Sport and Recreation Leadership (SRL)

SRL Director & Associate Professor of Practice
Matt Ostermeyer, Ph.D.
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Dr. Matt Ostermeyer oversees both the undergraduate and graduate programs associated with SRL. He received his Ph.D. in Leisure Behavior from the Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies Department at Indiana University. Dr. Ostermeyer’s professional experience includes 15 years in the field of recreational sports. He has worked in municipal parks and recreation settings, as well as campus recreation. He has held various positions; from tennis instructor and volleyball official, to intramural supervisor, program coordinator and tournament director for national-level sporting events.

SRL Director of Graduate Studies & Assistant Professor of Practice
Jesse Stipek, Ph.D.
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Dr. Jesse Stipek received his Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies and Practice at the University of Arizona. His professional experiences include competing at Olympic Trials and as a D1 student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin Madison, plus as a swim coach at the University of Arizona. In the classroom, Dr. Stipek focuses on the critical theories centered around topics on equity and justice in athletics.

SRL Internship Supervisor & Assistant Professor of Practice
Xingxing Wu, Ph.D.
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Dr. Xingxing Wu’s Ph.D. is in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism from the University of Illinois. He has experience working in the administrative side of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Notre Dame. His main research interests are centered around the connections between leisure behavior and well-being among underrepresented populations (i.e., older adults, Southeast Asians, LGBTQ+ community). Xingxing helps coordinate and supervise relevant and enriching internship experiences for our students. And if you are looking to learn pickleball, he’s your go-to guy!

SRL Professor of Practice
Mark Jenks
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Mark Jenks spent more than 25 years of his career in an Adapted Physical Education position at the Arizona Schools for the Deaf & Blind before joining the University of Arizona. He worked with sensory impaired, multi-disabled children in a variety of physical education settings at ASDB and developed the ASDB Adapted Sports program for students with disabilities which is still a part of the programming there today.

SRL Lecturer
Lydia Crain
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Lydia Crain has worked in K-8 public education in Arizona as an elementary and middle school physical education teacher and as a K-8 school principal. She has also worked with local, regional, and national physical education associations to design, implement, and promote developmentally appropriate and effective physical education instruction. She was recognized as a Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year in 2010 for Arizona and the Southwest District of SHAPE America.SRL Lecturer: Lydia Crain has worked in K-8 public education in Arizona as an elementary and middle school physical education teacher and as a K-8 school principal. She has also worked with local, regional, and national physical education associations to design, implement, and promote developmentally appropriate and effective physical education instruction. She was recognized as a Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year in 2010 for Arizona and the Southwest District of SHAPE America.