Teaching Excellence Award

Funded by the AASP Foundation

Please read the full instructions below before starting your application. 

Effective as of the 2026 Awards Cycle

Teaching Excellence Award applications are submitted online through the Cadmium platform.

Click Here to Start Your Application in Cadmium

After you press "save application" upon completing all components of the application, please click the "submit" button at the top right of the screen to move your application from Active to Completed status. The action of clicking "submit" will prompt the system to email the applicant a confirmation of the submitted application. Clicking "submit" is the final step to submit your award application for consideration. Award nominees with a sponsor will be required to invite their sponsor to certify the nomination in Cadmium prior to final submission.

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The Teaching Excellence Award was developed to acknowledge exceptional classroom educators in the field of sport, exercise, and performance psychology. This award is given to recognize a member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) who demonstrates teaching excellence and advances the field/profession of sport psychology through teaching. A plaque, cash award of $1,000 (paid by AASPF), and waiver of the conference registration fee for that year’s conference (paid by AASPF) will be awarded at the Annual Conference. 

Award Criteria

Nominees must meet the following criteria:

1. Professional or student member of AASP.
2. Be a faculty member, adjunct, or graduate student with a workload consistent for their institution and position but whose primary role includes being actively involved in sustained teaching activities.
3. Demonstrate a clear and consistent commitment to student learning, course innovation, and/or collaboration with other educators.

Submission Guidelines

Any AASP member may nominate (or self-nominate) an AASP member for this award.

The nomination materials should include:

• At least three letters of support; no more than five letters may be submitted. The letters of support should include:
  • At least one letter from a colleague (e.g., a teaching peer) who can speak to their teaching performance;
  • At least one letter from a Department Chair or other colleague within the institution (e.g., program director or Dean) who can offer additional commentary on the applicant’s commitment to student success and course innovation, and confirm that the applicant’s primary role includes being actively involved in sustained teaching activities; and,
  • The remaining letter(s) could include support letters from current/former students.  

These letters should demonstrate and include detailed information about the person’s sustained involvement in teaching activities, effectiveness of teaching, demonstrate their commitment to student success and course innovation, and highlight their willingness to go above and beyond for the students whom they serve.

Each letter for support may be no more than two (2) pages single-spaced.

• Submission of a resume/curriculum vitae is required.

*Deadline for this award: April 15 of each year.