One Question Leadership Podcast

@1QLeadership Question: How can leaders uncover the hidden unwritten rules in their organization's culture to move through resistance and find success? Dr. Lauren Bullock , Executive Coach at Stretch and Professor at Temple University, explores how leadership, communication, and culture intersect. Dr. Bullock posits that real leadership lives in the tension between struggle and success, not in tit...

In this episode of One Question Leadership Podcast , University of Southern California Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sport Administration Lin dsay Jaffe sits down with host Steph Garcia Cichosz to offer insight into her journey from Appalachian State soccer student-athlete to senior-level athletic administrator. The conversation explores the mentors who opened doors throughout her career,...

@1QLeadership Question: Can qualitative process metrics lead to increased revenue in a college athletics department?  In this episode of 1Q, University of Houston Executive Senior Associate AD/Chief Revenue Officer, Alvin Franklin details how he applies coaching principles to his leadership style, dissects the department's people-first hiring preference, and discusses how a process-focused revenue...

@1QLeadership Question: How can schools use NIL and personal branding to serve all athletes, not just the superstars? This episode of 1Q features Tyler Jaynes , Founder and CEO at Influxer. The discussion gives a fast, practical look at how a former walk-on built an NIL company that can help all student-athletes, not just the top 1% of stars. It blends leadership lessons, athlete development, and...

@1QLeadership Question: Are there measurable metrics beyond revenue that lead to championships in college athletics? George Mason AD Marvin Lewis shares how he walked into a department hungry for leadership and, in three years, built a people-first, championship culture grounded in a clear strategic "playbook."  He breaks down the staff survey that set the tone, the shift from bad‑news‑only meetin...

In this special episode of 1Q, Tai M. Brown welcomes former pro runner and longtime interviewer Steph Garcia Cichosz as the new co-host of the One Question Leadership Podcast. Both reflect on what they learned from years of interviews on the AthleticDirectorU platform.   They discuss former Oklahoma AD, Joe Castiglione's "water the plant" analogy regarding developing staff, former Washington and c...

@1QLeadership Question: Is compliance leadership superpower in college athletics? This episode of the One Question Leadership Podcast follows  Erin Adkins ' journey from law school to becoming Executive Senior Associate AD for NIL Strategy and Initiatives at UCLA. It explores how compliance, instinct, and relationships prepare leaders to guide student‑athletes and coaches in an era of NIL, the tra...

@1QLeadership Question: How does an alumnus-turned-athletic-director leverage personal history, modern college athletics trends, and deep relationships to transform a tradition-rich military institute without losing what makes it unique? Jamaal Walton , Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at VMI, talks with Stephanie Garcia-Cichosz about how his path from student-athlete to athletic director at...

@1QLeadership Question: How can an athletics director build and sustain a championship‑level athletic department in the Great Plains? Montana State Director of Athletics, Leon Costello, discusses presidential leadership transitions on campus, the strategic growth of the athletic department, and how aligned support for athletics drives institutional success. Costello explains how strategic planning...

@1QLeadership Question: What matters most in how we develop student-athletes? College football analyst Yogi Roth challenges administrators to see athletes not as transactions or brands, but as **human** stories whose mental skills and identity must be developed as intentionally as their physical talent. He argues that in today's NIL and transfer-portal era, alignment on "what matters most" from th...

@ 1QLeadership Question: How can university presidents creatively lead conference realignment while protecting academic priorities and strengthening institutional and league stability for the long term? Dr. John R. Porter of Lindenwood University, and Dr. Yancy Freeman of University of Tennessee Martin, explore how university presidents balance athletics and academics. The two CEO's discuss leadin...

@1QLeadership Question: How can leaders in college sports build innovative, business-savvy organizations that still protect and prioritize the long-term wellbeing and development of student-athletes?   Gary Stokan, retiring President and CEO of the Peach Bowl, reflects on his 47-year career in sports and how coaching principles shaped his leadership in college football. He shares his core framewor...

@1QLeadership Question: What exactly is the problem in college athletics? Sean Frazier, VP of Athletics and Recreation at NIU, discusses how and why the Huskies is restructured its conference affiliations, and also explores how new financial models can help sustain athletics without burdening the institution.   Frazier explains NIU's strategy to "decouple" football from its traditional all-sports...

How do you become indispensable to your athletics department and athletics director?     Charity Anderson , Assistant AD for Scholar-Athlete Success at UC San Diego, joins 1Q's Steph Garcia Cichosz to offer insight into this question after serving for five years as an Executive Assistant to then-Tritons AD Earl Edwards. Anderson discusses the impact of collaboration and how she remains compassiona...

@1QLeadership Question: What role do external partnerships, internal collaboration, and campus engagement play in growing the athletics program's visibility, revenue, and fan base? From the 2024 PacNet Conference, Phil Wang , Sr. Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs at UC Irvine, talks about his almost 20 years at UCI. His transition from finance to external affairs, and how the depar...

@1QLeadership Question: How can student-athlete development programs be effectively built and measured within collegiate athletics? Dr. Marissa Nichols, Sr. Associate AD for Student-Athlete Experience and Director of the Cameron Institute at Cal, shares her approach to creating measurable student-athlete development initiatives—from conducting needs assessments and aligning with institutional stra...

@1QLeadershp Question: What are some useful elements of cultivation for fundraising in college athletics? Mimi Hill, Sr. Associate Athletics Director at Hampton University, talks with 1Q guest host Jazmin Elliott about Hill's journey working in college athletics advancement.  connect and listen to donors personalize your engagement cultivate each interaction Hill gives a few personal stories invol...

@1QLeadership Question: How can an internship directly impact your early years as a young professional? Brandon Fisher , Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development at UNT, and Colby Wilson , Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development at Pitt, discuss the mindset and competencies they learned during the NCAA Post Graduate Internship Program, and now apply during their first full-time...

@1QLeadership Question: What role does leadership play in shaping feelings of inclusion (or exclusion) among Black women in college athletics administration? Dr. Jennifer Jacobs , Head Volleyball Coach at Augustana University, discusses her dissertation research outcomes after interviewing multiple Black women from all divisions of college athletics. One of the key findings is that the default for...

@1QLeadership Question: How can college athletics departments best support student-athletes in navigating the transition out of competitive sports, particularly in addressing the challenges of athlete identity and life after sports?   Caitlin Broadwell , Athletics Case Manager at Long Beach State, discusses the curriculum used in a class for senior student-athletes on campus. The semester long cla...

@1QLeadership Question: Are athlete injuries predictable? Henry Abbott , Founder of TrueHoop, discusses his new book " Ballistic " which follows the story of Dr. Marcus Elliott and the Peak Performance Project (P3). Abbott talks about how Dr. Elliott's research is being used by NBA athletes to prevent injury. Similar to the way biomarkers are used to inform of possible cardiac emergencies, P3 has...

@1QLeadership Question: Is there a success blueprint for leadership in college athletics? Dr. Jacqui Schuman, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics at UMASS-Boston, asks Anthony Azama, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Director of Athletics at WashU, about his blueprint for success as a leader in college athletics. Azama describes his view on college athletics and its benefits...

@1QLeadership Question: What goes into an effective graduate sport administration program? Dr. Patty Raube Keller, Sports Administration Graduate Program Director at Boston College, discusses how her background and experiences shaped her approach to building the sports administration program. After working in college athletics, she transitioned to academia to be more present for her daughter. Her...

@1QLeadership Question: Can work-life integration be a necessity when considering future employers? Yulander Wells, Jr. , Deputy Athletics Director for Finance, Operations, Revenue & Business Strategy at Notre Dame shares how family has been an integral part of his career in college athletics. He also covers how his business background informs his leadership style, especially given Notre Dame's no...

@1QLeadership Question: How do you integrate a leadership philosophy that emphasizes collaboration and informed decision-making within an athletics department? Dr. Jackie Shuman , Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics and Recreation at UMass Boston, discussing her leadership philosophy and approach to decision-making within college athletics.  Gather as much insight as possible from stakeholde...