Welcome to the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports.

The Stark Center is a research center housed within the Department of Kinesiology & Health Education.  We are a unique combination of library, archive, and gallery/exhibit space.

An Unexpected Pleasure: Kissing the Ground in Equilibrium—A Search for the Origins of the Pushup

One of the things I enjoy most about the Stark Center are the requests we often get for information about some aspect of the history of physical culture. Most of those requests are handled by our incredible Stark Center staff but every now and then a request will make its way to my inbox and I find myself so intrigued that I end up doing research that wasn’t planned because the question made me curious too. This past Sunday was one of those days. I got an unexpected email from Denis Blinov, whom I’ve never met. “May I ask if you...

A photograph of The Rogue Fitness Gallery. Table-style display case in the foreground with a double door vinyl wrap of Hafthor Bjornsson completing a deadlift in the backdrop.

What’s New: Recognition and Branding

What’s New is a series of monthly blog posts that reports on the latest happenings, updates, acquisitions, and projects at the Stark Center. Because my work focuses on exhibit design and gallery management, the What’s New blog series will have a specific focus on our gallery spaces. Readers can expect these blogs to report on the latest things to see on their next visit to The Stark Center. First, if you haven’t read about the re-design of our main lobby in the fall of 2023, please check out my blog post “You Are Here” which discusses the thoughts and intentions...

Browse the Complete Journal Archive

The Stark Center features collections from around the world related to all aspects of physical culture and sports.

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