Tucker Center Scholars to Present at NASSS
November 4, 2009

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.

LaVoi to give WeCoach workshop
October 21, 2009

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.

CEHD Connect Features School of Kinesiology
October 19, 2009

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.

LaVoi, Calhoun publish research results
October 16, 2009

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.

LaVoi & Blankenship featured on UMN home page
October 6, 2009

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.

LaVoi in LeaderVoice guest column in Minnesota Women's Press
October 1, 2009

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".