Sport Studies Faculty
Stephen Hardy, Ph.D.
Option Coordinator, 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.
Karen Collins, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Karen Collins, Ph.D., Assistant 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.
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 .
Jerry Solomon
Jerry Solomon has been one of America 's top sports marketing executives for more than 20 years. His career has covered a wide gamut of areas, including athlete manager, special events director, live event producer and corporate ceo.
Following his graduation from Columbia University with a Masters degree in International Business in 1978, Jerry was recruited by the Colgate-Palmolive Company to serve as its liaison to the men's and women's professional tennis tours.
Two years later, he joined ProServ in Washington , DC , where - - for the next 15 years - - he helped manage and direct one of the world's largest sports marketing and management companies. From 1980-85, Jerry served as director of the men's worldwide Volvo Grand Prix tennis circuit; while, on the corporate side, he rose to the position of ProServ sr. vice president. Jerry was named chief operating officer and a member of the board of directors of ProServ in 1987, and in 1990 was elected president. In 1992, he added the title of president of ProServ Publishing Company to his resume.
Jerry left ProServ in 1995 and moved to Boston to launch StarGames, a full-service sports and entertainment marketing, management and production agency. Over the past five years, he has served as executive director & ceo of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (1995-97); and creator and executive producer of several live figure skating shows, among other endeavors.
Jerry, who married skater Nancy Kerrigan in 1995, has been named one of the "Top 100 Most Powerful People in Sports" by The Sporting News; one of the "Top 25 Most Influential People in Figure Skating" by Figure Skating International magazine; and is responsible for helping to found the Karch Kiraly Scholarship Fund, the KidSport Foundation and the Nancy Kerrigan Foundation.