DAPHNE, Ala.—The United States Sports Academy has developed a relationship with China’s Renmin University to develop sport-education programs in the world’s largest emerging market.

The academy has developed a “Protocol for Cooperation” with Renmin, known as “The People’s University of China.” Renmin, considered a Chinese equivalent to an “Ivy League” school in the United States, is a comprehensive research-oriented university emphasizing national sciences, humanities and social sciences, of which sport is a part.

Academy Vice President T.J. Rosandich attended the inaugural International Forum of China Sports Culture and Economic Development Aug. 9 in Bejing. Organized on the first anniversary of the Olympic Games there, the forum brought together speakers from China, Europe and the United States to explore how China can build on this success to develop a vital sports industry through private initiative.

Rosandich delivered a keynote address on the role of sports in national development while attending the forum.  His discussion focused on the role that sports education plays in the preparation of individuals to assume leadership roles in the sports profession and how sports are organized in the United States independent of federal intervention.