LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV Athletics has welcomed two key additions to its support staff as Kennedy Springer and Galina Lodge now lead the Rebels' sports nutrition department.
 
As UNLV's Director of Performance Nutrition, Springer oversees the overall unit, working with all 17 Rebel varsity sports, with an emphasis on the department's Olympic Sport programs. She came to Las Vegas from the University of Louisville where she served as Sports Dietitian for the Cardinals since May 2021. A registered dietitian since 2020, Springer is a member of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitian Association (CPSDA) and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
 
A former volleyball player and coach at Utah State University Eastern in Price, Utah, Springer earned her bachelor's degree in human nutrition from Southern Utah University in 2017 and her master's degree in nutrition and integrative physiology from the University of Utah in 2020. After serving an internship with the Intermountain Healthcare TOSH Sport Science Department in Murray, Utah, she was the Gatorade Sports Nutrition Immersion Fellow at the University of Washington from August 2020 to April 2021.
 
Lodge fills a newly created position designed to specifically support the UNLV football program on a day-to-day basis. She joined the Rebels after serving as a Sports Nutrition Dietetic Intern for the University of Pittsburgh athletics department since January 2021, including working with the ACC-champion Panthers football program.
 
The Kent State University 2020 graduate with a bachelor's degree in nutrition earned her master's in the same field from Pitt in May. She is also a member of the CPSDA.
 
"Under the leadership of Director of Athletics Erick Harper, UNLV has recently expanded the area of sports nutrition, led by the addition of Kennedy and Galina." said Sarah Wattenberg, Assistant Athletics Director of Sport Performance. "These new roles bolster our efforts of promoting the health and well-being of all of our student-athletes in addition to enhancing their performance on the fields of play. Their impact has been felt immediately and we couldn't be more excited to have them join the Rebel Family."