Mark Anshel

IN MEMORIAM: Mark Anshel

Dr. Mark Anshel passed away on April 14, 2025 at the age of 76 from esophageal cancer. Mark was born in Chicago, IL, and his academic journey took him to Illinois State University for his bachelor’s degree, McGill University for his master’s degree, and Florida State University for his Ph.D. (in 1979) under the direction of Bob Singer. He worked at numerous universities, but most extensively at the University of Wollongong in Australia (1993-1998) and Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) from 2003-2014, with a joint appointment in the department of health and human performance and the department of psychology. Prior to joining MTSU, he worked as a performance counselor at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, FL, helping athletes address their work styles as well as psychological barriers that hinder/prevent optimal performance, encourage unhealthy habits, and result in low levels of life and sport satisfaction. Mark retired from MTSU as professor emeritus in 2014 and most recently lived in Chicago.

Mark was a prolific author, with more than a dozen books, 27 book chapters, 137 refereed journal articles, 17 research grants funded, and 125 conference presentations. Mark was best known for his extensive and influential work in applied exercise psychology (including a book by that title in 2006 – Applied Exercise Psychology: A Practitioner’s Guide to Improving Client Health and Fitness, as well as his 2014 volume Applied Health Fitness Psychology). Among his most important achievements was the development and validation of the Disconnected Values Model for replacing unhealthy habits with healthy ones, particularly in relation to exercise. Development of the model resulted in a book in 2015, Intervention Strategies for Changing Health Behavior: Applying the Disconnected Values Model. 

Mark was the author of Sport Psychology: From Theory to Practice, which first came out in 1993 and had five editions published (the latest in 2011).  Mark also published In Praise of Failure: The Value of Overcoming Mistakes in Sports and in Life in 2016. His last book, Good to Great: Coaching Athletes Through Sport Psychology, came out in 2019. 

Mark was also notably the Editor-in-Chief of the APA Handbook of Sport and Exercise Psychology – volume 1, Sport Psychology, and volume 2, Exercise Psychology, published in 2019. He was an APA (American Psychological Association) and AASP member for many years, as well as a CC-AASP for five years.  Mark was a wellness and stress management consultant for the Murfreesboro (TN) Police Department. 

Mark was a very collegial individual and a wonderful colleague.  He was described by Jeff Cherubini (one of his chapter co-authors) as “generous with his time, caring, and thus very easy to collaborate with.”  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Beesley Animal Humane Foundation, in Murfreesboro, TN ( www.beesleyanimalfoundation.org )

Respectfully submitted, Jeff Anshel and Michael Sachs