McDaniel honors Matthew J. Robinson with 2017 Bailer Award

Matthew J. Robinson of Newark, Del., is the recipient of the 2017 Joseph R. Bailer Award from McDaniel College.

The prestigious award, named for one of the College’s most highly respected career educators, is presented each year to a McDaniel College master’s degree recipient who has made a significant contribution to the field of education.

Robinson, who earned his master’s degree in educational administration from McDaniel (formerly Western Maryland) College in 1991, is a professor and director of the sport management program at the University of Delaware. He also served as interim director of athletics and recreation at the University of Delaware in the spring of 2016.

He is chairman of the Delaware Sport Commission and is on the board of directors for the Philadelphia Sports Congress, as well as the faculty board for the University of Delaware Athletic Department.

Additionally, Robinson is director of the international coaching enrichment certificate program (ICECP) funded by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Olympics Committee’s Olympic Solidarity fund. He worked with the United States Olympic Committee, Olympic Solidarity and Federation Internationale Basketball Association (FIBA) to launch the international coaching apprenticeship in basketball in 2013 and was the Islamic sport coordinator for the State Department in 2007. He has also implemented sport initiatives internationally, as well as partnered with United States embassies and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Corruption on sport outreach programs.

As a consultant, he has worked with the United States Soccer Federation, United States Golf Association and professional athletic teams, including the Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia 76ers, among others. He is also director of the advanced director of coaching course for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), which trains leaders of soccer clubs in the United States. 

He is the author of “Sport Club Management” and “Profiles of Sport Industry Professionals: The People Who Make the Games Happen,” in addition to more than 25 articles on sport management for magazines and journals.

The Joseph R. Bailer Award was established by the family of Dr. Bailer, who died in 1974. Bailer was chair of the Education Department at McDaniel College, then Western Maryland College, and also Director of its graduate program from 1949–1971. He was a primary contributor to the growth of the program and influenced the lives of hundreds of graduate students, many of whom have gone on to leadership roles in educational programs both in Maryland and beyond. In the spirit of dedication and professionalism, the Bailer Award is given annually to a former graduate of the master’s program who has subsequently made a significant contribution to the field of education. The award rotates among many of the graduate programs of the College.