Welcome to the Center for Sport Policy and Conduct (CSPC)! The ultimate mission of CSPC is to raise a discussion of and solution for incidents in sport that deal with violence and its consequences. Research findings, case studies, and discussion are included within the center’s website. Our main goal is to provide articles, blogs, and helpful tips about causes and solutions that improve the overall management of sport for all ages and cultures. While the center addresses sport management for all ages and types of sport participation, it is also a designated Champion of the National Youth Sport Strategy which has been developed through the United State Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Jamieson is a retired professor from Indiana University School of Public Health, where she spent 25 years as a professor, Chair and Assistant Chair in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies (now Health and Wellness Design). She taught administration, tourism, recreational sports, and research courses while at IU. Previously, Lynn was a professor and Coordinator of the Recreation Administration Program at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California for 13 years, and prior to that was a recreation and park administrator in Johnson County, Kansas, San Diego, California, and Corpus Christi, Texas.
Her coaching experiences began with an age-group swim program out of Santa Ynez Valley, California. She also served as assistant coach to the Corpus Christi Aquatic Club, and she started the Santa Fe Trail Blazer team and aquatic program while at Johnson County, Kansas and hired the team’s first coach. That team grew to be a 4-county aquatic program known as the Kansas City Blazers. While at Indiana University for graduate work, she became acquainted with Doc Counsilman and worked with him in his summer swim clinic. She holds an undergraduate degree from Muskingum University, and gained from Indiana University a masters degree in physical education, another in recreation, and a Doctorate in Recreation.
Lynn developed the first course in sport and violence in 2000 and is completing a nationwide survey of sport organizations regarding the awareness sport organization administrators have of violence within their sport area. During her career, she has co-authored 8 textbooks, 0ver 70 research articles, and over 100 presentations on a variety of research topics including management of sport and leisure, tourism, research, and related topics. She also has studied government policy of sport and leisure in over 20 countries. She is married to Stephen Wolter, and has two adult children: Byron and Ben.
Although the terms violence and aggression are often used interchangeably, there are some distinctions that can be made between them. Violence can be seen as a form of physical assault based on an intent to injure another person or destroy the property of others. To continue this definition, “violence in sport violates the norms and rules of the contest, threatens lives and property, and usually cannot be anticipated by the persons affected” (Smith, 1983, p. 6).
Director: Dr. Lynn Jamieson
Thomas Orr is a professor of Sport Management at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Orr had served as the department head for Health, Physical Education, and Coaching (HPE) since 2014 and as the professor for Sport Marketing and Administration since 2011.
At Northern State University, he was a visiting professor for Indiana University and a research associate for the Center on Sport Policy and Conduct. He has had extensive experience as a player, official, supervisor, coach, and sport administrator in numerous sports. Orr was the assistant intramural director for the University of North Dakota athletic department, where he also completed his BA in history with minors in recreation and leisure services, economics, and athletic coaching.
As a hockey player, he competed in the Canadian Junior Hockey League before playing college hockey for the Hoosiers. After playing several seasons for Indiana, he joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach and helped lead the team to a national title game. After being selected as a coach for the ACHA Division 1 all-star game in only his second season as head coach and fifth season coaching for the cream and crimson, Dr. Orr moved to Northern to join the faculty as a tenure-track professor and coach the youth teams of his five children. His accomplishments were highlighted when awarded the Society for Health and Physical Educators South Dakota Professor of the Year award in 2018.
Coach Orr is a director for Pro Ambitions hockey and leads several Midwest youth camps for the Boston Bruins. He has experience coaching for two high school hockey teams and the 24-time North Dakota state champion Grand Forks Central Knights. More recently, he has been a volunteer coach for Jamestown, North Dakota, and Aberdeen, South Dakota, Youth Hockey teams as a USA Hockey Level 5 coach.
He has also spent six consecutive summers accruing over two years of total experience working as a correctional officer in the North Dakota State Prison, where he observed a wide variety of violence, often related to inmates’ leisure time. Dr. Orr has established his own company, HockeyPhD, with the intention of improving the sport of hockey by sharing smart solutions with others by using his expertise related to youth development and coaching.
Associate Director: Dr. Thomas J. Orr