Why We Do What We Do
In August 2001, Korey Stringer, a Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman, passed away from exertional heat stroke. During Korey’s five-year tenure in the NFL, he earned pro-bowl honors. Since the time of Korey’s death, his wife, Kelci, worked tirelessly to develop an exertional heat stroke prevention institute to honor her husband’s legacy. From this tragedy, the UCONN Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) was birthed.
The mission of the Korey Stringer Institute is to provide research, education, advocacy and consultation to maximize performance, optimize safety and prevent sudden death for the athlete, warfighter and laborer.
How Your Donations Make a Difference
Your gift will contribute to the economic impact of Northeast Florida by making KSI a staple of the Jacksonville community. Collectively, we can reach our goal of $50,000 to bring a satellite KSI heat lab to the University of North Florida. Make your gift of $100 TODAY!
Laborers
- Be at the forefront of the implementation of pending new federal heat standards
- Be a national leader in supporting heat mitigation strategies for major companies and federal support organizations
- Research hub for understanding acute and long-term impacts of laboring in heat
Warfighters
- Partner with the military community in JAX area who face extreme heat while working daily to enhance heat mitigation strategies
- Establish a local research center for warfighter heat safety at UNF
- Work with a large local veteran network to better understand the long-term influences of working in the heat
Elite Athletes in the Community
- Provide testing for elite athletes in JAX community (tennis players, runners, cyclists, triathletes, professional sports teams, and others)
- Heat acclimation assessments and sessions, sweat rate assessment, sweat electrolyte concentration, heat tolerance testing, whole-body washdowns, team assessments, etc
- Individual heat performance programs
- Medical follow-up for heat cases
- Long-term data partnerships for sports teams
UNF Athletics
- Heat strategies for Division I athletic teams
- Individual athlete testing services
- Medical testing
UNF Student Experiences
- Provide research experiences for students in kinesiology, athletic training, etc.
- Offer targeted independent studies and honors student projects
- Paid on-campus opportunities for undergraduate students working in the lab
- Graduate assistant placement and site for thesis data collection
- Core class instruction
For questions on how to become a corporate sponsor contact Michelle Drinks at michelle.drinks@unf.edu.