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More than 185 collegiate recreation professionals and students gathered in Cleveland for three days of professional development, networking, and connection.

The CENTERS team at Cleveland State University welcomed collegiate recreation professionals and students from across Ohio for the 52nd Ohio Recreational Sports Association (ORSA) State Workshop, held October 21–23, 2026. Dubbed “ORSA in the Land,” the workshop returned to campus for the first time since 2014.

Bringing the Profession Together

The workshop featured 15 educational presentations.  Topics included leadership and student development, facility planning, collaboration, belonging, artificial intelligence, and professional development. Seven additional roundtables covered aquatics, fitness, outdoor recreation, marketing and membership, facilities and operations, competitive sports, and nontraditional career backgrounds.

The program supported professional development across the career continuum. Early-career professionals could explore career paths and build their networks. Meanwhile, mid-level and seasoned professionals discussed leadership, operations, and professional growth. The workshop also included a Leadership Cohort and a directors’ meeting, where experienced professionals discussed the challenges of leading campus recreation programs.

Developing the Next Generation

The dedicated Lil’ Lead On student track helped students build leadership skills, expand their professional networks, and explore careers in collegiate recreation. Student programming included educational sessions, networking, and resume review.

Many full-time recreation professionals began their careers as student employees, interns, or graduate assistants. ORSA provides an opportunity for students to see beyond their own campus and understand the broader collegiate recreation career possibilities.

The Campus as a Learning Environment

Attendees explored the Cleveland State Recreation Center through facility tours, early-morning workouts, F45 classes, and a pre-conference pickleball tournament. The Recreation Center also hosted discipline-specific roundtables. The CSU Student Center hosted educational sessions, general sessions, student programming, and the vendor expo.

Off-campus networking and social events included an opening-night gathering at Collision Bend Brewing Company and an ORSA dinner and auction aboard the Goodtime III on Lake Erie.

CENTERS Professionals Contributing to the Profession

Michelle Rieger, Ph.D., Senior Associate Director for CENTERS at Cleveland State, received the ORSA Honor Award, one of the association’s most prestigious recognitions, for her leadership, service, and contributions to the recreational sports profession.

Rieger and Yvette Kell, Ph.D., Director of Campus Recreation for CENTERS at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, joined Stephanne Musser from The Ohio State University.  They showed how AI can help recreation leaders spot recurring problems and address their underlying causes.

What It Takes to Host

Chris Stewart, Senior Assistant Director of Facility Operations, and Mackenzie Lamar, Senior Assistant Director of Programs, led the CENTERS team in hosting ORSA. Coordinating a three-day workshop across two campus facilities took the same skills the team uses every day at Cleveland State. The team drew on its knowledge of CSU’s facilities and its relationships with campus partners to keep programming, food service, parking, and vendor operations on schedule.

ORSA also showed how CENTERS advances campus recreation across the institutions it serves. Students explored career pathways, staff took on leadership responsibilities, and colleagues from different campuses shared new approaches to familiar operating challenges. That investment gives institutions a way to develop future recreation leaders while putting new ideas to work in the programs students use today.