PITTSBURG, Kans. — Jobs in the exercise science industry continue to grow at one of the fastest rates in the country.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is a trend that could continue into 2028. This growth has motivated a similar development at Pittsburg State University.

“There’s never been a bigger interest in sports, and sports performance as a whole. The field has just exploded,” said Dr. David Boffey, PSU Asst. Professor of Exercise Science

Over the past year, Dr. David Boffey has helped expand the capabilities of the Health, Human Performance and Recreation Department at Pitt State.

“Starting this fall 2022, we’re going to have an emphasis in human performance and strength and conditioning, and we’re also going to have a separate emphasis in clinical and pre-professional,” said Boffey.

The department will also see two new courses in exercise science along with several new upgrades to the Human Performance Lab.

“We have a full several barbell wracks, we have Olympic lifting plates, we have a wide range of barbells and dumbells. What we did was we outfit an existing lab we have, and now we have a true human performance lab, where we’re going to use a lot of that technology I talked about to measure actual students during class and analyze the data in class,” said Boffey.

And not just with students inside the department, but in different programs. Already, they’ve helped students in the PSU R.O.T.C. prepare for their Army Physical Fitness Test.

“They have to pass this fitness test on campus each semester to get their scholarship benefits and then continue to progress towards commissioning once they graduate. Once they graduate and go to the real army it’s a requirement every six months, every year to pass that fitness test or else you don’t meet the requirements to be in the army,” said Josh Shay, PSU ROTC Scholarships & Enrollment Officer.

Eventually, Dr. Boffey hopes to expand students experience to athletic programs across campus.

“We’re going to be working with the football strength and conditioning staff and actually measuring their athletes at different times of the year, and then ultimately working with other athletic departments, and give them that experience and give them the time it takes to learn how to use all these tools in the classroom,” said Boffey.