Dacheka Kolcum has a special place in her heart for her native Haiti John Hollis Thu, 09/16/2021 - 13:33

Dacheka Kolcum’s heart remains in her native Haiti, even if she hasn’t set foot in the Caribbean island nation since she was a little girl.

When the ��AV women’s soccer standout heard about the Aug. 14 earthquake that devastated Haiti, she immediately jumped into action to help.

The senior sport management major from Leesburg, Virginia, was born and raised in Haiti until being adopted by an American family at age 6. She’s since reconnected with her biological family and has wasted no time in lending a helping hand.

“It was really hard [hearing the news],” Kolcum said. “The first thing I wanted to do was call my family. When I knew they were OK, then I knew how to do something. I knew this was a calling for me to step forward and take some action.”

A GoFundMe page she set up has raised nearly $5,000 to help provide basic necessities for those most adversely impacted by quake.

One of the most impoverished nations in the world, Haiti immediately found itself in dire need of help, even as it was still recovering from a previous massive earthquake in 2010. The most recent quake killed more than 2,000 people and injured more than 12,000 others. More than 136,000 of the nation’s buildings were either damaged or destroyed.

Dacheka Kolcum earned the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honor earlier this year. Photo by Mason Athletics.

The money raised on the GoFundMe page will be distributed through a local organization in Haiti run by Kolcum’s biological father. The group is working on bringing materials and aid, such as clean water, clothes, food, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, to the areas in Haiti most affected by the earthquake.

“Haiti is my roots, Haiti is my family, Haiti is what I wake up every day to work towards,” Kolcum said. “I think I’ve been put on this Earth to give back to my home country. Haiti is my motivator.”

First-year Patriots coach Manya Puppione said she was happy to help when Kolcum first approached her about contributing to people in need.

“I am just in awe of Dacheka's leadership, empathy, and her willingness to take action,” Puppione said. “I know that she wants to be there to help out with her feet on the Haitian ground, and I know she will get there when she can.”

Kolcum said she’s been struck by the overwhelming generosity of the Mason community and others. Even the smallest donations can go a long way in a third-world nation like Haiti, she added.

“Helping as many people as I can in Haiti and opening as many eyes as I can in America is the end goal,” Kolcum said.

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Supreme Court ruling against NCAA is limited in scope, Mason professor says

Colleen Rich — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 17:36:19 +0000

Supreme Court ruling against NCAA is limited in scope, Mason professor says Colleen Rich Tue, 07/06/2021 - 13:36

Craig Esherick

The unanimous U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling limiting the NCAA’s ability to restrict education-related benefits to athletes won’t have as broad an impact as some news outlets are reporting, said Craig Esherick, former Georgetown University men’s basketball coach, lawyer and associate professor in ��AV’s College of Education and Human Development.

“The Supreme Court found that the NCAA is subject to the Sherman Antitrust Act and permitted schools to award more educationally related expenses,” said Esherick, associate director for Mason’s Center for Sport Management and academic program coordinator for Mason’s sport management program. “But on the news, they are making it out like it is a broad ruling. The justices specifically recognized that college athletics is an intricate business relationship and gave wide berth to the NCAA and colleges’ business judgments.”

Esherick said that Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, made a narrow decision that still allows for the NCAA to create limits on benefits unrelated to education.

“Certainly, the ruling will permit colleges to award their athletes more educationally related expenses, like graduate school scholarships or technology used for school work, but the justices also specifically said that doesn’t mean a college can buy someone a Lamborghini to drive to class,” Esherick said.

Esherick also commented on the NCAA’s recent decision to officially suspend rules that prohibited athletes from selling the rights to their names, images and likenesses. The new rules represent a major shift for the NCAA. The decision came hours before laws or executive orders in six states that would have had the same impact were set to take effect.

“There are going to be some athletes that will be able to make a large amount of money now,” Esherick said. “It will be interesting to see what that dynamic brings to athletes playing a team sport.”

Esherick also warned that student athletes shouldn’t ignore the most important financial benefit they get—for those on a full scholarship, a free education.

“The concern I have is that athletes will be spending so much time building up their social media presence that it will detract from their work in math or English class,” Esherick said.

To reach Craig Esherick directly, please contact him at cesheric@gmu.edu

For more information, contact Anna Stolley Persky at apersky@gmu.edu

About George Mason
��AV is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls 39,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity and commitment to accessibility. Learn more at gmu.edu

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Mason alumna blazing a trail for women in the NFL

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 21:26:32 +0000

Mason alumna blazing a trail for women in the NFL Colleen Rich Wed, 01/13/2021 - 16:26

Callie Brownson. Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Browns.

��AV alumna Callie Brownson and her boss, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, often joke that there is no job description for her role as the team’s chief of staff.

“It’s an anything and everything role,” said Brownson, who received her bachelor’s degree with a concentration in sport management from the College of Education and Human Development in 2016. “Basically, how we operate as a team runs through me. I kind of enjoy the challenge that no day is the same.”

While her job as chief of staff—the first female to hold the position in the NFL—usually pertains to logistics, operation, and organizing practice plans, Brownson has been a “utility player” for the Browns during an unprecedented season that continues Sunday in a playoff matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Most recently, she has put on a headset and fulfilled her true passion—coaching.

During three games this season, Brownson has filled in as a position coach for a Browns’ coaching staff dealing with positive COVID tests. On Jan. 9, she coached the tight ends during the Browns’ upset of Pittsburgh in a wild card playoff game, the franchise’s first postseason victory in 26 years.

The Alexandria native also coached the tight ends on Nov. 29 in a victory over Jacksonville, becoming the first woman to coach a position in an NFL regular-season game. The sideline jacket she wore that day and an autographed game ball sit in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Earlier in the season, she joined Washington Football Team coaching intern Jennifer King and game official Sarah Thomas in the first NFL game with a female official and female coaches on both teams.

“It’s really special what’s happening in the league,” said Brownson, who is in her first year with the Browns after serving as a full-time intern with the Buffalo Bills last season. “I think it’s a really cool time for women to see all these possibilities and all these barriers breaking.”

Mason sport management instructor Charley Casserly, a longtime NFL executive who won three Super Bowls with the Washington Football Team, recalled Brownson’s ambition and drive.

While pursuing her degree at Mason, Brownson was also playing football for the D.C. Divas—Washington’s professional female football team—and coaching softball and football at her alma mater, Mount Vernon High School.

“When they are already working on their life’s goals when they are still in college, those are the ones that are most successful,” Casserly said. “It was just a question of where she was going to be successful.”

Brownson said Casserly’s advice to “take advantage of every opportunity to get in front of people” has always stuck with her, whether she was at Mount Vernon, working a scouting internship with the New York Jets or on Buddy Teevens’ staff at Dartmouth as the first female full-time Division I football coach.

Brownson said the smaller size of Mason’s sport management program and having multiple classes with faculty such as Professor Robert Baker and Associate Professor Craig Esherick helped sharpen her skills, narrow her career direction and develop a plan to reach those goals.

“Ending up at that program was such a stepping stone,” she said. “The involvement and push: ‘What is your plan? How are you going to do it?’ That is extremely rewarding. It’s really special.”