UA Grad Students Prep Team USA for Beijing

By Jen Hale

Published: July 19, 2008

The United States Olympic Committee is borrowing some brain power from Alabama: six sports management graduate students are now at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, helping Team USA gear up for the upcoming games in Beijing. 

The U.S.O.C. is sending about 40% of its staff to Beijing, so that leaves some some big jobs to be done here at home.

“What these students are able to do is step into positions of high prestige and of value. They’re helping all Olympians from the athletes to the coaches to the athletic trainers” explains Dr. Ken Wright, a sports management professor at the University of Alabama.

This is a new experience for the U.S. Olympic Committee to ask university graduate students to help at this high of a level.

“This experience with the Beijing Fellowship is the first time the International Olympic Committee and the U.S.O.C. especially has invited institutions to participate. (The University of) Alabama is the first institution to send a collection of students to work with them. We’re very honored they came to Alabama to pick our students,” says Wright.