School of Pharmacy Launching Sports Pharmacy Education Program

The initiative began with an elective course on Drugs and Human Performance, taught by Marvin Wilson, former pharmacology professor and associate dean for academic and student affairs. Wilson created the course in 2014 when he retired from his administrative role with the School of Pharmacy.

An avid sports fan, he had long held an interest in the role performance enhancing and other drugs play in athletics. His course was divided into thirds: drugs and physical performance, drugs and cognitive performance, and drugs and sexual performance.

"Pharmacists a lot of times get these kinds of questions from young folks, parents or whoever it may be," Wilson said.

The next step is to launch a sports pharmacy certifications program, said Donna Strum, dean of the pharmacy school. The school's Division of Professional Development is consulting with experts in sports pharmacy, with expertise ranging from medication management in athletes and dietary supplement use to injury prevention and recovery, to develop a robust program.

They plan to roll out the program in spring 2026, using seed funding contributed by Wilson and his wife, Becky.

Wilson's original course was a hit with students. He retired from teaching in 2017 after nearly 50 years, but his interest in drugs and athletics did not wane.

"In those three years, I became really interested in it and I became very aware that this is not something routinely covered in pharmacy school and there was no book on the topic," he said.

He reached out to a few individuals who had contributed knowledge to his elective course and together, they produced the textbook "Sports Pharmacy: Performance Enhancing Drugs and the Athlete."

The American Pharmacists Association published the work in 2019. With national interest in sports pharmacy taking off in the last few years, a second edition is in the works and will debut later this year.

Shannon Singletary, executive associate athletics director and director of the health and sports performance department for the Ole Miss Department of Athletics, worked with Wilson to develop the course. He is continuing to collaborate with pharmacy school officials to develop the certificate program.

"Elite athletes represent a distinct patient population, facing unique physical demands that set them apart from sedentary or recreational athletes," Singletary said. "With strict regulations governing the medications and supplements they can use, this emerging subspecialty in pharmacy is essential. It not only equips pharmacists to address the needs of this unique group but also enhances their role within the comprehensive health care team that supports athletes daily.

"This certificate program exemplifies our university's commitment to leading the way and establishing best practices for the industry."

The need for sports pharmacists is clear, especially at a time when cultural interest in dietary supplements and fitness is soaring, Wilson said.

"Owners and coaches of teams should highly value counseling of their players regarding informed options of therapeutic drugs that would be less likely to interfere with their sport performance, especially if they were being paid multimillion-dollar annual contracts," he said.

"Sports pharmacy is more than participating in antidoping activities. It also includes counseling on the safe and effective use of supplements and medication by athletes and those striving for increased fitness."

With interest in the topic growing rapidly, Wilson approached the pharmacy school's leadership about tailoring the school's academic offerings to train pharmacists to meet the demand.

"Aside from one other university in California, no other pharmacy schools were taking advantage of the opportunity," Wilson said. "Plus, this university is known for athletics. What better place to do this than a university in the SEC?"

Strum, a former student of Wilson's, was interested, but no funding was available to begin such an initiative. So, earlier this year, Wilson and his wife gifted seed funding to make his idea a reality.

"Thanks to the Wilsons' generosity and vision, we are poised to lead the field of sports pharmacy, equipping our students with specialized knowledge in medication management for athletes, performance-enhancing drugs and dietary supplements and regulatory and practice considerations in sports pharmacy," Strum said.

"From partnering with Ole Miss athletics to serve the student-athletes to developing courses related to sports pharmacy, this initiative will accelerate our ability to innovate in this critical space.

"We are deeply grateful for this commitment to the future of pharmacy and the role of pharmacists in sports medicine."

Wilson hopes that his former students and colleagues will consider joining him in funding the initiative. Anyone interested in giving to the Sports Pharmacy Fund at the School of Pharmacy should contact Laura Gullett, associate director of development, at laurahg@olemiss.edu or call (662) 322-0569.

Top: The School of Pharmacy is developing a certification program in sports pharmacy, building on the success of an elective course in Drugs and Human Performance, created by professor Marvin Wilson in 2014. Wilson and his wife, Becky, have donated seed money for the program. Adobe Stock image