1.question Podcast

Katie Smith (Staiger), Associate Director of Business Operations at Baylor University, visits @1QLeadership to talk with guest host and Illinois State Student-Athlete and athletics intern, Kendee Hiilliard. The two talk about leadership on and off the court, SAAC leadership, and the transition from player to athletics administration. Smith also goes into the difference between reporting to a coach versus supervisor and the path to working in administration.

Coach Ron Stolski, long time football coach at Brainerd High School in Minnesota, visits @1QLeadership at the 2020 AFCA Convention to talk about the origins of the create and maintain leadership philosophy. Stolski, with more than 50 years in the coaching profession, talks leadership and the future of the game of football.

James Franklin, Head Football Coach at Penn State, visits @1QLeadership to discuss his methods of adjusting to the pandemic chapter. Topics covered include onboarding new coach assistant coaches remotely, gauging the well-being of his team, and operating with a purpose. Franklin also touches on his relationship with Sandy Barbour, Penn State's VP of Athletics.

Dr. Brandon Martin, Director of Athletics at Kansas City, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of method of providing educational opportunities for the head coaches in his department. Martin gets into the structure of the program and his thoughts for offering it up to other departments in their new conference, The Summit League. He explains the three outcomes he hopes to achieve - enhance communication, ensure alignment and clarify expectations, and advance the speed of trust.

Wesley Ellison-Stewart, Associate VP for Major Gifts & Development at Boston College, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of development during the pandemic. Ellison-Stewart, former Sr. Associate AD for Development at BC, discusses the changes she, her team, and the university have had to make to keep things moving forward in university enhancement. She emphasizes that leadership in development starts with empathy and how that trait has become even more important over the last couple months. 

Todd Berry, Executive Director of the American Football Coaches Association, visits @1QLeadership to discuss what is on the minds of college football coaches during the pandemic. He discusses the areas where football coaches have input in decisions regarding football and areas where they should leave things to the experts. Coach Berry also gives insight about recruiting implications as various models and contingency plans are being discussed among the numerous committees that he and the AFCA Board serve on.

Bobby Williams, Special Teams Coordinator with University of Oregon, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of leadership over 37 years in coaching. Williams, former head coach at Michigan State University and longtime assistant to Nick Saban talks about learning from those he has worked for and the ups and downs that come with the profession. As a special teams coach, he talks about having relationships with everyone on the team and the value of walk-ons to any team. Williams wraps the conversation with thoughts on losing players after so long in the game.

Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN College Football Analyst, visits @1QLeadership to talk about a number of items relative to the pandemic, including his comments regarding the 2020 college football season. He addresses the deeper understanding of his passion for sports and how much the nation's passion for sports will grow because of the appreciation for something that has been taken away. Herbstreit also expresses concern for Student-Athletes and people in general who struggle to get a healthy meal at home.

Mike Castle, Assistant AD for Ticket Sales & Operations at Georgia Tech, joins @1QLeadership to talk about the gap between the values that guide leaders in college athletics and the expectations of fans who are guided by their value in the entertainment of college sports. Castle emphasizes that the long term success of college athletics rests in helping fans and supporters understand that it is much bigger than just the competition.

Brad Bates, VP for Consulting at Collegiate Sports Associates, talks to @1QLeadership about the possible scenario of no football season. He speaks from experience as the former AD at Boston College and Miami Ohio. Bates gives insight about what is possibly on the minds of those in leadership positions in college athletics.

Curt Pires, President of CAP Sports Group, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of media rights in college athletics and the potential impact if there were no college football season. With consulting experience with WAC, America East, SoCon, and many others, Pires provides insight into some of the possible factors going into figuring out how to plan for the future and the thoughts going into negotiations for future contracts. 

Rekha Patterson, Head Women's Basketball Coach at Southeast Missouri State, visits @1QLeadership on the topic of leadership after winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship and being named the 2019-2020 OVC Coach of the Year. She talks about preparing for the NCAA selection show when learning that the national tournament was cancelled. Patterson also speaks on the time it took to learn how to lead each player individually as opposed to leading everyone the same. 

Candice Walls, Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Performance at University of Louisiana, visits @1QLeadership to discuss how the performance staff has made themselves available to the Student-Athletes at home. Her staff chose daily social media postings for different aspects of the Student-Athlete's life. From cooking gumbo, to in-home workouts, to mental conditioning, Coach Walls works with others in the Ragin' Cajuns athletics department to cover as much as they can from afar.

Sean Frazier, Associate VP & Director of Athletics at Northern Illinois, visits @1QLeadership to give insight on the questions ADs may be asking themselves during the coronavirus chapter. One of the key items covered is how to operationalize and provide resources for some of the ideas being discussed regarding the future. He also heavily emphasizes his concern for the health and well-being of the Student-Athletes who have had their routines abruptly halted. 

Mike London, Head Football Coach at College of William & Mary, visits @1QLeadership to discuss the synergy between he and Tribe AD Samantha Huge. London checks classes so the team and professors understand the importance of academics to the football team. He talks about dealing with the loss of a player and allowing the team to see him cry. Coach London also gets emotional as he goes into detail about the rare case of being a bone marrow donor for his own daughter. The episode is co-hosted by Coach Glenn Caruso (@Coach_Caruso).

Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the America East Conference, visits @1QLeadership to walk us through her timeline of gathering information to make the decision to cancel the conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments as they were down to the final championship games. She talks about using other conference's decisions as data points and speaking with fellow commissioners as the situation evolved over three to four days.

Matthew Caruso, Acting Director of Athletics at Kean University, visits @1QLeadership to discuss Kean as it was among the first institutions to adjust to the effects of the Coronavirus situation. Caruso talks about receiving word of the cancellations and scrambling to let coaches and teams know. During a bit of introspection, he mentions that he could have handled the situation a bit better in terms of communication. He also speaks to the resilience of the Student-Athletes as everything continued to unfold.

Tommy Amaker, Head Men's Basketball at Harvard University, visits @1QLeadership to discuss ending the 2020 season prematurely amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the leadership needed to guide the Student-Athletes through the announcement. Being the first Division I school (and conference) to cancel its conference tournament, Amaker talks about how important it was that Harvard, and the Ivy League, had the people and principles in place to make decisions amid uncertainty.

JP Abercrumbie, Assistant AD for Student-Athlete Development at Rice, visits @1QLeadership to discuss her approach to the role. Her priority is to bridge the gap between internal and external operations ensuring the entire department is involved in the Student-Athlete experience. She also engages departments outside of athletics to provide Student-Athletes the best access to the resources available on campus. Abercrumbie also discusses her methods of building relationships with coaches.

Joe Karlgaard, Director of Athletics at Rice University, visits @1QLeadership for a conversation on leadership within the ranks of his organization. Karlgaard mentions Built to Last as his favorite leadership book, emphasizing the importance of homegrown talent. He also talks about giving people on his staff a wide range of experiences that can help with career enhancement.