One Question Leadership Podcast

Herb Courtney, CEO of Renaissance Search & Consulting, visits @1QLeadership to discuss starting and growing the firm without external funding while addressing specific issues in the college athletics industry. He discusses reasons for expanding the staff and how it has helped the company's processes evolve. The conversation also goes into understanding the client to help find the best and most diverse candidate pool.

Sable Lee, Assistant Director for Leadership Development at NCAA, stops by @1QLeadership to give some insight on young professionals in the workforce, specifically within the college athletics industry. She talks about perceptions young professionals may have of the environment and methods to adjust to that environment before jumping ship to find something else. She also provides information on the upcoming NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar including who should and how to apply.

Candace Smith, Senior Associate AD for Internal Operations at Akron, stops by @1QLeadership for an insightful conversation about her role. She talks about the transition from basketball operations and working with a new leader as she has worked for two head coaches and, in her current role, two athletics directors. The discussion also covers budget planning with coaches and working with numbers and people. Smith wraps the conversation with insight on being unsure when transitioning to a new leadership role.

Michelle Morgan, Senior Director of Athletics at John Carroll University, stops by @1QLeadership to discuss responsibilities as Chair of NCAA D3 Management Council. She talks about the challenge of considering competing priorities within the division. Morgan also gives insight on taking over a successful athletics department and the conversation wraps on professional development and her leadership philosophy.

Tim Duncan, VP of Athletics at University of New Orleans, visits @1QLeadership to discuss why embracing the New Orleans community culture was included in his strategic plan. The conversation also covers working with the university on raising funds for campus, hiring staff, and wraps on the future of the Emerging Leaders Conference.

Danielle Harris, Commissioner of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, stops by @1QLeadership to talk about listening as a crucial aspect of leadership. Key skills noted are to listen, observe, and be able to connect the dots. She also covers mental health services post-pandemic and the conversation wraps on the concerns regarding enrollment in higher education.

Jeff Mitchell, Deputy AD at Southern MIss, stops by @1QLeadership to discuss topics such as his experience as interim AD at Santa Clara and Southern Miss and creating an atmosphere that is conducive to fact-finding. The conversation also covers putting people at ease during important conversations, how he delineates his opinion from necessary information, writing a text book on leadership and ethics in sport, and his recent professional development experiences.

Long Beach State Deputy AD, Tiffany Edlin, visits @1QLeadership to talk about strategic thinking in the athletics department and on campus. She talks about using her financial background as a catalyst for thinking athletics centered but with a university perspective. The conversation wraps on maintaining relationships and the process of offering off the wall ideas to get things done.

Cary Groth, Sandy Hatfield Clubb, and Carolyn Schlie Femovich of The Pictor Group stopped by @1QLeadership to talk about the importance of establishing core values, the areas of focus for the organization, how their respective experiences contribute to the work they do collectively, and how they always tie the work they do for an athletics department to the institutional mission of the university.

Earlston Bean, Jr., Sr. Associate AD for Events & Safety Management, stops by @1QLeadership to talk about his role and its position within the framework of the greater IU campus. Bean also talks about his leadership style and how he supports those he reports to.

Dr. Don Bruce, economics professor and FAR at Tennessee, stops by @1QLeadership to give insight from an economics professor on the college athletics model. Bruce is also the President-Elect of the 1A-FAR association, and discusses the group's thoughts on the state of the college athletics industry. He also gives an interesting analogy on high salaries for coaches. The conversation wraps on the importance of athletics to the academic mission of a university.

Dr. Miriam Merrill, AD at Pomona Pitzer Colleges, visits @1QLeadership in a conversation that covers hiring for fit and evaluating those hires. The discussion takes a wide diversion as Merrill gives us her way of escaping college athletics every year by attending the national bartenders convention. The episode wraps with her thoughts on using restorative justice concepts in college athletics.

ULM Running Backs Coach, Tony Hull, covers accountability, working for NASA, and the transition from coaching in high school to coaching in college. From Hull, "A big problem in sports is that people focus on winning instead of focusing on creating an environment for winning to happen."

Andrew T. Goodrich, Deputy AD and Chief Marketing Officer at Syracuse, visits @1QLeadershp to discuss his philosophy of engineering the solution to deal with any problem that may arrive. Learned during his time at IBM, Goodrich talks about planning, identifying resources, and executing the plan and how he has applied that ideology in college athletics. He also gives us his thoughts on the importance of zero based budgeting.

The One Question Leadership Podcast was created to discuss leadership with some of the most influential leaders within the college athletics industry. We look at the systems, policies, and people needed to create an environment that people want to be a part of. While college athletics may be the industry we emphasize, the leadership concepts discussed span all walks of life.

Illinois State VB Student-Athlete, Kendee Hilliard, is joined by Redbirds AD, Kyle Brennan as the two cover a number of topics relating to leadership. Brennan discusses diversifying his leadership team, handling decisions he may not agree with, and advice to those seeking to make it to the AD Chair.

Darrice Griffin, Sr. Deputy Director of Athletics at Georgia, stops by @1QLeadership to dive into the evolution of her servant leadership style. She covers the areas where she and the department align - experience of those who work and study at the school, maintaining a level of excellence in sports, and commitment to inclusion. The conversation wraps on becoming a servant leader with a vision, and learning from everyone around her.

Troy Austin, Deputy AD for Competitive Excellence, People, and Culture at Duke visits @1QLeadership on the topic of making decisions and giving a voice to staff who are not involved in making decisions. He also covers evaluating culture and engaging underrepresented populations within the department. The conversation wraps on the topic of weighing experience against values when making decisions in a dynamic, ever-evolving environment.

Illinois State VB Student-Athlete Hilliard is back as a guest host for @1QLeadership. Hilliard talks with Women Leaders CEO Patti Phillips on managing energy as a leader, finding your voice, and balancing commitments. The two visit about the anniversary of Title IX and the ongoing pursuit of equity for women. As the conversation progresses, Hilliard gets fired up and asks Phillips about her use of emojis on Twitter.

Ball State President, Geoffrey Mearns, visits @1QLeadership to talk about creating and managing a strategic plan. The discussion covers the nuance of planning for a specific future as opposed to providing solutions to existing problems. Mearns talks about his process of planning as far out as 2040 while including incremental goals to measure success in execution. The conversation also covers the process for making adjustments to the plan and wraps on his experience serving on NCAA committees.

Marcus Bowman, Deputy AD, Chief Financial Officer, and Business Strategy at University of Oklahoma visits @1QLeadership to discuss some of the aspects of his role that may or may not be covered in his job title. Bowman doesn't look at business as purely an "increase profitability" proposition, he is more attuned to how they can find more resources to pour into the Student-Athletes, coaches, and staff. He discusses contracts and financial arrangement length relative to the evolving industry. He also gives insight on his three pronged approach to managing effective relationships.

Daniel McCarthy, Deputy AD at University South Alabama, visits @1QLeadership to talk about some of the celebrations and challenges faced as he has grown with the South Alabama athletics department. He talks about switching from internal to external operations and leading a sales team without sales experience. The conversation wraps on the benefits to the community of opening a new stadium.

ACC Director of Student-Athlete Programs & Compliance, Shamaree Brown, gets the @1QLeadership treatment from guest host Kendee Hilliard. The conversation covers two major areas, the ACC's focus on Student-Athlete development, and Brown's advice on career progression for Student-Athletes who want to work in college athletics. He covers the importance of SAAC and the need for increased involvement of basketball and football playing students. They also discuss Brown's leadership philosophy and core values.

Jovan Overshown, Sr. Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs at Baylor, visits @1QLeadership for a discussion focused on her leadership style. With only five years in college athletics, Overshown talks about learning the industry while simultaneously learning how to lead within the industry. She gives insight on her 'project up and protect down' philosophy of running the external department. The conversation wraps on her process of evaluating the progress of those she leads.

Tremaine Jackson, Head Football Coach at Colorado Mesa University, visits @1QLeadership to talk about his experience after his first full season leading the program. Jackson talks about challenging the athletics administration to clearly define success and evaluation for the football program. The conversation delves into the possibility of creating new expectations that may benefit other sports beyond just football. The discussion wraps on the words he delivered during a recent commencement speech.

Louisville Interim AD Heird and Associate AD Calabrese visit @1QLeadership to talk leadership. Both were graduate assistants together getting an MBA and discussed the application of that degree. Heird talks about the impact of self-reflection as a person and throughout an organization. Calabrese gives her input on collaborating with campus colleagues to ensure a successful Student-Athlete experience.

Dr. Karin Lee, Deputy AD for Internal Operations, at Ball State visits @1QLeadership to talk about critical thinking and other outcomes garnered from earning a PhD. She questioned her effectiveness early in her career when she oversaw 14 out of 19 sports, acknowledging that it was not the best situation. Lee talks about, what she considers, a critical component of her responsibility as Deputy Athletics Director and wraps the conversation on the importance of inclusiveness.

Andy Rowdon, Sr. Associate AD for External Affairs at Eastern Michigan, stops by @1QLeadership for a discussion covering creativity, marketing, and leadership. He talks about his team learning how to use data to assist in making decisions and the continual learning process involved. Rowdon also discusses the challenges of transitioning from being a marketing guy to leading the external team.

Haven Fields, Deputy Athletics Director at Ball State visits @1QLeadership to discuss the skill that was identified early on in his career that has been the foundation for his career progress. Sharpening strengths is the underlying topic as Fields discusses honing his people skills. He talks about the things he does that help the Athletics Director, Beth Goetz do her job well. Fields also goes into the additional skills he has developed since being in the deputy chair.

MIT Director of Athletics, Dr. G. Anthony Grant is joined by Rhodes College Dean for Faculty Recruitment, Development, and Diversity, Dr. Justin Rose, on @1QLeadership. In Rose's quest to become a college president, he spends time picking Grant's brain on the nuances of college athletics in the academic setting.

Liz Reyes, Assistant AD for Student-Athlete Development at Illinois, visits @1QLeadership to work on her leadership philosophy. The conversation touches on starting a new job virtually, developing relationships with colleagues, and earning trust with the Student-Athletes. Reyes' philosophy on leadership is four fold, including caring about those you serve and those you work with, building trust, having high expectations for the quality of work produced, and understanding the goals of those you lead.

Fresno State Director of Compliance, Marcus Everett visits @1QLeadership to work on developing his leadership philosophy. Everette speaks about his previous experience as a one man shop at Stetson University. He talks about coming to Fresno State in a leadership role and learning to be an effective leader. His philosophy develops into being willing to learn, being knowledgeable about your role, being accountable for the work you do, and being able to effectively communicate whatever needs to be communicated.

Andrew Gavin, Director of Athletics at Wisconsin-Parkside visits @1QLeadership on a number of topics. He talks about his background as an SID and how that laid the foundation for how he leads from the AD chair. The conversation also covers answering questions he didn't have the answer to when he began at Parkside. Other topics discussed include introspection, internal fundraising, and his relationship with the chancellor.

Illinois Sr. Associate AD for Sport Administration and Student-Athlete Development, Dr. Brian Russell visits @1QLeadership to talk about the importance of developing a narrative about how the athletics experience helps to develop Student-Athletes for life after sports. Russell also discusses his leadership philosophy, which is rooted in candid care. The conversation wraps with exploring the strategic trade-offs that may be necessary in an athletics department.

Marcus Sedberry, Senior Associate AD at Baylor stops by @1QLeadership for a wide ranging conversation covering hiring, project management, and leadership among other things. Sedberry talks about working with compliance and the university on managing NIL. He also gives his hiring philosophy which revolves around character fit, competency in experience, and coaching acumen. The conversation wraps with his thoughts on the importance of cohesion amongst offices within an athletics department.

Tim Lester, Head Football Coach at Western Michigan visits @1QLeadership on the day his freshmen class reported to camp. Excited about his first full team meeting since before the lockdown, Lester talks about having two classes who have a unique experience coming into college. Recently appointed to the AFCA Board of Trustees, he talks about the job ahead for football coaches amongst all the changes in college athletics. The conversation wraps on Lester's passion for using science and analytics in the game of football.

Compliance and NIL are the @1QLeadership topics with UNLV Sr. Associate AD of Compliance, Eric Nepomuceno. Education, documentation, monitoring, and enforcement are the common aspects in compliance, but this discussion covers adding Name, Image, and Likeness to that plate of responsibilities. Nepomuceno gives insight about the Vegas Effect, which is UNLV's three pronged education platform for Student-Athletes regarding NIL. He also talks about what surprises him so far about NIL since its inception.

Not long before announcing his retirement, longtime Ohio University football coach, Frank Solich, visited @1QLeadership to discuss longevity in coaching. Coach Solich talks about staying nimble with regard to leading 18-22 year olds. He touches on learning how to treat players from legendary coaches Devaney and Osborne at Nebraska. Serving as one of the AFCA Trustees, Solich talks about the importance of service to the industry. He also talks about developing players and sending them out in the world.

Frank Pucher, Sr. Association AD for External Affairs at Fresno State, visits @1QLeadership about providing leadership in the external operations area. He talks about his background working in media rights and how that informs his decisions in his current role. Pucher, former Deputy AD at Southern Utah, talks about his leadership philosophy on building a creative environment.

Jeremy Wang, Associate VP for Development at Temple, visits @1QLeadership with insight from his experience working in fundraising for athletics and on campus as a whole. He talks about the many leadership opportunities while working in development but emphasizes leading from wherever you are. Wang educates on types of development office structures, performance metrics, and priorities in terms of on campus versus the athletics department. The conversation wraps on his upcoming move out of higher education.

Rice Provost, Dr. Reggie DesRoches, visits @1QLeadership guest host Blair on the role of the Provost on campus. As the former Faculty Athletics Representative for Georgia Tech, DesRoches discusses helping faculty understand the commitment and efforts put forth by Student-Athletes. The discussion goes into the similarities between being the number two for a university and being the number two in an athletics department. The conversation wraps on the topic of being the first Black Provost at Rice during the social justice events of 2020.

University of San Diego Sr. Associate AD/Chief Development Officer/SWA, Marcy Lanoue, visits @1QLeadership to talk about her career experiences in external affairs and fundraising. Lanoue goes into some of the challenges and ways to be creative in overcoming the challenges of working in athletics development, specifically deciding when to elevate a donor's issue to the AD or beyond. She also covers her thoughts on leadership opportunities when working in this specific area of college athletics.

Ashwin Puri, Sr. Associate AD and Chief Athletics Operations Officer at Villlanova, visits @1QLeadership to discuss how his background in professional sports has influenced his experience in college athletics. The primary difference is understanding what (or who) is defined as the bottom line. He reflects on the moment he realized the difference between selling a ticket in the pros versus selling a ticket in college. Puri also gives insight on the similarities and differences between fundraising and sales.

Maryland Deputy AD, Colleen Sorem, stops by @1QLeadership to discuss her evolution as a leader. In addition to her Deputy responsibilities, Sorem also serves as CFO and she talks about the challenge of thinking beyond the budget when leading those who work with her. She also gives her insight into making a budget now during the pandemic and how it compared to the pre-pandemic environment.

WashU Director of Athletics, Anthony Azama visits @1QLeadership to talk about how the failure resiliency of being an athlete translates to leading an organization. Azama covers the importance of reflection and resolution as he processes the ups and downs of the day. He talks about the challenge of staying in the moment when you are the leader of the department as it can be easy to get caught up in the minutiae of running the operation. Azama also gives us his insight on the athletic curriculum Student-Athletes learn while participating in college athletics.

Yale Deputy AD and COO, Ann-Marie Guglieri, visits @1QLeadership to talk about her role as the number two in charge under AD, Vicky Chun. Guglieri explains the department's delineation between Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Athletics Director. She talks about the adjustments made while gaining more seniority in her career, specifically going from checking boxes to leading people. She also emphasizes taking time to make decisions as there is much more to consider when thinking about how something impacts the entirety of the organization.

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.