Seeking Peak Performance

Unleash your competitive self by helping others reach their maximum potential.

What separates the program is its focus on practical experience and adaptability. It’s not just about learning concepts, it’s about applying them. The ability to customize my education allowed me to tailor my education to fit a rapidly growing industry.

Ethan Waugh

Class: 2026 Hometown: Morgantown, WV

B.A., Sport Leadership

The faculty within the program actively make time for you and want to get to know you as a person. They don’t see you as just another body going through their program, but as an equal. They make the program what it is, and you feel every day like you matter.

Noah Miller

Class: 2026 Hometown: Winchester, VA

M.S., Physical Education Teacher Education B.S., Physical Education and Kinesiology

Health and Well-Being has prepared me for my next chapter by opening so many new doors and opportunities. What separates this program from others is the professors and staff, and the variety of classes offered.

Kylie Dempsey

Class: 2026 Hometown: Harpers Ferry, WV

B.A., Health and Well-Being; B.A. Dance

Latest News

News and notes from around the School of Sport Sciences.

Gabriel Ray, wearing a white Mountaineer Esports shirt and a black Vans cap, speaks into a studio microphone during a recording session. He is wearing glasses and an over-ear headset. A green screen is visible in the background.

Ray slides passion for sports into esports to launch career

Thursday, June 04, 2026

Like a lot of kids growing up, Gabriel Ray loved sports. He played basketball and track at Parkersburg High and loved competing in something that matters.

Professional wrestlers compete in a WWF ring during a match in front of a packed arena crowd, with one masked wrestler being slammed to the mat.

From WVU Stories: 'What If'

Monday, June 01, 2026

Long before he became known to wrestling fans around the world as Demolition Ax, Bill Eadie was a student-athlete at West Virginia University — a standout track and field competitor who built his future on grit, curiosity and a willingness to chase the “what if.” The chase led Eadie, a 1968 WVU graduate in physical education, to legendary pro wrestling status April 17 when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

Three male students compete at gaming stations inside a WVU esports facility. All three wear headsets with boom microphones. The student in the foreground wears a WVU hoodie and a dark baseball cap and smiles while focused on his Alienware monitor. Two te

WVU launches online bachelor's degree in Esports Business and Entertainment

Thursday, May 28, 2026

West Virginia University has launched an online Bachelor of Arts in Esports Business and Entertainment through the College of Applied Human Sciences, expanding access to a career-focused program in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global entertainment industry.

Ethan Waugh competes in a WVU esports jersey, wearing a headset and glasses, focused on a monitor in a dimly lit gaming arena with green ambient lighting.

Waugh uses Sports Leadership degree to chart a course in esports

Saturday, May 02, 2026

Ethan Waugh grew up in Morgantown, which made choosing WVU easy. What took more thought, though, was figuring out how to turn his passion for esports into a career. The Sport Leadership program gave him that framework, and he further molded his path with minors in Esports Management and Strategic Social Media. While completing his degree fully online, Waugh worked full-time at a sports complex and competed on the WVU Esports team, making multiple NACE playoff runs along the way. He graduates this spring with his sights set on a full-time role in esports operations.

Read more stories about the School of Sport Sciences.

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