Army West Point Athletics
Academy Leadership
Lieutenant General James B. Bartholomees III
Superintendent
Lieutenant General James B. Bartholomees III received his commission as an Infantry Officer from the United States Military Academy (USMA) in 1995. He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Command and General Staff College and U.S. Army War College.
Prior to assuming command as USMA’s 62nd Superintendent in August 2026, Lieutenant General Bartholomees commanded the 25th Infantry Division and U.S. Army Hawaii. He also served as the G3 and Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Pacific and Executive Officer to the Director of the Army Staff. He commanded the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) in Europe; 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, as well as 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
His previous field grade assignments include Operations Officer, Executive Officer and Deputy Commander, 75th Ranger Regiment, as well as Liaison Officer and Executive Officer, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. His previous company grade assignments include Company Command and Staff in 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, as well as 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He began his Army career as a Platoon Leader in the 82nd Airborne Division and Platoon Leader in 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
Lieutenant General Bartholomees' peacekeeping deployments include Haiti with the 82nd Airborne Division in 1996 and Bosnia-Herzegovina with the 3rd Infantry Division in 2000 – 2001. He deployed several times to Iraq including the initial assault with 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in 2003 as well as multiple deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2016.
Lieutenant General Bartholomees is married and has four children.
Brigadier General Joseph A. Katz
Commandant of Cadets
Brigadier General Joseph A. Katz graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1999. Upon graduation he was commissioned into the Field Artillery and served in various locations and duty positions across the United States and overseas. These include duty with the 2d Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington; 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; United States Military Academy, West Point, New York; U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky; U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.; 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky; The Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. and Forces Command (FORSCOM), Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Brigadier General Katz most recently served as the Deputy Commanding General (Support) of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), prior to his assignment as the 82nd Commandant of the United States Corps of Cadets.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in American History and Systems Engineering from West Point, a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. His military education includes Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, Infantry Captain's Career Course, U.S. Army War College, and U.S. Army Ranger School.
Brigadier General Katz’s deployments include Afghanistan (CJTF-76), as the Assistant Division Fire Support Coordinator with the 25th Infantry Division; Tal Afar, Iraq (3-4 CAV) as the Battalion Fire Support Officer; and Kirkuk, Iraq (B/3-7 FA) commanding B/3-7 Field Artillery.
Brigadier General Katz has earned the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger Tab, the Jungle Tab, the Air Assault Badge, the Airborne Badge, and the Pathfinder Torch.
His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2 OLC), Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (4 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (2 OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (1 OLC), and various unit awards commensurate with his positions of responsibility and time in service.
Brigadier General Nicholas H. Gist
Dean of the Academic Board
Brigadier General Nicholas H. Gist serves as the 16th Dean of the Academic Board at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. Gist holds a Doctor of Philosophy in exercise physiology and a Master of Education in exercise science from the University of Georgia, and a Bachelor of Science from West Point. He is a Professor, USMA, and led the Department of Physical Education for eleven years as its head, holding the historic title “Master of the Sword,” which dates to 1814.
Gist has taught at West Point through two tours in the Department of Physical Education, beginning as an instructor and returning after doctoral study as an Academy Professor and the department’s deputy director. He became head of the department in April 2015 and has served on the Academic Board since. As department head, Gist has chaired the Academy’s Admissions Committee, contributed to Middle States accreditation through the institutional self-study, and chaired faculty search and selection committees for professor positions in departments across the Academy. Gist speaks regularly on the science behind human performance and the development of the hybrid athlete.
Gist’s research examines high-intensity interval training and its application to the physical readiness of Soldiers and cadets. He has authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles in publications including Sports Medicine, the Journal of Applied Physiology, Pediatrics, Military Medicine, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, and the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, and his work has been funded by the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. His meta-analysis on the effects of sprint interval training on aerobic capacity, published in Sports Medicine, remains a widely cited reference in the field, and his study of low-volume, high-intensity calisthenics with Army ROTC cadets in Military Medicine carried that work directly to military populations. He serves as a manuscript reviewer for peer-reviewed journals in exercise science and sports medicine.
Gist commissioned in 1994 from USMA as an aviation officer and served in a series of aviation leadership assignments at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and with the 2nd Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment in the Republic of Korea, where he later commanded the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the Army’s only forward-deployed heavy-lift helicopter battalion. Following Intermediate Level Education at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, he returned to Korea as executive officer for both the 602nd Aviation Support Battalion and the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
Gist has deployed to combat three times. In Iraq, he served as deputy chief of the Stability Support Transition Team in Ninewa Province during Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. In Afghanistan, he served as a division plans officer in Kandahar during Operation Enduring Freedom and returned to Bagram with the 1st Cavalry Division as director of the Commander’s Action Group during Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. He is a Senior Army Aviator and a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal.
Gist is married to the former Dea Marie Newman. They have two children, both West Point graduates: Madeleine, Class of 2021, and Graham, Class of 2024.