Dr. Brian Bolt
Biography
I am an educator, coach, husband, father, and often misunderstood introvert.
As a kid, I could never get enough of sports and movement. Most of my free time was spent playing games in driveways, vacant lots, backyards, and on organized teams. I played three sports in high school and two at Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Michigan), then turned my passion into a career as a teacher and coach.
After teaching in K–8 schools and coaching high school athletics, I returned to graduate school in North Carolina before accepting my first faculty position at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. In 2004, I returned to Calvin (now Calvin University), where I have served as both a faculty member and administrator in kinesiology, intercollegiate athletics, and now as Dean of Education. I love helping others become great teachers and studying how people learn. Calvin's School of Education has been preparing teachers for more than a century, and I am grateful to be part of that mission.
I also coach Calvin's men's golf team. I taught myself the game while in graduate school—the one sport I had not played growing up—and began sharing it with others. When the coaching position opened at Calvin, I decided to give it a try. Since then, our team has won five MIAA championships (2010, 2013, 2017, 2021, and 2026) and earned multiple NCAA Division III Championship appearances.
My eight years in Virginia were formative. Alongside my work in teacher education, I began seriously exploring the relationship between sport and Christianity. Conversations with colleagues from a variety of disciplines and faith traditions sharpened my understanding of both the possibilities and limitations of sport in the Christian life. In 2018, together with a colleague from rival Hope College, I co-founded Sport. Faith. Life., which develops resources at the intersection of sport and faith through a regular podcast and an international conference.
My wife, Joni, is an educator and middle school librarian. Together we enjoy life with our three grown children: Grace, Maria, and George.
Education
- BA, Calvin College, 1990
- MAT, UNC-Chapel Hill, 1993
- PhD, UNC-Greensboro, 1996
Academic Interests
- Physical activity pedagogy, psychology, and philosophy
- Christianity and sport
Recent Publications and Presentations
Podcast Dig Deep: Sport, Faith, Life
Vanysacker, D., Bolt, B. R. Carlson, C. R., Jirasek, I., & Hoven, M. (Eds.). (under contract). Companion to Christianity and Sport in Europe and North America (19th-21st centuries) (D. Vanysacker, C. R. Carlson, I. Jirasek, & M. Hoven, Eds.). Belgium: Brepols Publishers. (intended publication in 2026).
Carlson, C. R., Putz, P. E., & Bolt, B. R. (2022). Introduction: Sport-gender orthodoxy and muscular Christian values. International Journal of the History of Sport, 39(4), 343-349.
Carlson, C., Bolt, B., & Gruenler, C. Guest Editor, Special Issue: Sport, Christianity, and Gender, International Journal of the History of Sport. Vol. 39, No. 4 (2022)
Bolt, B. & Carlson, C. Guest Editor, Special Issue: The Christian Sportsperson, Journal of the Christian Society of Kinesiology and Leisure Studies, Vol. 7, No. 2 (2022)
Carlson, C.R., & Bolt, B.R. (2021). Introduction to theme issue: Play. Christian Scholars Review, 50(4), 339-343.
Carlson, C.R., & Bolt, B.R. (2021). Grasshopper theology: Games, play, and the ideal existence. Christian Scholars Review, 50(4), 363-382.
Bolt, B. R. (2018). Sport. Faith. Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Calvin College Press.
Bolt, B.R. & Carlson, C. (2018). Sports, envy, and the conundrum of comparison. In Hoven, M., Parker, A., & Watson N. J. Christian Practices for Sports: An Introduction. London: Bloomsbury.
Publications
