A collaborative effort between Temple Athletics and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, the AIRE Lab is rethinking how academic research can be used to support athletic departments and student athletics.

In just over four years' time, the NCAA has adopted a name, image and likeness (NIL) policy; they have eliminated the one-year transfer penalty; and have considered the introduction of a new five-year eligibility rule. 

Change has been a constant, and for intercollegiate athletic departments as well as student-athletes, keeping up is easier said than done. But that is where the Athletic Innovation, Research and Education (AIRE) Lab comes in. 

Supported by funding from Temple University’s Office of the Vice President for Research, the AIRE Lab is a collaborative effort between Temple’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) and Temple Athletics. Its mission: drive innovation in the management of athletic programs and college athlete development. 

“Much of our work focuses on athlete well-being and athlete holistic development, so this seemed like a no-brainer for us to put our heads together collectively with Temple Athletics to work toward solutions," said Jonathan Howe, co-director of AIRE and assistant professor in STHM. “As researchers, we often have these great ideas when it comes to athlete development and college athletics, but if we do not incorporate the relevant stakeholders, it does not make a difference. So, this is an opportunity for us to partner, collaborate and not just think we have the best answers, but instead find out what actually works.” 

“Our support for the AIRE Lab through our internal Humanities and Arts Research Program (HARP) reflects Temple’s commitment to research that addresses emerging challenges with clarity and purpose,” added Vice President for Research Josh Gladden. “By investing in interdisciplinary work that connects academic insight with the lived experience of student-athletes, we are advancing discovery that strengthens programs, informs policy and helps address the complex issues shaping the student-athlete experience today.” 

Co-directing the AIRE Lab alongside Howe is Elizabeth Taylor, associate professor at STHM who also serves as Temple’s faculty athletics representative (FAR). In that role, Taylor serves as President John Fry’s senior advisor outside of the Athletics Department on matters related to intercollegiate athletics, and she also advises Vice President and the Debbie and Stanley Lefkowitz ’65 Director of Athletics Arthur Johnson.  

Her work with the AIRE Lab helps complement both her faculty appointment and her role as Temple’s FAR. 

“This really is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between an academic unit and an athletics department, and it is not something that has been seen in higher education,” Taylor said. “So, what we are thinking about is how we can accomplish something special without reinventing the wheel. We have so much expertise across campus, so our goal is to create a hub that will be available for anyone at Temple who wants to do research on college athletics or wants to engage in the holistic development of college athletes.” 

With the AIRE Lab, Taylor and Howe hope to integrate applicable academic research that is happening at Temple and STHM directly into Temple Athletics, which will ultimately help optimize the department and lead to a better experience for the college athletes. 

The specific research of both Taylor and Howe are examples of work that could be beneficial when it comes to informing how Temple Athletics operates. Taylor’s academic work focuses on organizational culture, well-being, and holistic development of athletes and sport employees, specifically as it relates to sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender-based violence, while Howe has focused much of his research on understanding the experiences of Black student-athletes in the predominantly white spaces of historically white institutions and Division I college athletics. 

To ensure that the work of the AIRE Lab is implemented into Temple Athletics, the department has appointed two staff members to serve as practitioners for the lab: Prince Moody, the associate athletic director for diversity, equity and inclusion, and student-athlete development, and Stephany Coakley, senior associate athletic director for mental health. 

“For us, this is really about the student-athlete experience,” Coakley said. “When student-athletes are here, we want them to have this world-class experience where they’re getting this amazing education, and we’re also taking care of them. Particularly, when it comes to the mental performance of student-athletes, this is something that will really advance our Athletics Department and our university.” 

Moody agreed.  

“This is a game-changer,” he said. “A lot of times we do programming, but we don’t have the research and the metrics to back up some of the programming that we are providing to the students. So, now, not only are we going to have access to campus, but we will have access to researchers who can evaluate what we are doing as a department, and that is a game-changer.” 

One of the first initiatives launched by AIRE is a nutritional cooking demonstration held in the Aramark Community Teaching Kitchen within the newly renovated Paley Hall. The goal is that athletes will learn how to cook easy, nutritious meals, which they can then prepare for themselves, which will ultimately benefit their health and athletic performance. 

The first demonstration was held Thursday, Dec. 4, and more than 20 Temple athletes attended. 

“At Temple, everything begins with the student-athlete experience,” said Johnson. “The AIRE Lab gives us the ability to connect what’s happening in the classroom and across campus directly to how we support our teams each day. This collaboration will help us innovate faster, make smarter decisions, and ensure our student-athletes have every resource they need to thrive in competition and in life.”