NATIONAL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES 2025 CAREER AND SERVICE AWARDS

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is proud to announce the recipients of the organization’s 2025 Career and Service Awards. Given annually, the distinguished Career Awards honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the strength and conditioning community throughout their careers. Additionally, the Service Awards recognize those who have provided exceptional dedication and support to the NSCA’s journals or State and Provincial Director Program. Each winner will be formally recognized at the 2025 NSCA National Conference in Kansas City, MO, on July 16–19.

Since 1993, the Boyd Epley Award for NSCA Lifetime Contributions has honored individuals who have exhibited historical impact, achievements, and dedication to the NSCA over the course of their careers. Named after Boyd Epley, NSCA’s founder, this award is considered the most prestigious honor an NSCA Member can achieve. The Board of Directors proudly announces 2025 recipient Travis Triplett, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA.

Travis Triplett is a Professor and Program Director of Kinesiology at Appalachian State University. She previously served as NSCA President — the first female to hold this role — and as Secretary-Treasurer during her initial term on the Board of Directors. Dr. Triplett currently serves on the CASCE Board of Directors and as a lead peer reviewer for CASCE accreditation. An active NSCA Member for 37 years, Dr. Triplett was the first female NSCA Fellow, inducted with the inaugural class in 2007. She has served on numerous NSCA committees, including Conference, CSCS® Exam Development, Education, NSCA Fellow Selection, Nomination, Professional Standards and Guidelines, Research, and Women’s Committees, chairing six. She served as Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR) and Assistant Editor-in-Chief for the Strength and Conditioning Journal (SCJ), and co-edited the fourth and fifth editions of Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning.

Dr. Triplett was the first female recipient of the NSCA’s Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator Award and also received the William J. Kraemer Outstanding Sport Scientist Award, JSCR Editorial Excellence Award, and an NSCA Challenge Scholarship. She chaired the "Hot Topics" review committee, co-authored the NSCA’s position statement on Training Female Athletes, and served as a mentor for the NSCA Leadership and Diversity Training Program. Dr. Triplett has reviewed NSCA National Conference abstracts and NSCA Foundation grants and participated in all NSCA Strategic Planning meetings from 2000 to 2021. Additionally, she has authored over 50 NSCA journal publications and delivered more than 80 presentations at state, regional, national, and international events.

In the broader field, Dr. Triplett served on four NASA panels, including one developing resistance exercise countermeasures for microgravity environments aboard the International Space Station. Prior to Appalachian State University, she was the Director of the Strength Centers at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.

Created in 1986, the NSCA Alvin Roy Award for Career Achievement honors Alvin Roy, who helped establish strength and conditioning as the cornerstone of any training program. Roy was one of the first coaches to show that lifting weights would improve both speed and power, and he helped debunk the myth that lifting weights made athletes slower. In light of his legacy, this esteemed award is given to an individual whose career achievements made a substantial impact on the scientific understanding, methodologies, and practice of resistance training as a component of sports conditioning. The Board of Directors is honored to recognize 2025 recipient Jan Todd, PhD.

Professor Jan Todd is Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and Director of the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). She co-founded the Stark Center, a premier research archive and museum dedicated to strength training and physical culture history. Widely recognized as a pioneer in strength sports, Dr. Todd set over 60 national and world powerlifting records, becoming the first woman to officially squat over 500 pounds, deadlift over 400 pounds, and total lifts of 1,000, 1,100, and 1,200 pounds. Her groundbreaking achievements earned coverage in Sports Illustrated and the Guinness Book of World Records for over a decade. She was also the first woman to lift Scotland’s famed Dinnie Stones.

Dr. Todd further advanced women's roles in strength training, becoming America’s first female collegiate strength coach at Auburn University in 1980 and the first woman to coach men’s and women’s national powerlifting teams to international championship victories. Her leadership significantly shaped the early acceptance of women in powerlifting. At UT, Dr. Todd established the PhD Program in Physical Culture and Sport Studies, mentoring over 70 graduate students. She is the executive editor of Iron Game History: The Journal of Physical Culture, has authored over 90 peer-reviewed publications, and co-authored influential books, including Strength Coaching in America in 2019.

Her significant contributions have led to induction into the International Powerlifting Hall of Fame, USA-PL Women's Powerlifting Hall of Fame, and recognition from the Arnold Sports Festival with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Todd continues to actively promote strength sports internationally, directing the Arnold Strongman Classic and organizing global strength competitions.

Awarded since 1997, the NSCA Impact Award highlights an individual who has made significant contributions that have impacted a segment of the overall field of strength and conditioning. The Board of Directors is pleased to acknowledge 2025 recipient Joe Kenn, MA, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E.

In his fourth decade in the field of strength and conditioning, Joe Kenn continues to distinguish himself as an innovator, mentor, and leader. Coach Kenn’s illustrious career spans the private sector, high school, collegiate, and professional ranks. He has been honored as both the NSCA Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year and the NSCA Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, as well as NFL Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, all awards voted on by his peers.

Coach Kenn has represented the NSCA as a State Director for three states and served on numerous NSCA committees and special interest groups. He also earned the Bronze Award from the NSCA Certification Agency. He has presented extensively at NSCA events and published articles in both the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and the Strength and Conditioning Journal. Coach Kenn also authored the highly acclaimed book, The Coach’s Strength Training Playbook, along with several other training manuals.

Currently, Coach Kenn serves as Vice President of Performance Education at Dynamic Fitness and Strength in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He has been married to his wife, Angela, for 36 years. They have two sons, Joe IV (Morgan) and Peter (Director of Olympic Sports Performance at SMU), and two grandchildren, Leighton and Joseph V.

Selected by the Editor-In-Chief, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR) Editorial Excellence Award is presented to members of the JSCR Editorial Board in recognition of their service to the journal and association. Earning this honor in 2025 are Pablo B. Costa, PhD, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, and Brandon M. Roberts, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D.

Dr. Pablo Costa is a Professor at California State University, Fullerton. He earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Oklahoma and his Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Costa’s primary research interests include non-invasive assessment of neuromuscular function and the physiological effects of exercise on performance, health, and fitness. His research encompasses resistance training, sports nutrition, body composition, injury risk, flexibility, balance, hypertension, hypotension, type I and II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, acceleration, and rate of force development. He has authored or co-authored over 250 research articles, book chapters, conference presentations, and abstracts. Currently, Dr. Costa serves as a Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR). He is also a former Chair of the NSCA Research Committee and serves as a reviewer for over 50 scientific journals.

Dr. Brandon Roberts is a Physiologist in the Experimental Therapeutics Division at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. His primary mission is to optimize readiness by developing solutions to military-relevant health threats. Dr. Roberts’ expertise spans musculoskeletal physiology, exercise science, nutrition, and pharmaceutical interventions.

Determined by the Editor and Senior Editors, the Strength and Conditioning Journal (SCJ) Editorial Excellence Award is presented to an individual in recognition of their exemplary service to the journal’s review and editorial process. Receiving this recognition in 2025 is Marc Apkarian, PhD, CSCS.

Dr. Marc Apkarian serves as Professor of Kinesiology at Biola University in La Mirada, CA. His academic background and scholarly interests are in exercise physiology, fitness evaluation, and disease prevention, with particular focus on the physiological responses to resistance exercise. Dr. Apkarian has been a faculty member, served as Chair of his department, worked as an exercise physiologist, and been professionally involved in multiple organizations since entering the field of exercise science in 1995. He holds a PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of New Mexico, a Master’s degree from San Diego State University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Apkarian is also a Board Member of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sport Studies (CSKLS), currently serving as President-Elect. His passion is empowering students to think critically, learn through experience, and serve others, as well as equipping individuals to live healthier lives through the mission of the Exercise is Medicine initiative, developing an appreciation for health and the design of the human body.

Using the Evaluation Criteria format, the State/Provincial Director of the Year Award is given to a state or provincial director who has accumulated the most points during the year from April 1 to March 31. Accepting this achievement in 2025 is Drew Gonzalez, PhD, CSCS, TSAC-F.

Dr. Drew Gonzalez is a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor and Director of the Occupational, Nutrition, and Performance Laboratory (OPNL) at Sam Houston State University. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's in Exercise Science from Texas State University and his Doctorate from Texas A&M University, where he also completed postdoctoral training. Dr. Gonzalez has authored over 45 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, presented extensively at professional conferences, and delivered numerous talks. His research primarily focuses on tactical athletes and sports nutrition, bridging nutritional science and practical solutions for first responders and military personnel. He has led nutritional intervention studies examining supplements such as antioxidants and creatine, evaluating their effectiveness and safety. Dr. Gonzalez was the lead author of the 2022 International Society of Sports Nutrition Tactical Athlete Nutrition Position Stand. He currently serves as the NSCA Texas State Director, is a member of the NSCA Nutrition, Metabolism, and Body Composition Special Interest Group (SIG) Executive Council and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and serves on the Editorial Review Board for the NSCA’s TSAC Report.

Congratulations to our distinguished awardees — your unwavering dedication leaves a lasting impact on our profession and community.

The NSCA invites you to join us in celebrating their achievements at the 2025 NSCA National Conference in Kansas City, MO, and online on July 16–19. Register now at NSCA.com/NSCACon.

For more information about the NSCA’s esteemed awards, visit NSCA.com/Membership/Awards.

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About the National Strength & Conditioning Association

Founded in 1978, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is an educational nonprofit dedicated to advancing strength and conditioning and sport science professions around the world. The NSCA empowers a community of professionals by disseminating evidence-based knowledge and its practical application through industry-leading certifications, peer-reviewed research journals, career development services, and continuing education. The NSCA community is composed of more than 60,000 certified professionals and members worldwide who further industry standards as researchers, educators, strength and conditioning coaches, performance and sport scientists, personal trainers, tactical professionals, and other related roles.