CLARKSVILLE – Thirteen graduate students are members of the Austin Peay State University athletics department through a growing relationship with the university's department of graduate studies.

Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison has joined Dean of the College of Graduate Studies Chad Brooks to build a relationship that not only will help Austin Peay attract out of state graduate students but also provide them with an opportunity to obtain first-hand experience in day-to-day athletics operations or coaching. The effort is part of an initiative by President Alisa White to grow the university's graduate studies unit.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to provide these students with a unique opportunity to continue their education at the state's fastest growing university, while also gaining valuable professional experiences with a Division I Athletics Department," said Harrison. "Austin Peay Athletics is fortunate to have true visionaries such as President Alisa White, Provost Rex Gandy and Dean Brooks leading our great University into the future and programs such as this are just a small demonstration of their vision at work."

"If you think about applied learning as a graduate student then athletics is a perfect place to practice and enhance those skill sets for many careers," Brooks said. "Athletics is a huge industry that needs a diverse set of specialized personnel.

"For example, Austin Peay's athletics department is made up of several internal units, including marketing, website maintenance, ticketing, coaching, physical therapy, facilities and more. Graduate students pursuing a Master of Arts in communication can apply those classroom skill sets in athletics' social media, web design and marketing areas. Another example where graduate students can apply their classroom knowledge in assistant coaching can be found in APSU's Department of Health and Human Performance's Master of Science in HHP – Sport and Wellness Leadership."

The 13 graduate assistants employed within the athletics department is a significant increase over past years. Graduate studies students joining the athletics department for the 2019-20 season are Vetrone Vincent and Daniel Feck (men's basketball), Justin Posthuma, Keith Barnes, Joseph Phillips Alex Lockmeyer, and Mark Aanstoos (football), Will Hawks (baseball), Caira Benton (marketing), Randal Myles (compliance), Chelsie Buckman (operations), John Mitchell (ticket office).