''Sport Science'' is a television series that explores the science and engineering underlying athletic endeavors. It was originally filmed as a 12-part series that was broadcast on FSN from September 9, 2007, to April 20, 2008 (season 1). The second season (2009) also aired on FSN. Season 3 (2010) was picked up by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. ESPN, who has changed the name of the series to ''SportScience'', has yet to air new episodes. Instead, the network has chosen to air various ''SportScience'' vignettes during programs such as ''SportsCenter''. ''Sport Science'' is a spinoff of its predecessor '' Fight Science'' on National Geographic. Season 1 of ''Sport Science'' is currently available for streaming from TVNZ OnDemand. The series was filmed inside a Los Angeles airport hangar or on location using a mobile laboratory. Each episode on season 1 focused on testing certain aspects of athletics (such as human flight and reaction time), while season 2 either poses more questions from previous episodes, or tries to re-analyze sporting moments or trials and tribulations, puts a human against animals or machines, or even checking against other sports or challenging the odds with data gathered using motion sensors and accelerometers. Professional athletes are featured prominently and are used to test the limits of the human body. In addition, host John Brenkus also participated in cases where an "average Joe" was required. The lead engineer throughout the ''Sport Science'' series has been Dr. Cynthia Bir, Professor of

Biomedical Engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

in Detroit, Michigan. Using methods that have been developed to understand human injury biomechanics, and developing new techniques to address the unique challenges found when studying live volunteers in high impact and high speed activities, Dr. Bir helps viewers to understand the forces (internal and external) sustained and generated by the body during high level athletic activities. ''Sport Science'' was nominated for four

Sports Emmy Award The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports E ...

s in 2008 for season 1, winning for Outstanding Graphic Design. Season 2 received even more accolades in 2009, being nominated for five Emmys and receiving two awards, for Outstanding Graphic Design and also for Outstanding New Approaches in Sports Programming. John Brenkus died on May 31, 2025, following a battle with depression.

References

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External links

*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1129059/, retrieved on 2009-5-27 *http://television.aol.com/show/sport-science/1325011/main, retrieved on 2009-5-27 *Michael, Hiestand (2007-9-27), Sports + science = Latest on TV, https://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2007-09-27-sports-on-tv_N.htm, retrieved on 2009-5-27 2000s American sports television series ESPN original programming Fox Sports Networks original programming 2000s American documentary television series 2007 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings