DR. GREG COMFORT – Division Chair
Greg came to Missouri Baptist University with several years of secondary school teaching/coaching experience and fifteen years of teaching experience in higher education. From 1988 to 1999, Greg co-developed and taught in the undergraduate sport management program at Liberty University and served as a consultant for a number of organizations and institutions including the Professional Golfers Association (PGA), the YMCA (sport psychology), and the California University of Pennsylvania (SMPRC program approval).
Greg accepted the position of undergraduate coordinator for sport administration at Wichita State University in 1999 where he continued to hone his abilities as a teacher of online classes, serve his profession at the local, state, regional, and national level, publish and co-publish numerous articles, and present professionally at the local, state, regional, and national level.
Greg was commissioned by the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) in the fall of 2000 to create an organizational website. As web manager and member of the NASSM Executive Council, Greg received, revised, and posted pertinent materials on the NASSM website, supervised the annual online voting by NASSM membership, and attended Executive Council meetings.
Greg served as a Folio Reviewer for the Sport Management Review Council (SMPRC) from 2001 to 2003 and vacated that post for a position on the SMPRC in 2003. As a voting member of the SMPRC, Greg assisted in the ongoing improvement of the sport management program approval standards and processes. As eventual co-chair of the Council, Greg met bi-annually with the other Council members to determine which undergraduate and graduate sport management programs met SMPRC standards.
Greg enjoys speaking to groups about sportsmanship and youth sport opportunities. He has been asked by numerous sport organizations including the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), the YMCA, and several city recreation leagues throughout Kansas to address topics such as motivation, anger management, sportsmanship, and parent-coach relationships. Speaking to groups such as these allows Greg to share his faith in God and pursue his scholarly interests in sport psychology and sport sociology.
As chair of the Health and Sport Sciences Division Greg feels strongly that the St. Louis area has a lot to offer students interested in pursuing careers in health, physical education, exercise science and sport management. Program accreditation and building bridges between the academic and the business communities continue to be Greg’s passion for the HSS Division as he and the other HSS faculty work towards properly preparing students for careers in their individual fields of study.
DR. TOM SMITH - Instructor of Health and Sport Sciences, Instructor of Education, MBU Athletic Director
MBU Athletic Director and former Director of Admissions and Wrestling Coach
Tom Smith joined the Health and Sport Sciences Division faculty in 2004.
Tom brings a wealth of teaching experience as he has taught courses in the
Education Division at MBU since 1995. He has been involved in Missouri wrestling
for over 28 years, coaching at Kennedy, Desoto, Lindbergh, Parkway South,
and Parkway West high schools. In addition, Tom also spent several years
coaching little league wrestling.
Tom is a Business Management graduate and holds a Secondary Education Teaching Certificate from MBU. Tom earned his Master of Science in Education from Southwest Baptist University, and attended Covenant Theological Seminary. Tom currently teaches Health and Wellness classes, supervises sport management practicum students, and teaches an Introduction to Sport Management class at Missouri Baptist University while continuing to fulfill his obligations as the MBU Athletic Director.
MR. DAVID PIERCE – Undergraduate Sport Management Coordinator
Dave began teaching at MBU in 2004 as an Adjunct Professor in sport management and accepted a full time position of undergraduate sport management coordinator in 2006. Dave retired from Maryville University as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics on December 13, 2002. He was a member of the Maryville University family for over 26 plus years. Pierce holds a BS Degree in Education and a MS Degree in Sport Management.
Before Dave came to Maryville University he spent five years in the public high school system teaching History, Physical education, Health and one year of Elementary Education. He holds life time certificates in Elementary Education, Health, history and Physical Education. He also coached Basketball and baseball. He began his career at Maryville in 1976 as the head basketball coach and assistant director of admissions. He was appointed director of athletics in 1983. He was the head basketball coach for 15 years and head golf coach for 8 years. His basketball teams won four conference championships, holds the school record for most wins 22 and he was named conference coach of the year once. His golf teams won three conference championships, hosted the 2001 NCAA Division III National Championships of which his team was a participant and was named conference coach of the year three times.
Dave has been a pioneer in athletics helping and being a part of building the athletics and facilities programs from the ground up beginning in 1976. He is most noted helping with the following:
- Researching and giving input for joining the NCAA Division III in 1978
- Founded the Maryville Sports Hall of Fame
- Founded the Student Athletic Advisory Committee
- Founded the Citizens Committee on Athletics
- Revamping the sports celebrity dinner and hosting 24 of them
- Initiated team travel Internationally and Hawaii
- Founded and established the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1991 serving as president for four years (Inducted into the SLIAC Hall of Fame 2002)
- Initiating and overseeing the St. Louis Rams Football training camp at Maryville
MR. LOWELL PITZER – Health and Physical Education Coordinator
Lowell Pitzer is a native of West Virginia, where he attended both high
school and college. While in college, Alderson-Broaddus, he played basketball
and majored in Biological Sciences and Physical Education. Lowell earned
his Masters of Education degree from West Virginia University.
After twenty years coaching in both public and prep schools in West Virginia and Virginia, teaching and working in administration in a Baptist affiliated prep school in Virginia, and serving as a basketball coach in a small college in Mississippi, Lowell joined the staff of Missouri Baptist College in 1990.
In 1992, Lowell was voted American Midwest Conference Men’s Coach-of-the-Year and led the Missouri Baptist Men’s basketball team to the NAIA men’s national championship tournament in 1993-94 after compiling a 25-9 record. As Athletic Director at Missouri Baptist University for six years, Pitzer was chosen as Administrator-of-the-Year for District Sixteen in 1992 and Region V Administrator-of- the-Year in 1997. While coaching the Lady Spartans at Missouri Baptist University for a period of five years, Lowell was selected Women’s Coach-of-the-Year in 2000.
Lowell was a member of the NAIA Council for Affiliated Conferences and Independents in 1996-97 and has served as the Commissioner/President of the AMC conference since 1993. As the Coordinator of the Health and Physical Education programs within the Health and Sport Sciences his experience as a coach and an administrator in the field give him valuable insights into the concepts discussed in his classes. Lowell envisions the Health and Physical Education programs achieving national recognition in the next few years as they continue to fall in line with state and national certification standards.
MR. GUY DANHOFF - Assistant Professor in Exercise Science
Guy Danhoff joined the Health and Sport Sciences Division at Missouri Baptist University in 2008, but has been a strong advocate of the Division’s commitment to the promotion of intellectual, spiritual and professional development and integration of personal faith for much of his life. Guy has diligently served in the fitness industry for fourteen years, cultivating relationships with many prominent business and fitness leaders on a regional, national and international level. As a practitioner, Guy was responsible for educating and consulting others on the latest advancements of audio-visual fitness entertainment technology, integrated business solutions and cardiovascular fitness equipment purchases. He has recently held positions and/or responsibilities with leading fitness equipment and/or fitness entertainment technology manufacturers in business development, operations, account management, sales management, sales training, marketing and product development. Mr. Danhoff has served as a consultant for internationally based fitness organizations such as Bally’s Total Fitness, LifeTime Fitness, X Sport Fitness, East Bank Club, Gold’s Gym, Lakeshore Athletic Clubs, Power Wellness, Fitness Time (Saudi Arabia), Motorola, and Courtyard Marriott.
Previous to working in the fitness industry, Mr. Danhoff graduated magna cum laude while earning his Bachelors of Science degree in Physical Education with an emphasis in Corporate Fitness Instruction at Western Illinois University (WIU) in 1990. Two years later he earned his Master’s of Science degree in Exercise Science at WIU with an emphasis in Human Performance. During his tenure with WIU, Guy served as a board member of the Phi Epsilon Sigma student honor society.
Guy began his professional career as a teacher of personal fitness programming and weight training, strength coach, and assistant athletic academic advisor at WIU. As the institution’s first certified National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) strength and conditioning specialist, Guy was responsible for developing and directing the strength programs for most of the men’s and women’s intercollegiate sports teams. During this time, Guy led and conducted a validation study, published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and presented at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) conference. Guy has also been published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and has presented at the NSCA conference. Guy completed an extensive internship at the hospital-based Centre Club in Libertyville, Illinois as a fitness instructor, served as an adjunct instructor at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, Illinois, and designed personalized training programs for corporate executives and high school athletes.
MR. JOHN SHELDEN- Instructor of Sport Management
John joined the Health and Sport Sciences faculty after successfully teaching and administrating in the public school system for thirty-two years. During his tenure in the Rockwood School District, John served in a variety of administrative roles including Assistant Principal, Associate Principal and Athletics/Activities Director. John also served as the District’s Curriculum Coordinator for Health, Physical Education, and Driver Education for six years. During that time he was responsible for facilitating the writing of cutting edge K-12 curriculum for these areas and Rockwood’s Code of Ethics for Athletes, Coaches and Spectators. John received the Rockwood Outstanding Service to Education Award in 1996.
John has an extensive background in coaching and athletic administration. He coached football, wrestling and baseball at the high school level and was actively involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. John has been active in professional organizations serving as president of Missouri Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in 2004. He has been a presenter at local, state and national conventions. John received the Robert Taylor Award for Professional Service in 2002. He received the Outstanding Service Award from the Missouri Athletic Administrators Association in 2006.
John is active in his church serving as a bible study teacher and a deacon and has served on mission teams on trips to Kenya and Colorado. He has been married to Paula for thirty three years and has two adult children.
John has a BS in education from Missouri State University and a MS in education from Missouri University-St. Louis.
MRS. JANET L. COMFORT
In the spring of 2008, Janet Comfort accepted a full time faculty position at MBU after teaching as an adjunct professor for over nine years. Janet enjoys sharing her passion and expertise with students in sport finance and sport law. She has also taken on the responsibility of the sport management orientation class and carrying out the duties of the MBU Center for Distance Learning Retention Officer. Janet has a Master’s degree in Sport Administration from Wichita State University and is a certified CPA with second Master’s degree in Accounting from Lynchburg College. As a former college coach and CPA, Janet brings an enormous wealth of information and practical knowledge to both the undergraduate and graduate sport management programs at Missouri Baptist University. Janet has been married to Dr. Greg Comfort, the HSS Division chair, since 1988. They have 2 daughters, Mckenzie and Kasey.
Adjunct Faculty
MS. IRIS DIXON
Iris
Dixon graduated from Natchitoches Central High School in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
She was a member of the women's basketball team that captured the district
champion title for four consecutive years, posted an undefeated season, and
won two back-to-back Louisiana Class 4A State Championships. Iris was a High
School All-American Honorable Mention and a member of the Louisiana All-State
team for the 1986-87 season. Iris received an athletic scholarship to attend
Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA. Iris earned SLC Player
of the Week on several occasions and finished her career with SLC honors.
Iris graduated with a B.S. degree in Business Administration.
Iris completed her Master's degree in Kinesiology (Sport Management) in the summer of 2003 at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Her experience in the field gives her great insight into the concepts discussed in the sport management classes that she teaches.
