National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Announces 2020 Career Awards

SOURCE: National Strength & Conditioning Association

Colorado Springs, CO – The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is proud to announce the winners of the organization’s 2020 Career Awards. Each year, these distinguished awards honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to the strength and conditioning community throughout their careers. Due to the cancellation of this year’s National Conference because of the COVID-19 public health concerns, award winners will receive special recognition of their 2020 accomplishments at the 2021 Annual NSCA National Conference to be held next year in Orlando, FL from July 7-10.

Awarded since 1993, the Boyd Epley Award for Lifetime Achievement honors individuals who exhibit historical impact, achievements, and dedication to the NSCA over the course of their career. This award is named after Boyd Epley, founder of the NSCA, and is considered the most prestigious award a member of the NSCA can achieve. The Board of Directors is honored to announce the 2020 recipient, Terry J. Housh, PhD, FNSCA.

Dr. Housh is the Director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory and Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He earned a BA in Physical Education and Health Education K-12 from Doane College in Crete Nebraska in 1977. He received his MPE and PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1979 and 1984, respectively, under the mentorship of Dr. Glen O. Johnson and Dr. Bill Thorland. Over his career, Dr. Housh has co-authored over 340 peer-reviewed publications, over 340 national and international research presentations, and twelve books in the areas of exercise and sports physiology.

Dr. Housh has received Fellow status from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American College of Sports Medicine. His accomplishments have received recognition with awards including the Educator of the Year, Outstanding Sport Scientist, President’s Award, and Editorial Excellence Award from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. In 2009, the NSCA named the “Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator Award” in his honor. Currently, Dr. Housh has 22 former doctoral students in Higher Education positions from Assistant Professor to Dean.

The Alvin Roy Award for Career Achievement, created in 1986, honors Alvin Roy, who helped establish strength and conditioning as the cornerstone of any training program. Roy was one of the first coaches to show that lifting weights would improve both speed and power, and he helped debunk the myth that lifting weights made athletes slower. In his honor, this esteemed award is given to an individual whose career achievements made a substantial impact on the scientific understanding, methodologies, and practice of resistance training as a component of sports conditioning. The Board of Directors is honored to announce the 2020 recipient, Michael H. Stone, PhD, CSCS, FNSCA.

Dr. Stone is internationally recognized as a favorite presenter at events across the nation and considered one of the leading minds in sport science research. Now at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), Dr. Stone has served as the Director of the Exercise and Sports Science Lab since August 2005. He helped establish the Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education in October of 2008. Dr. Stone also helped implement the first Sport Physiology and Performance PhD program in the nation at ETSU.

During his more than 45-year academic career, Dr. Stone has been on the faculty at five different foreign and domestic universities and has seen his work published more than 250 times. Additionally, he has served multiple positions with the United States Olympic Committee and as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Louisiana State University and Auburn University. He has coached several international and national level weightlifters – including one Olympian – and throwers in both the United States and Great Britain. He continues to consult with several professional and collegiate teams concerning their strength and conditioning programs.

Dr. Stone was recognized as the recipient of the ETSU award for Distinguish Research Faculty in 2008. He is a Fellow of the United Kingdom Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and is UKSCA certified (ASCC). In 1991, the NSCA granted him the Outstanding Sport Scientist award. Nine years later, the NSCA also honored him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.                                               

The NSCA Impact Award, awarded since 1997, is given to an individual whose career has greatly contributed to the advancement of the national or international strength and conditioning, or fitness industries. The 2020 recipient, as selected by the Board of Directors, is Steven J. Fleck, PhD, CSCS, FACSM, FNSCA.

During his career, Dr. Fleck has been the chair of kinesiology and sport science departments at several universities and a sport science administrator in the private sector. His research interests include physiological adaptations to resistance training and application of research findings to optimize resistance training program design. His research interests are not limited to physiological adaptations and the training of elite athletes, but also include the training of the general population, from youth to seniors, as well as individuals with various diseases, such as cancer, McArdle disease, and cystic fibrosis.

Throughout his career, Dr. Fleck has designed conditioning programs for celebrities interested in general health and fitness, as well as high school, collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletes in a wide variety of sports. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed research articles in the broad area of physical conditioning as well as several books, including Designing Resistance Training Programs and Exercise Physiology: Integrating Theory and Application.

Dr. Fleck is the past President of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a Fellow of both the NSCA and the American College of Sports Medicine. For his work, he has received numerous awards and honors. Dr. Fleck received the Alumni Excellence Award from the College of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse where he received his undergraduate degree. In 2019, he was inducted into the College of Education and Human Ecology Hall of Fame at The Ohio State University where he received his graduate degrees. Dr. Fleck has also been honored by receiving the NSCA’s Sport Scientist of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Congratulations to all the award winners for these well-deserved awards,” said NSCA Executive Director Michael Massik. “Each of these individuals have changed many lives and exemplify what it is to be an NSCA professional. We are proud to have them as part of our community.” 

For more information regarding the NSCA and these awards, please visit www.nsca.com.

About the National Strength & Conditioning Association

Founded in 1978, The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is a nonprofit association dedicated to advancing the strength and conditioning and related sport science professions around the world.

The NSCA exists to empower a community of professionals to maximize their impact through disseminating evidence-based knowledge and its practical application by offering industry-leading certifications, research journals, career development services, networking opportunities, and continuing education. The NSCA community is composed of more than 60,000 members and certified professionals throughout the world who further industry standards as researchers, educators, strength and conditioning coaches, performance and sport scientists, personal trainers, tactical professionals, and other related roles.