Tai Brown visits with Tim Cassidy, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Football Operations at Arizona State University. With 35 years of experience, Tim has been involved with numerous football coaching transitions. In this conversation, Cassidy talks about the ups and downs of being a constant in a very precarious profession.
Jan 09, 2018•10 min
Tai Brown catches up with Kyle Vasey, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Planning at University of Alabama. With data analytics playing an ever-increasing role in strategic decisions, Vasey's position enhances the department by offering input in the business side, as well as the competition side of Alabama athletics. This could be a possibly be a position replicated across the industry.
Jan 03, 2018•11 min
In the second of two parts, Tai Brown continues his conversation with Keri Becker, Athletic Director at Grand Valley State University, about her background as a long time head softball coach and how that helps in her current leadership role. Becker also touches on continuous learning as she strives to keep up the successful momentum.
Dec 21, 2017•6 min
Tai Brown visits with Keri Becker, Director of Athletics at Grand Valley State University. In the first of a two part conversation, Becker talks about sustaining success as she is a year and a half into leading a program that has won 12 of the last 14 Learfield NACDA Director's Cups. She also speaks on avoiding complacency and staying motivated no matter the outcome of a competition.
Dec 20, 2017•9 min
Football Bowl Association Executive Director and former Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters checks back in with 1.Q to discuss this year's bowl landscape, developments around student-athletes skipping post-season play, the impact of ESPN Events and more. Waters also offers an interesting perspective on how the saga around the Fiesta Bowl back in the late 2000s impacted bowl leadership.
Dec 14, 2017•15 min
Tai Brown visits with Mike Sinquefield, Sr. Associate Athletic Director for Internal Affairs at TCU. Sinquefield has made the trek from Equipment Manager, to Director of Football Operations, and now a senior leadership post in athletics administration. He discusses servant leadership and valuing people as traits providing tremendous benefit to the leaders he has served.
Dec 12, 2017•11 min
Tai Brown visits with Dr. Brandon Martin, Athletic Director at California State University, Northridge. Dr. Martin talks in great depth about how his focus on professional development has helped him in his current leadership role. He also discusses how focusing on career enhancement amongst his staff has helped create a healthy buy-in within his department.
Dec 06, 2017•14 min
Tai Brown visits with Van Malone, Defensive Coordinator at Southern Methodist University, to discuss the aspects of preparing for the opportunity to interview for a head coaching position. Coach Malone, completing his third year as a DC, talks about his process of educating himself in the nuances of leadership from an assistant coach's perspective, as a coordinator, and possibly in the future, as a head coach.
Dec 05, 2017•15 min
Tai Brown visits with Dr. Linda Livingstone, President at Baylor University. In the first year of her presidency, Dr. Livingstone emphasizes how intercollegiate athletics can be transformative to an institution's culture. A former Student-Athlete herself, Livingstone addresses the aspects of being on a team that have provided guidance throughout her career.
Nov 29, 2017•8 min
Tai Brown visits with Dr. Robert B. Sloan, President at Houston Baptist University, to discuss the process of moving the athletics program from NAIA to NCAA Division I, and subsequently, starting a football program. Sloan touches on the variety of benefits of having visibility through athletics.
Nov 28, 2017•12 min
From Now On President & CEO Sue Thaden checks back in with 1.Q to discuss how her entrepreneurial background allows her to connect with leaders in college athletics. Sue also covers Patrick Lencioni's 'The Ideal Team Player' and how despite all the digital communication platforms available, she still relies upon a healthy dose of face-to-face conversations to effectively communicate with her team.
Nov 22, 2017•11 min
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Executive Director Johnny Williams discusses the prime-time slot his game has this year on the first day of bowl play, the community-wide effort in Montgomery & the uniqueness of Cramton Bowl. Williams, who has plenty of department-side experience on his resume as the former AD at Troy and as a senior-leader at Alabama, notes the history of the city and the value it brings for student-athletes who engage in pre-game activities. "Overall, at the end of the day, thes...
Nov 21, 2017•11 min
The Pac-12 Hotline's Jon Wilner visited with 1.Q again to discuss his recent football oversight framework recommendations for the Pac-12 as the league continues to battle brand challenges. The timing of the conversation worked out quite well with the Pac-12 releasing its 2018 FB slate yesterday morning, allowing Wilner to provide context on his suggestions, as well as analyze improvements he sees in the '18 slate.
Nov 17, 2017•13 min
Contributing host Tai Brown stepped into the compliance world to speak with David Batson, Senior Associate Athletics Director, Athletic Compliance at Texas A&M. Batson talks about the way to say no to head coaches and athletic directors without suppressing creativity. When developing a culture of compliance, Batson speaks to education and continuously wanting to help coaches to be successful.
Nov 15, 2017•8 min
Dr. Ingrid Wicker McCree, Athletic Director at North Carolina Central University, visits @TaiMBrown on the 1.Question Podcast to discuss her success at hiring assistants as head coaches. She identifies empathy as one of the most important skills she looks for when evaluating current assistants for future leadership positions. Dr. Wicker McCree also touches on the importance of professional development experiences for her and her staff.
Nov 14, 2017•11 min
DePaul AD Jean Lenti Ponsetto covers a bunch of interesting ground on 1.Q in connection to her personal pre- & in-game agenda, some back story on how the new Wintrust Arena came to be, the benefit of driving more students & alumni to games, and how the new building will change her lens of analyzing success for her Men's & Women's Basketball programs.
Nov 10, 2017•17 min
In this edition of the 1.Q, co-contributor Tai Brown visits with Long Beach State Athletics Director, Andy Fee. Only six months into the position, Fee talks about which aspect of the interview process was the most challenging to prepare for. He also talks about how his transition from working in facilities and events to development helped him prepare for his current position.
Nov 09, 2017•13 min
In this edition of the 1.Question Presidential Series, co-contributor Tai M. Brown visits with Youngstown State University President, Jim Tressel. Coach Tressel speaks on how his time as a national championship winning coach helped him when he assumed the presidency. He also addresses the challenges that coaching didn't prepare him for such as the sheer number of people, departments, students, etc. that fall under his leadership. - One Question Leadership Podcast
Nov 07, 2017•15 min
Turnkey Search Managing Director Gene DeFilippo touches on how the latest MBB-FBI developments could impact search firms and the search process for new Head Coaches in the near future. DeFilippo points to the "team" of leaders who together execute a search, also wonders if new tools will be introduced to the marketplace to more effectively look through the backgrounds of candidates.
Nov 06, 2017•4 min
Turnkey Search Managing Director, Gene DeFilippo, reviews how he assembled a team to help conduct an AD search when he sat in the chair, the hyper importance of confidentiality for search firms & all parties involved, the growth of firms talking to agents of HCs, the Nebraska hiring of Bill Moos, interacting with university presidents & chancellors, plus more.
Nov 03, 2017•11 min
Kansas State Athletic Director John Currie is the first ever 1.Q guest as he joins to review the reasons for fundraising and facility successes in Manhattan.
Nov 02, 2017•3 min
1.Q co-contributor Tai Brown visited with Jenn Strawley, No. 2 in command at University of Miami, to discuss her involvement in hiring new football coach, Mark Richt. Strawley touches on presenting candidates to the search committee, and helping Coach Richt with the on-boarding process.
Nov 01, 2017•11 min
Conference USA will move their basketball championships to the new Ford Center at the Star sports facilities owned in part by the Dallas Cowboys in Frisco, Texas. 1.Q co-contributor @TaiMBrown caught up with Commissioner Judy MacLeod to discuss the decision to move the game from a Conference USA campus to a third party facility.
Oct 31, 2017•4 min
Tai Brown visited with Glenn Wong of ASU Sports Law to discuss the state of law in college sports. A leading expert on the topic, Wong covers a number of items including recent happenings and pending cases that could have a tremendous effect on intercollegiate athletics.
Oct 26, 2017•13 min
Visiting with the constant flow of high-level executives who attend the 2017 Women Leaders in College Sports national convention, 1.Q co-contributor Tai Brown catches up with Kathy DeBoer, Executive Director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Coach DeBoer gives an update on the state of the game on campus, the concerns of those who coach the game (early recruiting), and much more.
Oct 25, 2017•9 min
The Daily Press' David Teel provides context to the Athletic Director hire of Carla Williams at Virginia. Teel covers comparisons to recent AD selections around the ACC, the challenge of Football and revenue that Williams will soon tackle, how Williams' leadership style may be different compared to former Cavaliers AD Littlepage, and her thoughts on hiring a new #2.
Oct 24, 2017•10 min
In this teaser 1.Q, Matt Roberts sat down with Neil Mandt, Founder & CEO of MANDT VR. Mandt speaks to how athletic directors and advanced marketing leaders can look to utilize new technology to enhance the fan experience. More to come from this interview!
Oct 20, 2017•4 min
While visiting the 2017 Women Leaders in College Sports National Convention, contributing host Tai Brown sat down with Conference USA Senior Associate Commissioner/Chief Operating Officer, Keisha Dunlap. Dunlap focuses on her 14 year tenure, and how her longevity has allowed her to rise within Conference USA.
Oct 18, 2017•5 min
Coach to Cure MD has been the partner cause for the American Football Coaches Association since 2008, most visible via the large patches and other branding worn by coaches around the nation on the fourth weekend of every September. Coach to Cure MD founder Brad Todd joins 1.Q to recount how the alignment came to be, the involvement of some notable current and former FB Head Coaches, and why pushing for advances in the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a total campus effort.
Oct 17, 2017•15 min
Visiting the 2017 Women Leaders in College Sports National Convention, contributing host Tai Brown sat down with Glenn Wong, Executive Director of the Sports Law and Business Program at Arizona State University. Wong discusses the new collaboration with Women Leaders that will provide data on the demographics and career trajectory of NCAA Division I and Division III directors of athletics.
Oct 13, 2017•11 min