NSCA Impact Award
The NSCA Impact Award is given to an individual who is mid-career or later that has made significant contributions that have impacted a segment of the overall field of strength and conditioning.
About the Award
The NSCA Impact Award annually recognizes a outstanding professional who is in their mid to late career and has had an especially positive influence on a specific area within the field of strength and conditioning.
Awardee Selection
The NSCA Board of Directors carefully deliberates to select the recipient of this prestigious award. Consideration is given in the following areas:
Overall Impact: How the nominee has impacted the scientific understanding, methodologies, or practice of resistance training as a component of sports conditioning.
Pioneering Qualities: Whether the work done by the individual was unique and innovative and not the proliferation or substantiation of previous strength and conditioning work.
NSCA Support: Whether the nominee has supported the NSCA's mission and goals.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
| Nominee must have a minimum of five years cumulative professional membership |
| Individuals must be nominated by a current member of the Board of Directors but recommendations may be submitted to the Board by any current member of the Association |
| 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 |
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.
NSCA Impact Award Recipients
Congratulations to Our 2026 Winner
Loren Landow, CSCS, RSCC*E
Loren Landow is a world-renowned strength and conditioning expert with more than 27 years of experience at all levels of elite athlete training. He is the Trematerra Family Director of Football Performance at the University of Notre Dame, where he began in 2024. During his time at Notre Dame, the Irish advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship game for the 2024 season and won the 2025 Sugar Bowl and 2025 Orange Bowl. Before Notre Dame, Landow served as head strength and conditioning coach for the Denver Broncos from 2018 to 2023 and owns and directs Landow Performance in Centennial, Colorado, where he has worked with thousands of athletes across professional and amateur competition, including those in the NFL, NHL, MLB, UFC, and WNBA, as well as multiple Olympic medalists.
Landow is known for integrating sports performance, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. With the Broncos, he oversaw return-to-play programs and collaborated with the head coach, wellness director, athletic training staff, and nutritionist on athlete performance. Earlier, as director of sports performance at Steadman-Hawkins Clinic Denver, he established the clinic’s sports performance department and developed ACL prevention and return-to-sport protocols.
Throughout his career, Landow has prepared NFL Draft prospects for the NFL Combine and Pro Days, worked with NFL veterans on off-season training, coached more than 70 NFL All-Pro players and 32 first-round selections, and consulted with professional teams, U.S. national teams, and collegiate strength and conditioning programs. In 2025, he also served as a consultant to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, known as SEAL Team 6.
2025 Winner
Joe Kenn, MA, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E
2024 Winner
B. Sue Graves, EdD, FASM, FISSN
2023 Winner
Mark Stephenson, MS, ATC, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D
2022 - Steve Bliss, MEd, CSCS, RSCC*E, FNSCA
2021 - G. Gregory Haff, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA
2020 - Steven J. Fleck, PhD, CSCS, FACSM, FNSCA
2019 - Jerry L. Mayhew, PhD
2018 - Mike Arthur, CSCS, RSCC*D
2017 - Andrea Hudy, MA, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E
2016 - Yuri Verkhoshansky, PhD
2015 - Keijo Häkkinen, PhD2012 - Jim Lorimer
1997 - Bernard Cahill and John Fatouros
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