Columbia International University Athletics

Jay Rovis enters his first season as the full-time strength and conditioning coach for CIU Athletics after spending the past two years as a graduate assistant for the Rams.

Rovis is a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (see below for full list of certifications). He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Management and a Master's Degree in Business Administration at CIU and is working towards a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. 

Rovis spent the summer of 2019 as a strength and conditioning intern for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks football team. At USC, Rovis worked under John Griffin, the current Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Los Angeles Rams. 

In congruence with his duties with the CIU, Rovis also serves as the strength and conditioning coach for the local United Soccer League club, Soda City FC. 

He has been a part of five NCCAA regional championships, one NCCAA National Championship with CIU between 2019 and 2021, and one division championship with Soda City FC in 2019.

During the summer of 2020, he worked under Bobby Stroupe for Athlete Performance Enhancement Center in Dallas, Texas (APEC). Stroupe is well respected in the athletic training community and has coached several star athletes over the years, including Trevor Story of the MLB and Patrick Mahomes of the NFL. 

Rovis grew up in Croatia, where he played basketball for KK Pula 1981. He played there from 2012-2014 and won two regional titles during that time. In 2014 he came to the United States at the age of 17, and played his senior year of high school for the Hartfield Academy Hawks in Mississippi. He was ranked a top 15 senior in the MAIS, and later that year, he went on to win the honors of the MAIS District MVP and the team's Best Offensive Player award.

In 2015 Rovis continued his basketball career in North Carolina, where he played for the Moravian Prep basketball school. After the single-year program at Moravian Prep, he signed with the CIU Rams in 2016 and went on to play for the Rams as a starter for the next two years.