Lindsay Roemmich Sport Management Achievement Award
Each year the Lindsay Roemmich Sport Management Achievement Award is given to the graduating senior who best exhibits: (1) academic excellence, (2) external sport management experience, (3) positive attitude, and (4) dedication to improving the Rice Sport Management Program.
This award represents the highest honor among our graduating seniors. Recipient's are listed below:
| Graduating Senior Recipient | Year | Graduating Senior Recipient | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley (Anderson) Gibson | 2005 | Adam Tabakin | 2006 |
| Sparky Frost | 2007 | Frank Arnold | 2008 |
| Natalie Kirchhoff & Charles Hampton | 2009 | Jimmy Comerota | 2010 |
| Ashten Ackerman | 2011 | Stephen Noh | 2012 |
| Ryan Glassman | 2013 | Mary Mikell Lampton | 2014 |
| Justin Wolin | 2015 | Travis Stockbridge | 2016 |
| Jeremy Reiskind | 2017 | Lindsey Hodge & Sergio Santamaria | 2018 |
| Ben Schragger | 2019 | Samantha Quen & Jesse Roberts | 2020 |
| Kristian Stengel | 2021 | Jen Spell | 2022 |
| Sofia Roa | 2023 | Benjamin "Benji" Wilton | 2024 |
| Liza DeCaprio | 2025 |
Jesse Tsu Sport Management Academic Achievement Award
The Jesse Tsu Sport Management Academic Achievement Award is given to the graduating senior who has the highest cumulative grade point average within the Department of Sport Management. This award is named after Jesse Tsu '11, whose cumulative grade point average is the highest ever for a Sport Management major. Jesse is now working in Nike's international headquarters for the Jordan brand.
This award represents the highest academic distinction among our graduating seniors. Recipient's are listed below:
| Graduating Senior Recipient | Year | Graduating Senior Recipient | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molly Mohr | 2015 | Travis Guzzardo | 2016 |
| DJ Green | 2017 | Jahid Adam | 2018 |
| Mai Pham | 2019 | Frank Li | 2020 |
| Drew Axelson Audrey Paetzel Catalina Santamaria |
2021 | Hanyang "Derek" Wang | 2022 |
| Carlos Rivera | 2023 | Jeff Brover & Spring Xia | 2024 |
| Elena Schwegman | 2025 |
Patrick K. Thornton Memorial Award
The Patrick K. Thornton Memorial Award is given to the graduating Sport Management major, in the Sport Law concentration, who has a promising future in the field of law. (Previously, this award was presented each semester to the Sport Management student who has earned the highest grade in the Sport Law class.)
This award is given in honor of Patrick K. Thornton, who was a member of the Rice University Sport Management Faculty from 2003-12. Thornton was a respected Professor and Lecturer at Rice University, University of Houston, South Texas College of Law, and Houston Baptist University. He was considered one of the prominent Sports Law authorities in the United States. Professor Thornton taught Sport Law and intellectual Property Law all over the world, including Russia, Australia, and Vietnam. He was also greatly admired and loved by his students.
Following his excellence, this award was created to memorialize his hard work and dedication to the Department of Sport Management at Rice University and the Sport Law community. Recipient's are listed below:
| Recipients | Year | Recipients | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Drummond '14 (fall) Holly Hargreaves '16 (spring) |
2013-14 | LaShay Fontenot '16 (fall) Bo Sripharphan '15 (spring) |
2014-15 |
| Pax Kaplan-Sherman '18 (spring) | 2015-16 | Jason Petro '17 (fall) Summer Roberson '17 (spring) |
2016-17 |
| Simone Bergsrud '19 (fall) Brian Wright '19 (fall) Irvin Sio Khen Kiong '18 |
2017-18 | Caroline Cobb '19 (fall) Emily Mohlin '21 (fall) Castin Neumeyer '19 (spring) Grace Chialiva '22 (spring) |
2018-19 |
| John Brown '20 (fall) Kristian Stengel '21 (spring) |
2019-20 | David Getter '23 (fall) Jeremy Alpert '23 (spring) |
2020-21 |
| Kate Jablonski '23 (fall) Max Cunningham '23 (spring) JoVoni Johnson-McCray '23 (spring) |
2021-22 | Jeff Brover '24 (spring) Elena Schwegman '25 (spring) |
2022-23 |
| Colin Buechler-Neimeyer '26 (fall) Colin Freeman '24 (fall) |
2023-24 | Kevin Barry | 2025 |
Jimmy Disch Sport Analytics Award
The Jimmy Disch Sport Analytics Award is given to the graduating senior who has shown a strong commitment to academic excellence, while also earning exceptional practical experience in, the sport analytics field throughout their time as a Rice undergraduate sport analytics major.
This award is named after Dr. James "Jimmy" Disch whose love and passion for sports and data led him to create the Sport Analytics program within the Department of Sport Management. Recipient's are listed below:
| Graduating Senior Recipient | Year | Graduating Senior Recipient | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Gardner | 2021 | Caleigh Page | 2022 |
| Jacob Kauffman | 2023 | Jeff Brover Taylor Shui |
2024 |
| Jacob Hahn | 2025 |
Gilbert L. Hermance Award
The Gilbert L. Hermance Award recognized the top student in the entire Department of Kinesiology "who exhibited exemplary qualities of scholarship, leadership, character and service during his or her undergraduate experience." Though Sport Management students are no longer eligible for this award since we are now our own Department, past Sport Management recipients are:
| Recipient | Year | Recipient | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcos Ramos | 2005 | Leslie Hinshaw | 2010 |
| Zach Thomas | 2006 | Sam Shainsky | 2011 |
| Sparky Frost | 2007 | Vanessa Morales | 2012 |
| Lindsay Balthrop | 2008 | Jarvis Sam | 2013 |
| Natalie Kirchhoff | 2009 |
Distinction in Research and Creative Works
Distinction in Research and Creative Works is a university award for select undergraduates, granted at commencement, which appears on the transcript and diploma. Students must apply within their department or program to be considered for the award and the application must be supported by a letter from a faculty member. For more information, click Guidelines for Distinction in Research Award.