Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center, was quoted in The New York Times on November 11 in an article titled, For All the Wrong Reasons, Women's Soccer Is Noticed. The piece follows up on the suspension of college soccer player Elizabeth Lambert of the University of New Mexico after she engaged in shoving, punching, tripping and yanking an opponent down by the ponytail November 5 in a 1-0 loss to Brigham Young.

Kane remarked, "I think women being physically aggressive and violent is, in many ways, the last boundary to break ... I think you'll see snippets, but I don't think you'll see the same kind of behavior as men. In the broader social context, we don't allow women to engage in that kind of behavior. There would be a pushback."

Tucker Center Associate Director, Nicole LaVoi, was also quoted on the same subject in WCCO's Good Question: Why Are We Drawn To Women Fighting?.

LaVoi stated, "Women get national news sports coverage when they behave outside of the societal norms for a woman."

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, presented research with doctoral student Lindsay Kipp and collaborator David Goodman (Simon Fraser University) at the Sport Canada Research Initiative Conference in Ottawa on November 4. The title of the presentation was, Unsportsmanlike aggression in youth hockey: Attitudes, perceived social approval, situational temptation, and role models. The annual conference brings together academics and policymakers to translate research in an effort to enhance the quality of physical activity participation of Canadian youth and adults. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded the research.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tucker Center Associate Director, Nicole LaVoi, and affiliated Tucker Center scholar Heather Maxwell are both presenting at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Conference in Ottawa, Canada on November 4-7, 2009.

LaVoi's presentation is titled, Coaching Youth Soccer as a Token Female. Maxwell will present research that she and Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director of the School of Kinesiology and the Tucker Center, conducted on media portrayals of female athletes, titled Critical Analysis of Consumer Responses to Representations of Women's Sports.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 5:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics has released two new reports on intercollegiate athletics outlining the impact and implications for the big-time athletics business model on important issues such as gender equity, Title IX, Olympic sports, and non-revenue sports among others:

Quantitative and Qualitative Research with Football Bowl Subdivision University Presidents on the Costs and Financing of Intercollegiate Athletics:
Report of Findings and Implications | Appendices

College Sports 101:A Primer on Money, Athletics, and Higher Education in the 21st Century

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in "From Wearing Jumpers to Shooting Them," in the Fall 2009 issue of the NCAA Champion magazine. The piece, which also mentions The Tucker Center, notes Kane's research with former Kinesiology graduate student Heather Maxwell on consumer response to representations of women's sports, as well as Kane and Kinesiology Education Specialist Jo Buysse's research on female athlete representations on media guide covers.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., and Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., professors in Kinesiology and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, published a paper titled, Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Physical Activity, in the September 2009 issue of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest available online.

Posted by mfahrenz at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tucker Center Associate Director, Nicole LaVoi, will give a workshop to the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association on Friday, October 23, 6-8:00pm, as part of the We Coach: Educating & Empowering Through Sport initiative.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fall semester's CEHD magazine Connect spotlights a host of Kinesiology faculty and students. Read about Kinesiology student Heather Dorniden, U of M track team star, and how she copes with dueling pressures of competing on the field and achieving success in the classroom: More Than Game.

The important relationship of physical activity to lifelong health and well-being is explored in the article Teaming Up. Tucker Center faculty and associated faculty Daheia Barr-Anderson, Lisa Kihl, Nicole LaVoi, and Jo Ann Buysse, and graduate student Chelsey Thul, are doing research and working on a variety of projects to bring the message of the vital importance of exercise and physical activity to local and international communities.

And in the article The Sporting Life, , Prof. Maureen Weiss and Dr. Nicole LaVoi share their knowledge and research on kids' participation in youth sports.

You can also view the entire issue of Connect.

Posted by mfahrenz at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, associate director of the Tucker Center, and second-year sport sociology doctoral student and research assistant Austin Calhoun have published the results from their research study "Examining Online Intercollegiate Head Coaches' Biographies: Reproducing or Challenging Heteronormativity and Heterosexism?" in the article "Team Media Guides and College Coaches' Biographies: Who Gets to Have a Personal Life? What Can Online Intercollegiate Coach Biographies Tell Us About Inclusivity and Tolerance of Diverse Sexual Orientations?" in the Women's Sports Foundation Web site's It taks a Team section. The initial study, which included only Big 10 coaches, was expanded to include a nationwide sample of Division I head coaches. It Takes A Team is an educational program sponsored by the Women's Sports Foundation and designed to end homophobia in sport.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Tucker Center's Fall 2009 Distinguished Lecture, Facing Off Over Facebook: The Impact of Social Media on Women Sports, will be available via live stream on Monday, Oct. 19, beginning at 7:00pm Central Time. [convert this to your time]

The links to watch the lecture remotely are as follows (NOTE: The exterior links below may not work until the event has begun):

Tucker Center Site

Broadband Users (QuickTime Player)

Dial-Up Users (QuickTime Audio Only)

If you experience issues with the media player or the live stream, we urge you to contact us. You can reach Austin Calhoun during the DLS for any tech issues (calho029@umn.edu or via Twitter).

Note: The exterior links may not work until the event has begun.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dr. Dorothy McNeill Tucker, whose generous endowment established the renowned Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, has created a $25,000 matching scholarship to support graduate studies at the Tucker Center. This exceptional gift enables the Tucker Center to bring outstanding students from around the U.S. to the U of M to pursue their graduate coursework and to engage in research on the impact of sport and physical activity on the lives of girls and women. Thanks to Dr. Tucker's visionary leadership and generosity, the Tucker Center will be able to provide this scholarship in perpetuity.

Posted by mfahrenz at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Tucker Center's Chesley Thul and Kelli Blankeship are presenting research posters Wednesday, October 7, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the TCF Stadium at the Student Scholar & Public Engagement Showcase.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, associate director of the Tucker Center, and U of M hockey player and former Tucker Center summer intern and McNair Scholar Kelli Blankenship are featured on the University of Minnesota's home page in a piece titled Showcasing academics that highlights Blankenship's academic and research accomplishments and LaVoi's mentorship.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, associate director of the Tucker Center, is the featured author in an Octoiber 1, 2009, Minnesota Women's Press LeaderVoice guest column entitled, "Relational Coach".

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Tucker Center, in collaboration with the Minnesota International Center and the U.S. Department of State, is hosting an International Visitor Leadership Program "Women in Sports" delegation from the State of Qatar in the Persian Gulf on Friday, October 5. Maha Yousef Al-Abduliabbar, Member, Board of Qatar Women's Sport Committee, Ahlam Salem Al-Mana, President, Qatar Women's Sport Committee, and Salha Masoud Al-Naemi, Manager, Qatar Women's Basketball Team, will tour the Tucker Center and talk with Austin Stair Calhoun, doctoral candidate, regarding the Center's programming objectives and implementation.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., associate professor of Kinesiology, will be among the faculty speaking at the upcoming Twin Cities Sports Medicine Conference on October 2-3. Wiese-Bjornstal will be speaking on "Sport Specialization for Young Athletes." The conference, sponsored by the University of Minnesota Office of Continuing Medical Education, is being held in Minneapolis at the Radisson University Hotel.

Posted by mfahrenz at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport has created a new blog in conjunction with its Fall 2009 Distinguished Lecture on sport, gender and social media. The first post, Social Media: What it is and Why it Matters to Women's Sports, went live on Monday. Look for guest bloggers, Dr. Marie Hardin and Dave Zirin, later this week!

Content from the Tucker Center's discussion of Michael Sokolove's controversial book, Warrior Girls, has also been migrated to the blog.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., associate professor in Kinesiology, and Jens Omli, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Child Development and former advisee of Wiese-Bjornstal, have been awarded a $212,000 grant over two years from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. The grant will implement the International Sport Connection Soccer Coach Education program in collaboration with the Federation of Uganda Football Associations. Wiese-Bjornstal and Omli will travel to Uganda January 2010 and 2011 with a delegation of U.S. coaches. They will host a delegation of Ugandan coaches, who will travel to Minnesota for advanced training this October, and again in October 2010.

Posted by mfahrenz at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tucker Center Associate Director Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, and former Tucker Center Program Associate Erin Becker will present their research "Coaching Youth Soccer as a Token Female" at the annual North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) conference in Ottowa, Ontario, November 4-7, 2009.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lisa Kihl, Ph.D.,assistant professor of sport management at the School of Kinesiology announces a new publication with doctoral student Vicki Schull and former Tucker Center Fulbright Scholar Sarah Leberman:

Kihl, L. A., Leberman, S., & Schull, V. (2009). Stakeholder constructions of leadership in intercollegiate athletics. European Sport Management Quarterly. In press.

Posted by mfahrenz at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kelli Blankenship, the 2009 Tucker Center McNair Scholar, will present work she has completed under associate director Nicole LaVoi's mentorship at the McNair Poster Presentation, Tuesday, July 28 from 2:00-4:00 p.m.at the Mississippi Room at Coffman. Her poster is titled, Not All Sport Parents Are "Out of Control": The Happy Side of Youth Sports.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Tucker Center is now on Facebook! Become a fan of the TC to keep up to date on the latest news and events.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, gave a keynote presentation at DCD VIII: Developmental Coordination Disorder International Conference, in Baltimore, MD. The title of her presentation was, "Motivating youth to be physically active: Strategies for children with developmental delay."

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Tucker Center now has a multimedia archive of its past Distinguished Lectures available online. The archive includes streaming videos, powerpoint presentations and other informative resources from a variety of topics related to gender and sport.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maria Camacho Miñano began her three-month residence as a visiting scholar in the Tucker Center on July 13. She will be working on studying US literature surrounding physical activity among adolescent girls and body image and physical activity, along with various other planned scholarly activities.

Dr. Camacho Miñano hails from Spain and is faculty member at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, associate director of the Tucker Center, second-year sport sociology doctoral student and research assistant Austin Calhoun and Erin Becker, former program associate and sport & exercise psychology alumnus, all recently participated in endurance events in Minnesota.

LaVoi took part in the Larkin Hoffman MS 150 Ride, raising money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in June. Calhoun and Becker both competed in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on July 11 as members of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training Program.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, gave the Senior Distinguished Scholar Lecture at the annual meeting of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity in Austin, TX. The title of her presentation was, "Children in sport and physical activity: What, so what, now what?"

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in The Nation. The article "Sexism on Centre Court" talks about how sexualized images of female athletes are ineffective at marketing women's tennis and other women's sports.

Posted by John Brian Becker at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in an Orange County Register article "Girls of Summer still making an impact." The article talks about the impact of the victory over the past decade and some of the continued barriers women face in big league sports.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, associate director of the Tucker Center and research associate in the School of Kinesiology, and Chelsey Thul, research assistant in the Tucker Center and graduate assistant in the Physical Activity Social and Behavioral Science area of the School of Kinesiology, were awarded the prestigious Staff Award and a Graduate Student Award respectively from CEHD's Women's Philanthropic Leadership Circle at a ceremony on June 16, 2009.

Continue reading "LaVoi, Thul Receive Women's Philanthropic Leadership Circle Awards" »

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D., lecturer in Kinesiology and associate director of the Tucker Center, has been invited to be part of a keynote panel at the Up2Us Regional Conference in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday, June 30th. The conference is sponsored in part by the LA84 Foundation .

LaVoi will discuss the role of coaches in facilitating positive youth development. LaVoi is part of the Up2Us Research Advisory Committee and co-developed an Up2Us research paper on "Sports-based youth development for girls", which will be available by late summer.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daheia Barr-Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor in Kinesiology, has co-authored an article just published in the American Journal of Public Health:
Melissa C. Nelson, Nicole I. Larson, Daheia Barr-Anderson, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, and Mary Story. Disparities in dietary intake, meal patterning, and home food environments among young adult nonstudents and 2- and 4-year college students. Am J Public Health 2009 99: 1216-1219.

Posted by mfahrenz at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daheia Barr-Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor in Kinesiology, has just received a New Connections grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The two-year grant will support Barr-Anderson's work focusing on perceived and objective environmental influences on physical activity among high school girls. The New Connections grant will complement Barr-Anderson's NIH Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) grant to study environmental influences of overweight and obesity among African American adolescent girls.

Posted by mfahrenz at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Erin Becker, 3-year veteran Tucker Center Program Associate and graduate student in sport & exercise psychology, now working for Health Fitness Incorporation, has successfully defended her Masters thesis entitled "Gender Regimes in a Youth Soccer Organization: Homologous Reproduction and Marginalization of Female Coaches." Please join us in congratulating Erin. We will miss her very much.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alicia Johnson, a senior Exercise Science major at Minnesota State University Mankato, will be interning with the Tucker Center this summer. Johnson will be working on various projects in sport media research with Associate Director Nicole LaVoi. Johnson is an advisee of Dr. Cindra Kamphoff.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kelli Blankenship, a 2009 McNair Scholar and member of the U of M Women's Hockey Team, will be working this summer in the Tucker Center with mentor and Associate Director Nicole LaVoi. Blankenship will be examining the emotional experiences of youth sport parents.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As part of its celebration of Gay Pride Week, the Walker Arts Center has invited Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, to give a post-screening critique of the must-see new documentary Training Rules. Professor Kane—an internationally recognized scholar in the field of sport and gender—will also lead what promises to be a lively Q&A discussion with the audience on this groundbreaking film which explores the impact of homophobia in women's sports. Oscar-nominated director Dee Mosbacher's (Straight from the Heart) documentary focuses on student-athlete Jennifer Harris's 2006 lawsuit against Penn State University and women's basketball coach Rene Portland, who had three strict training rules during her 26-year tenure—no drinking, no drugs, and no lesbians. The event takes place on Wednesday, June 24, at 7:00 p.m. at the Walker Arts Center's Cinema auditorium and lecture hall. Tickets are $6 for Walker members and $8 for the general public.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the NASSM conference in Columbia, SC, last week, Stephen Ross, Ph.D., presented several papers along with Lisa Kihl, Ph.D., Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D., Eric Brownlee, Ph.D., and doctoral candidate Heather Maxwell and doctoral student Clinton Warren. The University of Minnesota was well represented at the conference by current faculty and students as well as former students (Pat Walsh, Ph.D. 2008; Jina Bang, Ph.D. 2007; and James Chien, Ph.D. 2006).

Posted by mfahrenz at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Austin Stair Calhoun and Emily J. Houghton, Ph.D. students in sport sociology, presented at the sixth Conference of the European Association for Sociology of Sport (EASS), held in Rome from May 27-31. Their presentation was entitled, Examining Elite Sport Representations in Social Media: Conceptualizing Twitter. The exploratory study focused on the relationship between Twitter and sport.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, has been elected as the next president of The American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education (AAKPE), and will serve a 3-year term on the executive board. AAKPE is an honorary organization composed of Fellows who have made significant contributions to the field of kinesiology. To be inducted into membership, a person must meet rigorous criteria for scholarship and professional service. The dual purpose of AAKPE is to encourage and promote the study and educational applications of the art and science of human movement and physical activity and to honor by election to its membership persons who have contributed significantly to the study and application of the art and science of human movement and physical activity.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Erin Becker, Tucker Center Program Associate and graduate student in sport & exercise psychology, will start a new job as a Health Coach with Health Fitness Corporation. Congratulations!

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi and Chelsey Thul participated in the first ever Cedar Riverside Faculty Development Workshop on Thursday, May 21 due to their work with East African girls and physical activity. The workshop was a collaborative venture among the University of Minnesota, Augsburg College and the College of St. Catherine.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Katie Anderson, M.A. candidate in Kinesiology, has been awarded the 2009 Eloise M. Jaeger Scholarship for Students at the Tucker Center. Anderson's research interests focus on youth physical activity and sedentary behaviors.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., associate professor in Kinesiology, will be speaking at the Minnesota Athletic Trainers' Association Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium in St. Cloud on May 16. Her talk is on "Using effective interaction skills in sports medicine practice."

Wiese-Bjornstal also will have an article published based on her presentation at the NCAA Scholarly Colloquium in Washington D.C., January 2009: Wiese-Bjornstal, D.M. (in press). Sport injury and college athlete health across the lifespan. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport.

Posted by mfahrenz at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center, was featured on Dave Zirin's XM radio show, The Edge of Sports, responding to the question "does sex sell women's sport?"

Zirin was Press Action's 2005 and 2006 Sportswriter of the Year and writes about sports for the Nation Magazine, is a columnist for SLAM Magazine, the Progressive, and a regular op-ed writer for the Los Angeles Times.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D., lecturer in Kinesiology and associate director of the Tucker Center, will give a talk to the St. Cloud chapter of the AAUW on Tuesday, May 12. She will discuss research findings from the 2007 Tucker Center Research Report, "Developing Physically Active Girls." For more information on the event, see the article in sctimes.com .

Posted by mfahrenz at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Beth Lewis, Ph.D., assistant professor in Kinesiology, has been awarded an NIH grant for her proposal entitled "Efficacy of an Exercise Intervention for the Prevention of PostPartum Depression." The grant is for $389,000 over two years.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tommy Valentini, doctoral student in sport and exercise psychology and advisee of Nicole LaVoi, Tucker Center associate director, will be the Head Men's Tennis Coach at Gustavus Adolphus College starting fall of 2009. Valentini will take the helm from Steve Wilkinson who is retiring from coaching after 39 years. Valentini will also help run the popular Tennis & Life Camps at Gustavus. Congratulations!

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daheia Barr-Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor in Kinesiology, has had her manuscript "Parental report vs. child perception of familial support: which is more associated with child physical activity and television use?" accepted by the Journal of Physical Activity & Health. Publication date is pending.

Posted by mfahrenz at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Star Tribune sports columnist Rachel Blount interviewed Kinesiology lecturer Nicole LaVoi Ph.D. for the article Studies blow the whistle on lack of women coaches." Blount also mentioned tomorrow's Tucker Center Spring Distinguished Lecture by Michael Messner, Ph.D., University of Southern California professor of sociology and gender studies. Professor Messner will be treating the issue in his lecture, You Gotta Be Tough: Challenges and Strategies of Female Coaches in Youth Sports.

Posted by mfahrenz at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, associate director of the Tucker Center, spoke to members of the Prior Lake Rotary Club on April 15 on behalf of the U of M Alumni Association. LaVoi's talk focused on the work of the Tucker Center including her sport parent research and barriers that prevent girls from being physically active.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 3:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center, will give an invited presentation titled "Media Representations of Sportswomen in the 21st Century" at the NCAA-sponsored Gender Equity & Issues Forum in San Diego, CA on April 27.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chelsey Thul, research assistant in Kinesiology, gave a workshop titled Reducing Physical Inactivity and Promoting Active Living: From the Voices of East African Adolescent Girls on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at the 2009 Girls Coalition of Minnesota's Annual Conference.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, associate director of the Tucker Center, was quoted in a Star Tribune article "Tomboys in Tutus" on April 10, 2009. LaVoi suggests, "A term like 'tomboy' limits a range of behaviors for both boys and girls."

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport in the School of Kinesiology, published an article in the April issue of Minnesota Health Care News titled, Motivating girls to be physically active: Ingredients for optimizing health benefits. Practical strategies for meeting this goal were couched within the acronym CARE—develop Competence, provide opportunity for Autonomy or choice, promote positive adult and peer Relationships, and maximize Enjoyment and minimize anxiety.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, associate director of the Tucker Center, returned to Carleton College to give an invited workshop to student-athletes, coaches and community members titled Mental Toughness Training for Peak Performance.

The workshop was paid in part by a grant from the NCAA. LaVoi was Carleton's Assistant Women's Tennis Coach (1991-1993) before becoming the Head Coach at Wellesley College in 1994.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michael Messner, the Tucker Center's Spring 2009 Distinguished Lecturer, recently published an op-ed, "Let's have more crying in baseball," in the Pasadena Star-News.

A University of Southern California professor of sociology and gender studies, Messner's presentation, titled "You Gotta Be Tough": Challenges and Strategies of Female Coaches in Youth Sports, is based in part on his just-published book It's All For the Kids: Gender, Families, and Youth Sports. The lecture will take place on April 22 from 7-9:00 pm at the Hubert H. Humphrey Center on the U of M's West Bank.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Several members of the School of Kinesiology and the Tucker Center participated in this year's College of Education and Human Development Research Day poster displays on March 24.

Continue reading "Kinesiology faculty and students at CEHD Research Day" »

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jo Ann Buysse, Ph.D., education specialist in the School of Kinesiology, is featured in a Star Tribune article for her volunteer work with The Melpomene Institute for Women's Health Research and the Brian Coyle Community Center in the Cedar-Riverside Neighborhood where each Sunday she works with Somali high school and college girls on their basketball skills. Buysse is a former collegiate women's basketball coach and now directs the undergraduate Sports Management Program at the U of MN.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Austin Calhoun, Ph.D. student and Tucker Center research assistant, presented a poster, "Examining Online Intercollegiate Head Coaches' Biographies: Reproducing or Challenging Heteronormativity and Heterosexism?" [abstract | poster] at the Sport, Sexuality, and Culture Conference, in Ithaca, NY, March 18-20, 2009. The poster was done in collaboration with Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D., lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and Associate Director of the Tucker Center.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tucker Center Associate Director Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, with colleague Elizabeth Daniels (Visiting Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon), will co-author a chapter in the forthcoming book The Sexualization of Girls, published by the American Psychological Association. Their chapter will be titled, "The Solution and Problem: Sports Participation for Girls and The Sexualization of Women Athletes".

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in a New York Times article "Putting a Price on a Title Run Stirs a Debate." The article talks about Oklahoma women's basketball all-American Courtney Paris' statement saying she would repay her scholarship in full if her team failed to win a national championship this year.

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jo Ann Buysse, Ph.D., was featured on an MPR segment March 19. She volunteers each Sunday to work with a group of Somali high school and college women who get together to play basketball at the Brian Coyle Center in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Pictures, along with more information, are available at Minnesota Public Radio.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tucker Center Associate Director Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, is quoted in a Pioneer Press article titled, "A generation on the sidelines: Why Minnesota kids are leaving school sports behind."

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doctoral student Tommy Valentini will have a chapter titled “Love-Love: A Fresh Start at Finding Value and Virtue in Tennis” in the soon-to-be-released book Tennis and Philosophy. The book is part of the Philosophy and Popular Culture series published by the University Press of Kentucky. Valentini’s chapter discusses the potential of sport to contribute to athlete moral development and the importance of a philosophy that prioritizes winning below other aspects of competition that are within an athlete’s control—namely effort, sportsmanship, and positive attitude. Valentini is advised by Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D, Associate Director of the Tucker Center.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport in the School of Kinesiology, gave the keynote presentation for the First Annual Girls in Sport Symposium, sponsored by the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The title of her presentation was, “Promoting a ‘love of the game:’ Optimizing girls’ physical, social, and psychological assets through physical activity.” Weiss will also give a keynote presentation at the annual conference of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) in April titled, “Caring, compassionate, competent: Coaching for positive youth development through sport.”

Posted by Jonathan Sweet at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director of the School of Kinesiology and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, will be a presenter at a So You Have an Interdisciplinary Center? What's Next? on April 13. The workshop will focus on challenges of sustaining established and successful interdisciplinary centers at the University. Dr. Kane will share insights on her experience as director of the internationally recognized Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jill Haom, kinesiology B.S. student, has been awarded the Diversity of Views and Experience (DOVE) Fellowship for 2009-2010. Jill will be entering the M.A. in Kinesiology with emphasis on sport and exercise psychology next fall. She will be working with Daheia Barr-Anderson, Ph.D., assistant professor in Kinesiology. Jill worked last summer with Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D., associate director of the Tucker Center as a Minnesota McNair Scholar, where she participated in the project, "The Physical Activity of East African Girls," and presented a poster on perceived barriers to physical activity.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., director of the School of Kinesiology and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, was recently quoted in "The Selling of Candace Parker", a feature story from ESPN: The Magazine.

Kane is quoted as saying, "Women athletes are more likely to be marketed as sexy than as competent."

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D., gave a hockey parent workshop on March 7, 2009 held in conjunction with a girls' hockey clinic. The first-ever clinic and parent workshop was done in conjunction with the WCHA Women's Hockey Tournament, organized by the U of M Sport Business Institute.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., will travel to Algeria February 17-27th as part of the Unity Through Sport (USPORT) exchange with youth basketball coaches and athletes to present talks on motivation and mental skills.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jo Ann Buysse, Ph.D., recently gave a talk titled Framing the Female Athlete: Media Constructions of Gender in Photographs to the White Bear Lake chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

University of Minnesota sport management M.Ed. student and three-time hockey Olympian Angela Ruggiero appeared on NBC's Today Show this morning promoting the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The video of Angela's appearance is available online at MSNBC.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A presentation by Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., and Nicole LaVoi, PhD., on Physical Activity as a Context for Youth Development  is now available online. To view their lecture, visit the University of Minnesota's Extension website.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport in the School of Kinesiology, recently published two research articles that are referenced as follows:

Weiss, M.R. (2008). "Field of Dreams" Sport as a context for youth development. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 79, 434-439.

Stuntz, C.P., & Weiss, M.R. (2009). Achievement goal orientations and motivational outcomes in youth sport: The role of social orientations. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10, 255-262.

Posted by mfahrenz at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nicole LaVoi Ph.D., associate director of the Tucker Center, will deliver two separate coach workshops on "The Psychology of Coaching: Effective Motivational Strategies" in February, one to the Minnesota State Softball and another to the Synchronized Swimming Coaches Associations.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The state of Minnesota will celebrate the 23rd annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day on February 4, 2009 at noon with a program in the Rotunda of the State Capitol. There are also a number of events being hosted by the University of Minnesota on Monday, February 2 -- including a youth clinic and a companion parent clinic titled "Developing Physically Active Girls" delivered by the Tucker Center.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., associate professor in Kinesiology, has been appointed to the 2009 Science Board of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Executive Director Melissa Johnson wrote, "Dr. Wiese-Bjornstal was selected to serve on this board due to the significant contributions she has made to the research and science of physical activity, fitness, and health. The PCPFS staff and council members look to this board for recommendations in the areas of program development and evaluation."

Posted by mfahrenz at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 2009 NCAA Scholarly Colloquium will take place January 13-14 during the annual NCAA convention in Washington, DC. The theme for the colloquium is, "Paying the Price: Is Excellence in Sport Compatible with Good Health?" Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, has co-organized this second annual colloquium. An article featuring the colloquium appears in The NCAA News.

Posted by John Brian Becker at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out Ashoka’s Changemakers in GameChangers: Change the Game for Women in Sport, a search to identify the best sport innovations that challenge the barriers girls and women face around the world. Visit the Changemakers' website to submit entries, collaborate on ideas, and learn more about the coalition of extraordinary individuals uniting to bring about change. Submit your entry by February 11, 2009 here to take advantage of the funding opportunities and global exposure, while contributing to the next big change!

Posted by John Brian Becker at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, housed in the School of Kinesiology, is featured in this week's edition of the U of M News Wire.

U of M’s One-of-a-kind Tucker Center promotes research around females in sport
U of M News Wire (Minn.) Dec. 11, 2008

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Calhoun and LaVoi's Abstract Accepted to Sport, Sexuality, and Culture Conference

Austin Calhoun, PhD student and Tucker Center Research Assistant, and Dr. Nicole LaVoi, Associate Director of the Tucker Center, were accepted to present a poster at the Sport, Sexuality, and Culture Conference to be held March 18-20, 2009 in Ithaca, N.Y. The research is titled Examining Online Intercollegiate Head Coaches' Biographies: Reproducing or Challenging Heteronormativity and Heterosexism?.

Posted by Austin Stair Calhoun at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, and David Goodman, professor of kinesiology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., received a $90,000 grant over three years from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Continue reading "Weiss awarded three-year grant" »

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The School of Kinesiology and the Tucker Center are highly visible in the current issue of the University's Wellness Works magazine. Beth Lewis Ph.D., associate professor in Kinesiology has the feature article on pages 3-5 and Maureen Weiss Ph.D., The First Tee project is featured on page 21. In addition, Weiss is featured as a "Face of Wellness" on page 8.

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Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor and co-director of the Tucker Center in the School of Kinesiology, gave a research lecture—the Margaret Jo Safrit Lecture in Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on October 3, 2008.

Continue reading "Weiss gives Margaret Jo Safrit Lecture" »

Posted by Anitra Budd at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jens Omli, Kinesiology Ph.D. candidate, and Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D., associate director of The Tucker Center, have had their manuscript, "The perfect storm: Background anger in youth sports" accepted for publication in the Journal of Sport Behavior. Expected publication date is early 2009.

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