Davis College Sport Business Professor Inducted into the NCEA 2025 Hall of Fame
Dr. Leah Fiorentino, an Expert-in-Residence and sport business professor in the Jacksonville University Davis College of Business and Technology was recently selected as a National Collegiate Equestrian Association 2025 Hall of Fame honoree. The induction will take place Friday, April 18, at the NCEA National Championship in Ocala, Fla.
"Dr. Leah Fiorentino's induction into the NECA 2025 Hall of Fame is a well-deserved recognition of her exceptional contributions to the field of sport management,鈥� said Dr. Barbara Ritter, dean of the Davis College of Business and Technology. 鈥淭his honor speaks to the profound impact she continues to have on both her students and the broader sport community."
The NCEA Hall of Fame was established in 2024 with its inaugural class. The honoree must have made a great and/or unusual contribution in support of the NCEA in personal time, effort, performance and/or material and services over and above all ordinary expectations of the average supporter.
鈥淚鈥檓 truly honored to have been selected for this recognition for the work I鈥檝e done to support collegiate educational opportunities for women through the sport of NCAA Equestrian. It has been a wonderful experience and I value the interactions and connections I鈥檝e established with some of the finest equine industry professionals, collegiate coaches, and student athletes,鈥� said Fiorentino.
A long-time supporter of the NCEA, Fiorentino joined forces in 2014 as the NCEA Executive Director and has been an invaluable resource to the organization and its members over the last 10 years. She came during a crucial time when the NCAA was talking about eliminating the sport of equestrian from the emerging sport program.
Fiorentino had an integral part in forming the U.S. Equestrian Federation/NCEA Junior Hunter Seat Medal Final and continued to build a lasting relationship with the United States Equestrian Federation. Her time as executive director helped to shape and mold the organization into what it is today, fostering relationships amongst existing host institutions, welcoming new institutions and rallying athletic directors and support staff to introduce equestrian on their campuses. She helped usher in the Distinguished Alumni Program as well as the Hall of Fame and was a leader in recognizing assistant coaches for their seasons efforts in Coach of the Year award each season.
Fiorentino鈥檚 leadership throughout the years has established a standard in building a season of competition, post season play with the addition of single discipline conference and national championships and an unmatched National Championship that was created from the ground up.
Her work with the NCEA has also been connected to the 麻豆传媒社区 Sport Business Program, as Fiorentino has been able to build academic/service learning experiences for the JU students to work as assistant championship managers at the championship for the NCAA Equestrian. Last year, 12 Davis College students were on-site at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida providing support for the national championship staff.
She received her doctorate in Movement Science and Education from Columbia University鈥檚 Teachers College as well as an M.Ed. She earned an M.A. from Adelphi University in Physical Education/Teacher Education and earned her B.A. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Her research interests include women鈥檚 opportunities in higher education and sport settings and supporting graduate student thesis projects.