About Us

We are all coaches and former athletes, so we understand the challenges that exist from both perspectives.

DR. RICH JACOB

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

A longtime educator and basketball coach, Richard L. Jacob, PhD is the current head coach of the American Basketball Association’s Buffalo Extreme and is a Sport Management Consultant with Villa Maria College. Until May 2023, Jacob was with Medaille College since 1995. He served as the college’s first athletic director and first full-time head basketball coach. Currently a Medaille faculty member, Dr. Jacob serves as the Chair of the Social Science Department and Director of the Sport Management and Esports Management Degree Programs. Author of the Medaille College Graduate Concentration in Sport Psychology, he is a member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and has conducted multiple Sport Psychology Seminars.

KELLIE PEIPER CMPC

DIRECTOR OF SPORT PSYCHOLOGY AND WELLNESS

Kellie Peiper provides dynamic and innovative sport psychology services across various age groups, skill levels, sports, and activities. Kellie works with teams, coaches, parents, and individual athletes to develop critical mental toughness skillsets for peak performance in sport and in life, as well as navigate the vastly changing world of sport participation.

Kellie earned her Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree in Sport Psychology from Temple University in 2001. She was a collegiate swimmer at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and coaching in 1999.

As an athlete who battled chronic injury, Kellie developed a passion for the psychological aspects of sport and has dedicated her career to helping athletes reach their full potential.

Kellie currently works full time in the Division of Athletics at the University at Buffalo as Assistant Athletics Director and Sport Psychology Consultant, and also works with private clients across various age groups and sports.

BOB BATESON BS, CSCS, RSCC,*E

DIRECTOR OF SPORT PERFORMANCE

Bob is the current associate head coach of the American Basketball Association’s Buffalo Extreme. He received his BS in Physical Education with a concentration in Athletic Training and Sports Medicine from Cortland State University. He is certified by both the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) where he currently holds a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification. In recognition of Bob’s contributions to the fitness field and commitment to ongoing education, the NSCA upgraded his certification to a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach Emeritus (RSCC *E)- which is their highest available certification and places him among a very small group of Coaches in the country who have reached that level.

Over the course of his career, Bob has developed, implemented, and facilitated a number of fitness programs for various organizations. This includes a Fitness and Sports Performance Curriculum that was launched within the Buffalo Public Schools. The program provided a framework that allowed him to educate both the students and the faculty within the schools. By designing the program in this way, Bob was able to create a sustainable and long-term model rather than a short-term fix. He is confident that this program will not only serve as a major contributing factor towards developing a culture that produces fitter and healthier students but also that leads to increased academic performance and fewer sports-related injuries.

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