I was born and raised in McCook, a small town in the southwest corner of Nebraska. Both of my parents were devoted followers of Christ--my father was a pastor, too--and they instilled in me a lifelong desire to learn and grow in my faith. But if I always had an interest in Christianity, it did not quite match the passion I felt for athletics. Like most of the kids I grew up with, much of my childhood was spent playing and thinking about sports. I played basketball throughout high school and in college, and for a long time I thought I'd become a high school teacher and basketball coach. I did spend four years as a high school social studies teacher, but I never entered the coaching ranks. Instead, I developed a new passion for history, decided to become a historian, and moved with my wife, Bethany, and our two-year-old daughter to Texas in 2013 to pursue a Ph.D. in history from Baylor University.
By 2018, when I earned my Ph.D. from Baylor, Bethany and I had added two more children to our family. And I'd also found a way to combine my major interests and passions: sports, history, and Christianity. I wrote my dissertation on the cultural and intellectual history of American Protestants' relationship with big-time sports. Now revised as a book manuscript titled The Spirit of the Game: American Christianity and Big-Time Sports, it was published by Oxford University Press in October 2024. (Order your copy here!)
After completing my Ph.D., I spent a year as a Lecturer in History at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. There, I taught classes including "The Meaning of Sports in American Life" and "Sports, Race, and Politics in American History." Then in the summer of 2019, I moved back to Baylor to serve as Assistant Director of the Faith & Sports Institute (FSI) at Baylor's Truett Seminary. In 2024, I moved into a new role as Director of FSI.
Although I loved working as a history professor, the unique opportunity to work at Truett and to help build up FSI has been incredible. There is no other seminary in the United States with a program quite like it, providing theological training and spiritual formation for Christians in athletics, helping them integrate faith and sports in thoughtful and transformative ways.
For more details related to my research, publications, and academic work, please check out my c.v. or click on the "Research and Writing" tab above. I am always happy to talk about anything related to history, sports, and Christianity (and other topics too!). Feel free to connect on twitter or via email if you have questions, comments, or concerns. My contact info is available in the menu above.
By 2018, when I earned my Ph.D. from Baylor, Bethany and I had added two more children to our family. And I'd also found a way to combine my major interests and passions: sports, history, and Christianity. I wrote my dissertation on the cultural and intellectual history of American Protestants' relationship with big-time sports. Now revised as a book manuscript titled The Spirit of the Game: American Christianity and Big-Time Sports, it was published by Oxford University Press in October 2024. (Order your copy here!)
After completing my Ph.D., I spent a year as a Lecturer in History at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. There, I taught classes including "The Meaning of Sports in American Life" and "Sports, Race, and Politics in American History." Then in the summer of 2019, I moved back to Baylor to serve as Assistant Director of the Faith & Sports Institute (FSI) at Baylor's Truett Seminary. In 2024, I moved into a new role as Director of FSI.
Although I loved working as a history professor, the unique opportunity to work at Truett and to help build up FSI has been incredible. There is no other seminary in the United States with a program quite like it, providing theological training and spiritual formation for Christians in athletics, helping them integrate faith and sports in thoughtful and transformative ways.
For more details related to my research, publications, and academic work, please check out my c.v. or click on the "Research and Writing" tab above. I am always happy to talk about anything related to history, sports, and Christianity (and other topics too!). Feel free to connect on twitter or via email if you have questions, comments, or concerns. My contact info is available in the menu above.