Activate your career in physical education and sport studies.
Turn your passion for sports and physical activity into a lifelong career with the sport studies major at Bethany College.
Courses highlight concepts from training techniques and skill development, to kinesiology, sports marketing, athletic administration, facilities management, and treatments for athletic injuries. An intentional team of encouraging faculty provide an engaging learning environment designed to equip you for a career in coaching, sport management, athletic training, and beyond.
At Bethany, you will have on-campus experience(s) in sport management and administration—as well as an off-campus internship—built into your degree program.
Areas of Study
- Sport Studies (Major)
- Concentrations in:
- Sport Management
- Pre-Sports Medicine
Why Bethany
Careers in Physical Education
- Athletic Director
- Camp Director
- Coach
- Community Sports Director
- Corporate Wellness Specialist
- Events Coordinator
- Facilities Director
- Health Researcher
- Nutritionist
- Personal Trainer
- Player Agent
- Professional Sports Scout
- Recreation Center Manager
- Referee/Umpire
- Sports Information Director
- Sports Marketing Specialist
- Sports Statistician
- Tournament Director
Alumni Outcomes
John Symanski
Physical Education | 1979
Cardiologist at Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute
Charlotte, North Carolina
“My journey has been a long, and somewhat unconventional path, but incredibly rewarding. After graduating from Bethany with a degree in Physical Education, I pursued a master’s degree in exercise physiology at UNC-Chapel Hill. I became interested in cardiology while working in a cardiac rehabilitation program and changed course pursuing medical school. I remained in Chapel Hill for the next 8 years completing medical school, internship, residency, and a chief resident year. The final four years of training involved cardiology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I have practiced in Charlotte, NC for the last 25 years. My wife of 42 years, Paula, has been my steady support, yet the Bethany years set the foundation.”
Alumni Outcomes
Todd McGuinness
Physical Education | 2002
Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
“Bethany College helped point me in the direction of coaching. The PE classes I took helped shape what I wanted to do as an educator and coach for my future career as PE Faculty member and Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Case Western Reserve University.”
Alumni Outcomes
Joey Subasic
Physical Education |2019
School Principal, Coach and Referee
Wheeling, WV
“Upon graduating high school I, like many students seeking a higher education, was unsure of what I wanted to “be when I grew up”. I attended another local University that left me feeling unfulfilled and looking for more of an experience as opposed to just getting an education. I sought out transfer to Bethany to become a member of the football team. Bethany allowed for me the opportunity to meet new people, participate in athletics, and become a member of the campus community almost immediately. After my first semester I took leadership roles on campus as an RA and director of music with the radio station. I then started to learn more about Greek life and joined a fraternity, something I never saw myself doing before coming to Bethany. The Greek system at Bethany again allowed for leadership roles, networking with alums, and further shaping the person Bethany helped me become. Upon enrolling in Bethany I undertook education as my major, again something I never saw myself doing upon graduating high school, and thrived under the leadership within the education department. Prior to then becoming a member of the physical education department I saw the art of physical education as “teaching gym”. The through instruction I received while in the education and physical education departments help reform that thinking and showed me a pathway to becoming a professional educator. Upon graduating I accepted a teaching position as a special education teacher, my minor, began coaching, and perused my administration degree. I have since been a coach at the high school and collegiate level, a referee, and now the head principal of a PK-8 school in Wheeling, WV. Aside from the personal and professional growth Bethany afforded me Bethany is also the place where I first met my wife and was the start to creating our family. Bethany will always be a special place for us and I can’t thank the professors, classmates, brothers, and campus for sending me down a path towards success.”
Meet the Faculty
Chelsey M. Fletcher
Assistant Professor of Physical Education, Chair
Ph.D., Instructional Management and Leadership, Robert Morris University
M.A., West Virginia University
B.A., Muskingum University
304-829-7182
cfletcher@bethanywv.edu
Janice L. Forsty
Professor Emeritus of Physical Education
M.S., Slippery Rock University, 1989
B.S., Slippery Rock State College, 1975
jforsty@bethanywv.edu
Melissa Hudson
Visiting Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Sport Studies
304-829-7251
mhudson@bethanywv.edu
Courtney J. Kline
Assistant Professor of Physical Education
M.S., California University of Pennsylvania
B.A., Cedarville University
304-829-6175
ckline@bethanywv.edu
John J. McGowan
Professor Emeritus of Physical Education
M.S., Physical Education, Springfield College, 1979
B.S., Mathematics, Manhattan College, 1972
jmcgowan@bethanywv.edu
Steven A. Upton
Assistant Professor of Physical Education
M.B.A., West Virginia Wesleyan College
B.S., West Virginia Institute of Technology
304-829-7247
aupton@bethanywv.edu
Physical Education & Sport Studies Courses
Engage in courses that combine your passion for physical activity with knowledge, theories, and skills. At Bethany, you’ll benefit from expertly crafted courses that will uniquely prepare you for your lifelong career.
Your courses may include:
- PHED 175 Introduction to Teaching Physical Activities
Examines factors essential to the systematic teaching of physical activities. Course work focuses on writing about key pedagogical issues that impact the teaching and learning environment. - PHED 180 Introduction to Sports Medicine
Provides basic insight into prevention and treatment strategies of athletic injuries. Students participate in activities that include taping, wrapping, wound care, vitals, emergency care, and environmental hazard identification. - PHED 243 Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology
Studies small sports groups as micro-social systems under the application of group dynamics theory. Students investigate the influence of group members’ characteristics, environmental factors, interpersonal relations, and group structural characteristics on an individual member’s adjustment and the effectiveness of the group. - PHED 326 Kinesiology 3 credits
Examines anatomy and mechanics as applied in the study of the human body during physical exercise, with a special emphasis on the analysis of motion in specific sports skills and exercise patterns. - PHED 337 Organization and Administration of Physical Activities
Emphasizes the underlying philosophy for the organization, structure, administrative policies and procedures, legal aspects, and facility management of physical education, intramurals, and competitive athletics programs.
Internship Opportunities
An internship within your future professional field will allow you to develop skills in communication, leadership, physical activity, management, and more. It also provides a great opportunity to explore the many career paths available to you as a physical education and sport studies major.
Curious what internship settings are out there for physical education and sport studies majors? Check out some examples.
- Athletic Training Facility
- College Athletic Department
- Community Recreation Center
- Dance Studio
- Gym/Fitness Facility
- Physical Therapy Office
- Professional Athletic Team
- Recreation Camp
- Youth Sports Club