1.question Podcast

New USC Upstate AD Julio Freire offers insight on how he builds relationships with his head coaches during the early days of a tenure, a process that includes being present at as many practices and games as possible. Freire also shares his thoughts on whether there's such a thing as over-communication between an AD/sport administrator and a head coach, and the importance of making sure head coaches are on the same page. 

Contributing 1.Q host Tai Brown connected with North Texas AD Wren Baker at NACDA 2017 and spoke with him about his philosophy on the future of fundraising. Baker is bullish on aspiring administrators who have experience managing an annual fund, and an understanding of how to utilize a database to target fundraising strategies to different donor segments. Said Baker, "In my mind, a time will come when your annual fund guy may be the highest-paid guy on your staff." 

Contributing 1.Q host Tai Brown starts his conversation with Northern Iowa AD David Harris with an interesting question: "How much did you stick to your original first 90-day plan once you actually began as a new AD?" Listen as Harris shares his thoughts on the need for flexibility, meeting as many key donors as possible, and doing a lot of listening. Harris also shares his "non-negotiables", which he suggests new ADs execute quickly when beginning a new tenure. Key advice includes focusing on faces: "The one thing you can't delay is the people part, the relationships." 

In today's episode, we head to Eastern Michigan, where AD Scott Wetherbee shares insights on how the search in Ypsilanti wrapped up - he was in church when he received the news. Wetherbee also touches on how he'll keep in touch with the Eagles senior team during his transition period, what his initial to-do list looks like, and what he learned from Mississippi State AD John Cohen on how to effectively navigate the early days of being an AD. He also shares his go-to list of peers around the nation whom he counts on for advice.

In this episode, Contributing 1.Question Host Tai Brown chats with Delaware AD Chrissi Rawak, who shares her thoughts on the value of experiential learning, and looking outside the industry for examples of how execute in a more effective manner. Rawak also talks about re-reading 'Playing to Win', co-authored by former Proctor & Gamble CEO AJ Lafley, as she enters her second year with the Blue Hens.  

Contributing 1.Question Host @TaiMBrown caught up with St. John's University Athletics Director Anton Goff at the 2017 NACDA Convention. The two discuss Goff's rise from working in Student-Athlete Development to sitting in the AD chair. Goff touches on his process of connecting with the development office to tell the Student-Athlete experience story to donors. That move along with others helped lead him to where he is now.

One more time with the Daily Press' David Teel, this segment on how he structures his own content schedule in & out of competition seasons, as well as how well articles on the business of college athletics get engaged with versus game-related efforts. Teel also provides perspective on layoffs around the industry that again recently included some major names.

David Teel of the Daily Press is back on 1.Question, this time to discuss improvements the ACC has implemented on the MBB officiating front. Of note, the league started issuing separate grades to referees for the final four minutes of each game, which is somewhat akin to the NBA's approach & analysis of the last two minutes of close contests. More from Teel tomorrow, including how he builds his own content schedule & some reaction to the current state of online & traditional medias.

Lots of TV news above & now you can add this conversation to the list. Last week, sports TV scheduling expert, Matt Sarzyniak, penned on the potential future of 'Group of 5' TV rights. I caught up with Sarzniak to discuss what trends he's seeing in the marketplace, which networks may need the freight, dynamics around midweek games & lots more. Oh, you'll want to hear his prediction to the final question of the conversation: "In what exact year will 'Power 5' streaming rights revenues surpass those of traditional TV rights revenues?" 

New 1.Q contributing host Tai Brown caught up with Baylor Director of Athletic Development Nick Florence during last week's NACDA Convention in Orlando. Florence, who had a sterling career on the FB field for the Bears, covers his transition to athletic administration, including challenges along the way, who he's learning from, how he's constantly crafting his skills, and how to mentor former student-athletes who transition to the administrative side of the business. Key quote from Florence: "Production matters."

The Albuquerque Journal's Geoff Grammer joins to discuss the AD search at New Mexico. Grammar provides context on how engaged & interested the Lobos fanbase is in the process, what skill set is necessary & ideal right now for UNM, if local ties will play a big role & if there's anything that would be surprising on where the search ends up.

SBD/SBJ's Michael Smith continues a conversation from the end of last week with perspective on what he'll be keeping an eye on over the next six months. "I'm really fascinated with the expense side of it. For years and years we've written about the revenue generation side and the way it has grown through media rights deals & other ways. But, there's so much money in the system." Smith also touches on the facilities arms race and how some ADs are expressing concern over how much money is being spent these days, plus a bit more.

SportsBusiness Daily/Journal's Michael Smith joins to analyze this week's huge news: Learfield acquiring Spectra & shifting back to the Paciolan brand. Smith runs through the synergies & where Learfield's existing partnership portfolio could help win more ticket business for Paciolan. Smith also touches on the competing paths for Learfield & IMG College over the last handful of years. More from Smith on Monday.

The San Jose Mercury News' Jon Wilner has been doing some heavy lifting on the financial situation at Cal over the past couple of days & provides more context in this 1.Q. Of note, Wilner details how the university's faculty views the challenges for athletics, how the state budget belt-tightening is impacting the overall institution & the athletic department, and a potential timeline of developments moving forward.

National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Executive Director Carol Bruggeman joins 1.Q & provides perspective on the state of college softball with the WCWS Final underway. Bruggeman notes how TV ratings continue to grow, along with the trending levels of participation. Bruggeman also details thoughts on parity around the DI landscape as all 16 Regional hosts advanced to Super Regional play this year, developments on the topic of coaching contracts & the pressure to win, plus more.

D1Baseball's Aaron Fitt continues analyzing this year's NCAA Baseball Tournament selections, starting with why some non-'Power 5' came up short & why the last four in were all 'P5' programs. Fitt considers what could be done with annual scheduling to better balance the importance of the RPI, plus he explores the Clemson-Virginia debate for the last national seed. Finally, will we ever see a Baseball NIT?

D1Baseball's Aaron Fitt dives in on the NCAA Baseball Tournament selection process, including what he believes the committee got right & what it missed. Out-of-conference strength of schedule is debated, as is the difficulty of northern-based teams playing solid mid-week & early-season games. Fitt also defends why D1Baseball picked Gonzaga over Texas A&M as one of the last teams in its mock bracket, as well as how committee chairs should think about addressing the media.

New Football Bowl Association chairman Kevin McDonald shares his perspective on whether or not Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey's NFL Draft outcomes might influence future football student-athletes. He discusses the FBA's views on the issue, and talks media narratives, the student-athlete experience, and the FBA's strategic plan.  

Notable venture capitalist Peter Thiel's go-to interview question is, "Tell me something that's true, that almost nobody agrees with you on." In this 1.Q, Northern Colorado AD Darren Dunn says it's not one, two or three exact questions that he's interested in, but the overall body of responses from a candidate. Dunn also notes the list of 100+ questions Baylor AD Mack Rhoades created from which to pick & choose depending on the role being hired & further, on the importance of trusting your gut.

Northern Colorado AD Darren Dunn reflects on being mentored by former Missouri AD Mike Alden & how what he learned from Alden's approach helped prepare him for the next step. Dunn also runs through a number of other leaders he's worked with, including Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLead at Tulsa, San Diego AD Bill McGillis at New Mexico, and current Baylor AD Mack Rhoades at Houston. Dunn notes the approach to leadership he's taken from each and goes into detail on Rhoades' system of hiring for fit, "The Way of the Shepherd," and digging deeper to identify the best candidate.