1.question Podcast

WVU Deputy AD, Kelli Zinn, visits @1QLeadership guest host Blair on the topic of longevity at one place. Zinn talks about her progress to deputy and the challenges when constantly pursuing excellence. With similar career progress, Zinn and Blair discuss the benefits of beginning their athletics journey in compliance. Zinn discusses being responsible for football oversight and touches on the transition to the Big 12. She also talks about her involvement in capital projects and personnel changes.

Dr. Ed Scott, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Morgan State, visits @1QLeadership to talk about his process in deciding to take the AD job. Scott covers common misconceptions about working at HBCUs, early wins in his tenure in the chair, and being creative in finding resources. Growing the number of athletics sponsors by over 500% and recruiting top staffers to his department are some of the specifics of the discussion. The conversation wraps talking about MOAA, the Minority Opportunity Athletic Association.

Ron Seaver, President of the National Sports Forum (NSF), visits with @1QLeadership guest host Blair about the NSF and its growing relevance over 26 years in existence. Seaver gives an overview of the purpose of the event including its emphasis on increasing diversity in the sports industry. The conversation also focuses on the NSF's four pillars of revenue generation and its emphasis on networking and professional development.

Angel Mason, Director of Athletics at Berry College, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of listening to oneself. Mason talks about the transition from coaching basketball to working in administration. She mentions making decisions based on values and how finding an organization that aligns with those values can make leadership less challenging. The conversation wraps on navigating strategic planning through the pandemic.

LSU Director of Student-Athlete Mental Health and Interim Senior Advisor to the AD for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. LaKeitha Poole visits @1QLeadership. In a conversation ranging from her role advising the Athletics Director on DEI to helping Student-Athletes deal with the challenges of the starts and stops of the 2020 football season, Poole talks about filling what could possibly be three different full-time positions in the department. She also gives some insight on discussions with fellow mental health professionals on best practices for helping student-athletes with dealing with a season during the pandemic.

Washington State Deputy AD Bryan Blair steps in as a guest host for @1QLeadership interviewing NCAA Director of Leadership Development DeeDee Merritt. Discussing the new NCAA Leadership Collective, Merritt gives insight on its structure and its relevance in taking away the "lack of qualified candidates" excuse regarding people of color and leadership roles in coaching and administration. She also talks about the latest enhancements to the NCAA Pathway program.

Pepperdine President & CEO, Jim Gash, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of evolving leadership. Gash explains that his style of leadership begins with relationships. From relationships things become collaborative. Collaboration gives way deliberation, and from there, decisions are made. As a former college quarterback, Gash gives insight on the necessity of calling audibles when leading. The conversation wraps on the topic of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Natasha Wilson, VP for Student Life and Athletics at Central Methodist University (CMU), stopped by @1QLeadership to discuss leading two crucial departments on campus. On a campus where Student-Athletes make up half the student body, Wilson works closely with institutional advancement and alumni affairs to provide the best experience to all students. She also acknowledges the learning curve when tasked with running the student life department in addition to athletics.

RPI football coach Ralph Isernia visits @1QLeadership to talk about culture. With a simple definition of "The way of life of a group," Isernia delves into his thoughts on organizational success rooted in culture. He talks about focusing on what is important in the moment. The conversation wraps with his motivation to learn for self-actualization.

Head Football Coaches Danny Rocco of Delaware, and Glenn Caruso of University of St. Thomas (MN) visit @1QLeadership to talk about playing a football season during the Spring. The two veteran coaches talk about providing balance to the football players during the Fall while preparing for the upcoming season. The conversation goes into leaning on values to deal with the starts and stops that will most likely happen. Both coaches talk about the leadership of their respective Athletics Directors, Rawak at Delaware and Esten at St. Thomas.

Harvard Director of Athletics, Erin McDermott, visits @1QLeadership about her virtual adventure leading the Crimson. McDermott talks about the challenge of developing relationships and trust in a virtual environment as she has only been on campus three times since being hired. One method of breaking the ice with the staff was to discuss her first pandemic grocery list (wine, chocolate, etc.). The conversation wraps on the topic of evaluating coaches over a period when there hasn't been any competitions.

Ohio State Sr. VP & AD, Gene Smith, visits the @1QLeadership school of thought to give insight on building the credibility needed to weather the storms and transitions that come with working in college athletics. He talks about the department's performance development program that helped fellow industry leaders Lyke, Jarmond, and Chun among others rise to executive positions. Smith also confirms the story that he tells his staffers to leave the comforts of Ohio State if they want to move up in the industry.

Love, listen, and lead are the three expectations that Colgate AD, Dr. Nicki Moore, consider the roots of her leadership philosophy. In her visit with @1QLeadership, she talks about the importance of giving people the authority to do the job they were hired to do. She also talks about her experiences while working with industry leaders, Castiglione and Cunningham. With psychology as the backdrop of her career, Dr. Moore provides insight on diversity and organizational success.

Columbia's Jessica De Palo, Associate AD for Enrichment Services, talks to @1QLeadership about the thought process behind creating the Success Through Well-Being group within the athletics department. The group includes mental health, nutrition, and academic services among others to centralize the conversations on possible crossover areas that tie-in the Student-Athlete experience. De Palo also talks about providing virtual services and the evaluation process the department uses to measure success.

Psychological Resources for Oklahoma Student-Athletes or PROS is the name of the department where Dr. Dolores Christensen holds the Assistant Director position. Christensen visited @1QLeadership to talk about the structure of the department and the mental health services provided. The PROS department was the first of its kind to be housed in an athletics department. Christensen also serves as chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Subcommittee. She discusses the committee's origins, its response to the frustration expressed this summer, and what they are currently doing within athletics as a whole.

Juliana Smith, Deputy Director of Athletics/SWA at Colgate, visits @1QLeadership to discuss her background in human resources and how it relates to her current role in the department. She talks about her history working with AD Nicki Moore at Oklahoma and also gives insight into her method of evaluating information to make effective decisions. The conversation wraps on how the department and campus has made adjustments with regard to racial injustice and the global pandemic.

Torre Becton, Head Athletic Performance Coach for Football at Cal, visits @1QLeadership to follow-up on his recent 1Q episode now that the Pac-12 Conference has reversed its initial decision to cancel the 2020 football season. Becton talks about the transition in training and mentality after the announcement. He mentions the internal conversation that took place after the Big-10 announced its decision and the conversations with some players who may have lost motivation to play during the time off. 

Kevin Hambly, Head Volleyball Coach at Stanford, visits @1QLeadership to talk about some of the challenges he faced during his first year of taking over a program with historic success. The conversation also covers a diversity mentorship program created to address the lack of people of color in the volleyball coaching profession. The program involves pairing participants with head coaches throughout the industry to establish relationships, educate and prepare, and create networking opportunities.

Devin Crosby, Director of Athletics at Lynn University, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of moving forward as a country against the backdrop of frustration being expressed over racial injustice. Crosby offers insight into a way of moving forward couched within the intersection of education, leadership development, and society. The conversation also delves into emotional decisions, reactions, and understanding the why behind the decisions we make regarding people.

Tony Reno, Head Football Coach at Yale, visits @1QLeadership guest host Caruso to discuss a number of things related to being a head coach during COVID-19. Reno talks about how much the Student-Athletes want to get in the weightroom while Caruso talks about a statistic which says that athletes are most worried about not being with their teammates. Both talk about feeling sympathy for high school seniors in the class of 2021. The conversation wraps on adjusting to new ADs in Chun and Esten respectively.