Sport Studies Faculty
Karen Collins, Ph.D.
Option Coordinator, Associate Professor
Karen Collins, Ph.D., Associate Professor (Athletic Administration, Principles of Coaching, Social Issues in Sport) joined the UNH faculty in the fall of 2002. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina Greensboro (2002) with a specialization in Sport Psychology. Her research focuses primarily on social issues in coaching and coaching education. She was a former collegiate coach at Princeton University, UNH and Dartmouth College. Additionally, Dr. Collins has worked as a developmental program administrator for the USFHA. Dr. Collins brings the combination of her academic preparation in sport psychology with a great deal of sport experience to the Sport Studies Program at UNH.
Stephen Hardy, Ph.D.
Professor
Stephen Hardy, Ph.D., is Professor of Kinesiology and Coordinator of the Sport Studies Program at the University of New Hampshire, where he is also an affiliate Professor of History. At UNH since 1988, he serves as Faculty Representative to the NCAA and chairs the President’s Athletics Advisory Committee. In 2003-2004, he served as Interim Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies. He is a founder of the Charles Holt Archives of American Hockey, which are located at UNH’s Dimond Library.
He has also taught at the University of Massachusetts (where he earned his Ph.D.), the University of Washington, Robert Morris College, and Carnegie Mellon University. Over three decades, he has taught courses in sport marketing, athletic administration, and sport history, as well as a popular introduction to the sport industry. In 2006, he developed a new “Inquiry” course for first-year students entitled “Coolest Game? Hockey and History.”
His publications include How Boston Played (1982, 2003), Sport Marketing (1993,2000), and numerous articles, book chapters, and reviews in academic presses, several of which address early hockey in America. His reviews and opinions have also appeared in popular outlets such as the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Sports Business Journal. From 1995-1999, he was co-editor of the Sport Marketing Quarterly. In 1997, he was elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. In May 2001, he won the “Lifetime Research Award” from UNH’s College of Health and Human Services.
He has extensive experience in college athletics. He played hockey for Bowdoin College in the late 1960s and co-captained the 1969-70 team with his twin brother, Erl. After coaching stints at Vermont Academy and Amherst College, he joined the Eastern College Athletic Conference in 1976, where he served as Assistant Commissioner and Hockey Supervisor until 1979. During this time, he supervised collegiate championships in venues such as the Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden, and worked closely with the NCAA Ice Hockey Committee and its affiliated championships. He served on the Board of Directors of the America East athletics conference from 2000-2002. In 2003, he was selected by the Hockey East Association as one of twenty “special friends” to celebrate the leagues 20th anniversary.
Heather Barber, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Heather Barber, Ph.D., Associate Professor (Sport Psychology, Research Methods) and department chair, joined the UNH faculty in 1993. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon (1992). Dr. Barber specializes in sport psychology and her research centers on motivation, and girls and women s participation in sport. An AAASP certified consultant, member of the USOC Registry of Sport Psychologists, team psychologists for various UNH sports teams and a former coach at Wellesley College, Dr. Barber brings a wealth of experience in sport psychology to the graduate program.
Tim Ashwell, Ph. D.
Sr. Lecturer
Tim Ashwell, Ph.D., Sr. Lecturer (Sport History, Media Relations, Sport Industry) has taught at UNH since 1998. He earned his doctorate in Twentieth Century U.S. political history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1994 and previously taught in the history and sport management programs at UMass and the sport management program at Iowa State University. Ashwell was a print and broadcast journalist and radio and television sports broadcaster in Massachusetts and Virginia before turning to teaching and is active in media relations and new media in New Hampshire.
Scott Taylor
Scott Taylor, president of the Taylor Research & Consulting Group of Portsmouth, is a leader in providing qualitative and quantitative opinion and market research services to business organizations around the world. The Taylor Group is known for combining rigorous data analysis with cutting edge management techniques and counts among its clients Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association and ESPN. Dr. Taylor earned his Ph.D. in political science from Rutgers where he was associate director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics Center for Survey Research. He was also affiliated with the Lou Harris polling organization and taught at Clark University while serving as associate director of Clark’s Public Affairs Research Center.
Peter Carlisle
Peter Carlisle is the Director of Octagon's Action Sports and Olympics Division, overseeing contract negotiating and endorsement opportunities. Carlisle represents many of the leading action sports/Olympic athletes, including 2002 Winter Olympic snowboarding gold medalists Kelly Clark and Ross Powers, silver medalist Danny Kass and bronze medalist Chris Klug. Outside of snowboarding, Carlisle represents freestyle skier Hannah Hardaway, kayaker Eric Jackson, mountain biker Tara Llanes, swimmers Lenny Krayzelburg and Michael Phelps, and skateboarder Biker Sherlock. On the marketing front, Carlisle has created national partnerships for his clients with corporations like Coca- Cola, Gateway, AT&T, Office Depot, Nokia, and Dannon. In 1997, he created Carlisle Sports Management, a sports agency specifically focused on the representation of action sports athletes. The company merged with Octagon in 2001. A graduate of Bates College, Carlisle participated in both varsity tennis and hockey. He later attended law school at the University of Maine, where he earned his J.D. Upon graduation, he started work in a traditional law firm. He remains of counsel to the law firm of Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau, Pachios and Haley. Recognized as a leading sports marketing expert in the industry, Carlisle has appeared on NBC's “Today Show”, MSNBC's “News with Brian Williams” and CNBC. He is interviewed often in the Wall Street Journal , USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and SportsBusiness Journal .