1.question Podcast

Ron McKeefery, Vice President of Performance and Education for PLAE Perform, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast during the 2018 CSCCa National Conference. McKeefery, former S&C coach in the NFL, MLB, on the collegiate level, and with the Army Special Forces shares how S&C coaches can build impactful relationships and an open line of communication with Athletic Directors. He talks about consistency, efficiency, and outlines the importance of having an organized plan when requesting additional resources from the administration. 

Patrick Dunkley, Deputy AD & Sr. University Counsel at Stanford, visits @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss how his legal background prepared him for his current role with Stanford athletics. Categorizing his responsibilities as 60/40 non-legal to legal work, he talks about his methods of keeping the university abreast of everything that goes on in athletics on campus and around the country. Dunkley also addresses his priority management methods as he also the top athletics compliance official.

Jason Grooms, Assistant AD for Football at Vanderbilt, visits with @TaiMBrown to discuss how the admin-level football operations role benefits the athletics department as a whole. He notes the growth from team travel manager, to being the bridge between the AD and the primary revenue generator. With tentacles in the biggest roster, budget, staff, and marketing projects, Grooms notes that the Football Operations Admin has to translate all aspects of the program down to one voice in senior-level athletics decisions.

Kenneth Miles, Asstistant Vice Chancellor & Executive Director for the Cox Communications Center for Student-Athletes at LSU, visits with @TaiMBrown on 1.Question to discuss his unique role reporting to the Vice Provost of Academic Support & Review, as well as a dotted line to the AD. Miles notes that this setup helps everyone focus on recruitment and retention for all students. He also talks about how this structure has helped LSU athletics raise its Graduation Success Rate from 69% to 90% since he and the AD arrived on campus.

Continuing his visit with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast, Dave Hart talks about trust in communications saying that most, if not all, major decisions in athletics should be communicated with the President well before those decisions are actually made. He also talks about his new venture, Athletics Legacy Partners, and its leadership development mission. When discussing his current role as Special Advisor to the Chancellor at ECU, he says it is exactly what he wants to do as he winds down his career.

Dave Hart, long time leader in the college athletics industry and current Special Advisor to the Chancellor at ECU visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast. In the first part of the conversation, Hart talks about the leadership challenge of making tough decisions. He mentions the influence of mentors in providing direction when a potential decision could go against the values leaders have established for themselves. Hart goes on to say that values based decisions can be, at times, very unpopular.

Garrett Rowland, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Lee University, visits @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast during the 2018 CSCCa National Conference. Two years ago, Coach Rowland was asked to build Lee University's first strength & conditioning program as the school was completing the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Rowland discusses the process of getting coaches and administrators on board as he implemented the new program. He also touches on the intricacies of organizational structure.

Coach Andrea Hudy, Asst. AD for Sports Performance at Kansas, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast during the 2018 CSCCa National Conference. Coach Hudy was an integral component to multiple national championships at UCONN and most recently, in 2008, with Kansas Men's Basketball. Assessing her current post with KU, Hudy discusses leadership and creating a successful culture in the Athletic Performance role; specifically as it relates to and complements the head coach's style in leading the team.

Scott Wetherbee, VP & Director of Athletics at Eastern Michigan University, joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss his progression from a ticketing intern to Athletics Director. He recalls his exposure to alumni, marketing, development, and much of the external side of athletics as the foundation for his experience leading to the AD chair. Wetherbee also mentions the challenge for those in tickets is to avoid being pigeonholed as just a ticketing person by being active in as much as possible.

Devin Crosby, Director of Athletics at Lynn University, joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss his approach to leadership. He discusses his philosophy on the fundamentals of C.A.R.E. (Cultivate, Absorb, Rest, Excellence). Crosby also talks about his process of running meetings using Design Thinking. During those meetings, he puts his title as AD to the side, a process which he says allows free-flowing problem solving and creativity without everyone looking to him for all the answers.

Patti Phillips, CEO of Women Leaders in College Sports (Women Leaders) joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the changing narrative around women in leadership roles within the industry. As of the recording, 26 women have been hired to positions such as Director of Athletics, Commissioner, etc. in 2018. Phillips talks about the Women Leaders mission of taking a proactive role in advancing women into positions of influence; specifically through its leadership institutes, membership, and national convention.

Harry Stinson, Athletics Director at Lincoln (Pa.) University joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the process of moving a portion of the Lions athletics portfolio to a different conference. A member of the CIAA (NCAA DII), Lincoln University moved the Baseball & Women's Soccer teams to the East Coast Conference (ECC) in early 2018. Stinson touches on his leadership relative to the Student-Athletes and coaches during the transition time before officially joining the ECC.

Kevin Hurley, Sr. Associate AD for Facilities & Construction at Texas A&M, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the process of coordinating multi-million dollar facilities projects. Hurley specifically talks about one of (if not the) biggest renovation projects in college athletics, the $450 million upgrade to the football stadium-Kyle Field. He notes that the biggest challenges those in facilities face are budgetary concerns, scope of the facility, and time to completion.

Mike Hill, AD at UNC-Charlotte, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss executing a basketball search within the first month of accepting the position. Hill, a first-time AD, talks understanding the expectations from the moment he was hired. Empowered by the 49er leadership, he leaned on his experience with Florida Athletics to execute the search in a high-level fashion. The conversation also touched on the challenges of priority management that come with being new to the AD chair.

David Wright, Assistant VP, Development Officer, & AD at Gettysburg College (PA) visits @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss his unique responsibilities reporting to the Enrollment & Educational Services Division. In this role, Wright has had a hand in bringing the coaches on staff to the table to understand the admissions process beyond just athletics. He also has been very active in fundraising for the school and touches on how that has proven to be beneficial for all parties involved.

Portia Hoeg, Director of Athletics and Recreation at Allegheny College, joins @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss some of the challenges that NCAA Division III institutions face as the cost of higher education continues to rise. Hoeg touches on the struggles of many DIII athletic departments related to recruiting and offering financial aid packages. She even finds herself explaining the value of the college experience to the parents of some recruits because of the high costs of tuition.

1.Question Co-host @TaiMBrown continues his conversation with Eric Hyman, retired college athletics leader. Hyman talks about maintaining values and avoiding situational ethics as a leader in the current high-dollar college athletics environment. On the question of taking time for himself and his family when he was an AD, Hyman admits he wasn't the best at it. He recommends leaders take a step backwards, take time to re-energize yourself, and invest in your family.

Victor Santa Cruz, Head Football Coach at Azusa Pacific University, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Santa Cruz mentions how including the whole athletics department in the decision making process helped create collective buy-in. He also mentions NCAA brand awareness as an immediate benefit while recruiting, as well as new donors coming on board to help increase scholarships and make the transition successful.

Tim Duncan, new Deputy AD for External Affairs at Northeastern University, recently stepped down as Director of Athletics at Clayton State. Prior to doing so, he visited @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss professional development for his staff and Student-Athletes. Duncan, founder of the Emerging ADs conference, speaks to possibly being hired by a former Student-Athlete as the ultimate measure of success in terms of leadership development.

Eric Hyman, former Director of Athletics at VMI, Miami (OH), TCU, South Carolina, and Texas A&M, visits with @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast. Hyman's career spanned 47 years in intercollegiate athletics including his time as a Student-Athlete, football coach, and athletics administrator. In the first of two parts, he discusses what it takes to be successful and have longevity in the AD chair.