American golfer Tiger Woods (left) and University of Tennessee basketball player Candace Parker (below) were named the Academy’s Male and Female Athletes of the Month for March.

During the month of March, Woods made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by one shot, extending his PGA Tour winning streak to five. The win was his 64th career victory and moved him into a tie with Ben Hogan at No. 3 on the PGA Tour’s career list.

Meanwhile, Parker led the Lady Vols on another impressive march to the NCAA Final Four. She scored 28 points to lead Tennessee past rival Louisiana State in the SEC championship game. She was the only unanimous choice for the NCAA All-American first team. On the season, Parker averaged 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the Lady Vols to a 30-2 record. To reach the regional finals, Parker scored 34 points and grabbed 13 boards to help Tennessee beat Notre Dame.

Faulkner State Community College (FSCC) and the Academy signed an agreement this week that paves the way for the Baldwin County, Ala., schools to develop two academic programs.

The agreement expands the Academy’s Associate’s-to-Bachelor’s program to FSCC, and it initiates development at the Academy of a bachelor’s-level academic emphasis in golf that will complement FSCC’s program in golf course/turf management.

The agreement on the Associate’s-to-Bachelor’s program will provide students the opportunity to complete an associate’s degree at FSCC and then enroll at the Academy with their course work transferred toward a bachelor’s degree.

The bachelor’s with an emphasis in golf is intended to train and educate future golf professionals and coaches of high school or college golf teams. The flexible program can also prepare students to run all aspects of a golf course, including instruction, marketing, merchandising, accounting, and pro shop and course management. The one-of-a-kind baccalaureate degree with an emphasis in golf will become part of the Academy’s current sports coaching and sports management majors.

Academy Associate Dean of Continuing Education Betsy Smith (right) presented Belgian tennis star Justine Henin (left) with the Academy’s Female Athlete of the Year award on 28 March on Center Court at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Henin and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre were named the 2007 Academy Female and Male Athletes of the Year after a worldwide online vote presented by USATODAY.com and MSNBC.com.

Henin completed a year in which she lost only four of 67 singles matches. She won 10 tournament titles in 2007,z including two majors, making the 25-year-old Belgian the first player since Martina Hingis in 1997 to record double-digit victories in a season. Henin became the first woman to pass $5 million in season earnings.

Academy Vice President Dr. T. J. Rosandich (right) and Ali Hassan Al Shenasi (left) of the Unlimited Sports Academy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, sign an agreement expanding the scope of the U.S. Sports Academy’s educational presence in the UAE. Al Shenasi is the chairman representative of the Dubai organization.

Under their newly signed agreement, the Academy and its partner in Dubai will develop a sport and physical education program for various organizations in the UAE. The two will also work with the UAE’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research toward approval of Academy degree programs in the UAE. Upon approval, the Unlimited Sports Academy will recruit students for the Academy’s online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs.

In January, a first Academy instructor from the U.S. traveled to Dubai to teach in the International Certification in Sports Management (ICSM) program. The ICSM program has since expanded to a second emirate, Abu Dhabi.

The 7th International Seminar for Physical Education Teachers will be held in Vierumäki, Finland, on 3-8 August 2008 and followed by the FIEP (Federation Internacionale d'Education Physique)World Congress on 6–9 August.

“The worst prison is a closed heart.”
— Pope John Paul II