Boyd Epley Award for NSCA Lifetime Contributions
The Boyd Epley Award, the highest NSCA honor, recognizes individuals who exhibit historical impact, achievements and dedication to the NSCA over the course of their career.
The Award's Namesake
Boyd Epley, veteran strength and conditioning coach, etched his name in the annals of the profession, not just for his pioneering efforts in dispelling the myth of muscle binding and promoting weight training, but also through his influence in founding the NSCA to help educate and shape the industry.
Awardee Selection
The Boyd Epley Award recognizes a liftetime of contributions to both the NSCA and the field of strength and conditioning. Prospective Awardees must first meet the minimum requirements. Consideration is given in the following areas:
Overall Professional Impact: How the nominee has impacted the practice, scientific understanding, or methodologies of strength and conditioning.
Achievements: Highlight the nominee’s career achievements in the field of strength and conditioning and within the NSCA.
Dedication to the NSCA: How the nominee has advanced the NSCA and its mission through a range of undertakings such as, governance, positions held, presentations & publications, outreach & promotional activities.
The Board of Directors carefully deliberates to select the recipient of the Boyd Epley Award, as it is the most prestigious award a member of the NSCA can receive.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
| Individuals must be nominated by a current member of the Board of Directors or a Past president |
| Individuals must have 35 years of professional experience |
| The nominee must have held NSCA Membership or Certification for a total of 25 years or more |
| Nominations must be accompanied by a brief supporting statement regarding the nominee’s qualifications for consideration for the award |
| Nominations and recommendations must be received by December 15 to be considered for the following year’s award |
| The award may be given posthumously |
While the NSCA does not solicit nominations from the NSCA membership at-large for Career Awards, NSCA members may submit recommendations for the Board's consideration to nominations@nsca.com.
BOYD EPLEY AWARD RECIPIENTS
Congratulations to Our 2025 Winner
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.
2024 Winner
Ken Kontor
2023 Winner
Ashley Jones, MSc, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E
2022 Winner
Michael J. Nitka, MS, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E, FNSCA*E
2021 - Bill Allerheiligen, MS, FNSCA
2020 - Terry J. Housh, PhD, FNSCA
2019 - T. Jeff Chandler, EdD, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, FNSCA
2018 - Andrew C. Fry, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA
2017 - Avery Faigenbaum, EdD, CSCS, CSPS, FNSCA
2015 - Gerard Martin, MA, CSCS, RSCC*E
2014 - Lee Brown, EdD, CSCS,*D, FACSM, FNSCA
2013 - Gene Coleman, EdD, CSCS, RSCC,*E
2012 - Al Vermeil, CSCS, RSCC*E
2011- Everett Harman, PhD, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
2010 - Steve Bliss, MEd, CSCS, RSCC*E, FNSCA
2009 - Meg Ritchie-Stone, MS, FNSCA
2008 - Bruno Pauletto, MS, CSCS, FNSCA
2007 - Gary A. Dudley, PhD, CSCS
2005 - Steven J. Fleck, PhD, CSCS, FNSCA
2004 - John Garhammer, PhD, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, FNSCA
2000 - Mike Stone, PhD, CSCS, FNSCA
1998 - Tom Baechle, EdD, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D
1996 - Dan Wathen, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT*D, FNSCA
1994 - William J. Kraemer, PhD, CSCS, FNSCA
1993 - Boyd Epley, MEd, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E, FNSCA
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