RESTON, VA, March 21, 2012 � The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) recognized professor Gil Fried with its Sport Management Outstanding Achievement Award for his significant contributions in the field. Fried teaches in the Management and Sport Management Department at the University of New Haven.

NASPE presented the award during the 127th National Convention of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), March 13 � 17 in Boston. Other honorees include NASPE�s National Physical Education Teachers of the Year for elementary, middle and high school, its Channing Mann K-12 Physical Education Administrator of the Year and its Athletic Director Presidential Hall of Fame inductee, among others.

Since joining the University of New Haven in 1999, Fried has been a major contributor to the sports management program; helping it grow from 60 to 150 undergraduate students. Fried is not only a professor but he is also an attorney, coach, administrator author and expert in sport law, sport finance, and sport facility management. His primary focus is the safety of those who participate in sports (primarily youth sport safety) and fan safety.

Fried is the author of many published books including Managing Sports Facilities (in its second edition) which is recognized as a leading text in the field of facility management. The book has been translated into Russian, Chinese, and Korean and is used in over 110 sport management programs throughout North America. His book, Sports Finance (third edition in the works), has been adopted by 85 universities to date and was the first text to really focus on how critical financial analysis was to sport managers.

�No one has done more to transform our program into one that meets the needs of students entering a tough job market after graduation. He routinely out-performs our university�s career services office in finding jobs for our students,� says Allen Sack, Ph.D., Sport Management professor, University of New Haven.

One of his major accomplishments is the development of the Patron Management Institute (PMI) which offers an internationally developed certification program in patron management to help make sport and other events safer for fans.

Fried earned a J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law, an M.A. from The Ohio State University in Physical Education emphasis in Sports Management and a B.S. from California State University, in Business Administration.